CAF needs to scrap out this head to head nonsense... I think it's still backwards.

FT: Nigeria 3-2 South Africa

Goals by #11 Charles Agada, #19 Light Eke and #8 Abubakar Abdullahi.

The Golden Eaglets finish second in Group B and will face the 2nd placed side in Group C which would be determined tomorrow in the game between Cameroun and Burkina Faso. Whoever wins that, meets us. If it is a draw, Burkina Faso will go through but Cameroun would too as the 3rd best side over SA.

This team must be commended for their mental strength even after going behind so late in the first half no thanks to Mabena's top class solo goal (goal of the tournament for me). They came back into the second half with intent and it paid off.

I look forward to the next game in the Quarters. Ugbade has work to do to ensure the team don't commit too many mistakes that could cost us in the KOs.

#MDU17AfconDiaries

TheSuperNerd:
Tomorrow vs Fiorentina, we feast. Osimhen on a mission to extend his goals tally.

please how many matches are remaining for the Italian league to end?

Yep. Let Mabena and the boys from Zulu nation go face those Ruthless Senegalese lads.

Who knows if anything could happen. But Senegal are favorites.

solonnachi:


It means South Africa faces Senegal in quarter final and Nigeria faces the second placed team
in Group C between Burkina Faso & Cameroon who are playing tomorrow. I think Burkina may win.

Quarter finals
Senegal v South Africa
Morocco v Algeria
Mali v Congo
Nigeria v Burkina Faso/Cameroon

After this weekend's fixtures, 4 matches.

jieta:
please how many matches are remaining for the Italian league to end?

COOL10:




Don't worry he'll score a world class goal from 35 yards in the next match.

story

dankorode:
the guy sabi play abeg

he has this football swag. Very intelligent. I noticed he also links up very well and quite unselfish. Eke is good.

He should no longer come from the bench. His name is no longer Super Sub abeg.

Light Eke makes up our best front 3 at this tournament. Ugbade should please take note.

#MDU17AfconDiaries

TheGoodJoe:
Light Eke should fill the gap between the striker and midfield. He should also rely on his tricks to crack opposition.

mancoconut:

He's the Mikel Obi regen, him along with Akinsanmiro are the future of our midfield

hmmm 😳, mikel obi regen kwa? Both no Dey play the same style of football. He is more like ex u17 player yahaya

I agree with you on Abdullahi's workrate upfront, hold up play and his ability on the ball. His only issue at this tournament has been his finishing. Thankfully he is off the mark now so that should boost his confidence going into the KOs.

#MDU17AfconDiaries

TheGoodJoe:
Our build up play is good but transitioning from midfield to attack remains a challenge and Ugbade will need to work on that before the next game.

Abdullahi's work rate up front is insane and I don't think we have a striker that can do what he does. His holdup play is also nice. I see him growing into the game but he needs to calm down when finishing.

akwesenana:
Chairmen, please what of those 2 brothers that played for Super Eagles team B against ATM 5 years ago?

one Dey play for Solomon island while the other just got relegated for Spanish 2nd tier

Mehn, Ugbade is 90% of the problem.

Just look at the beautiful possession football that the lads played towards the end of the game. Short one-two passes that gave me flashbacks to Arsenal's 2009 team.

Look how dangerous we looked when we simply played the ball on the ground as opposed to kicking ABF long passes and trying shots from 50 yards.

Ugbade is the main wahala. Poor tactics and wrong team selection.

Well observed. Linus dropped the initial instructions to build up plays through the middle and to shoot from distance as he was doing in the first half. It was not working so he had to switch instructions.

In the second half, he opened up plays more by concentrating on the wings with long ball switches and also playing through the middle when the need arose.

In the second half, the lad literally absorbed pressure with his brilliant hold up/ball shield plays and then turned the pressure again and again on the South Africans by driving us forward with his final third pass entries wingwards.

Lad gave us control and picked his penetrative passes strategically. He was key to the winning goal as well from the buildup sequence.

#MDU17AfconDiaries

TheGoodJoe:
The commentator summed it up in the end. Our team can be a good possessive side if we put our mind to it.

Linus in the second half was unbelievable. Controlled the game like he was holding a PlayStation console.

If Ugbade can stop the reckless long balls and allow these boys play the passing game, they will wreck teams

If Burkina Faso vs Cameroon ends in a draw, South Africa will be out. Their win against Zambia won't count.

solonnachi:


It means South Africa faces Senegal in quarter final and Nigeria faces the second placed team
in Group C between Burkina Faso & Cameroon who are playing tomorrow. I think Burkina may win.

Quarter finals
Senegal v South Africa
Morocco v Algeria
Mali v Congo
Nigeria v Burkina Faso/Cameroon

charlesemeka85:
hmmm 😳, mikel obi regen kwa? Both no Dey play the same style of football. He is more like ex u17 player yahaya

Mikel Obi is the standard for cerebral midfielders in Nigeria, close to JJ Okocha, if you watch Light Eke closely you can easily tell he's a prime Mikel Obi type of player...the version of Mikek I'm talking about is the one that shone like a million stars at the U20 tournament

jihday:
??

So I am wrong about Abdullahi because he managed to score one offside tap-in after displaying crass carpentry all day long?

I will say it again. Abdullahi does not deserve to be in that team, talk more of starting games.

mancoconut:

Mikel Obi is the standard for cerebral midfielders in Nigeria, close to JJ Okocha, if you watch Light Eke closely you can easily tell he's a prime Mikel Obi type of player...the version of Mikek I'm talking about is the one that shone like a million stars at the U20 tournament

Come o, which Light Eke? No way he is similar to Mikel. They're two different players.

Hope Linus is highly cerebral but he can only function in a technical possession-based team. Barca, Arsenal or Ajax academies would suit him well.

Ugbade must stop ruining our game by asking him to shoot from 100 miles all the time. He is not a striker and it ruins his play.

mank1234:
If Burkina Faso vs Cameroon ends in a draw, South Africa will be out. Their win against Zambia won't count.

I thought its based on points not goals scored.

Light Eke is a baller...very intelligent lad. How I wish that ball had went in... He should start the next match together with Agada.


Olowoporoku is a better MF than Owoyemi and Okadigbo. His little cameo was enough to spot his uniqueness on the ball.


Linus might be the next big star of this team. However, Ugbade needs to give him a new role. Let him sit in front of the defence rather than moving around. He need to polish his shootings though.


Lawali is quite athletic but he needs to be smart. He should know when to attack and when to defend.


For the first time in a while, a Nigerian GK impressed me. I hope and pray Odoh doesn't end up like Dele.

solonnachi:


I thought its based on points not goals scored.

Yes points first then goal difference for 3rd place teams. Their matches against 4th place team won't count since group C has only 3 teams.

South Africa thus has 0 points and -3 goal difference in ranking of 3rd place teams.

Meliforme:


I hope you won't mind if i refer you back to this post of yours in the foreseeable future.

Every post is time limited and the context is HERE and NOW.

Nwakali left Huesca without any contract, his contract was terminated as soon as legally possible. He was a player without contract.

He has spent two seasons in the Segunda division being exceptional and oustandingly amazing. That the only club that would take him was Ponferradina FC a bankrupt club and taking almost permanent abode in the relegation zone.

mancoconut:

Mikel Obi is the standard for cerebral midfielders in Nigeria, close to JJ Okocha, if you watch Light Eke closely you can easily tell he's a prime Mikel Obi type of player...the version of Mikek I'm talking about is the one that shone like a million stars at the U20 tournament

Which Mikel abeg? Linus is the closest thing to a Mikel Obi in that team I just watched o

If Ugbade is being technically honest with himself and with this team, our starting midfield in the KOs should be Owoyemi/Linus/Olowoporoku. Tochukwu Ogbabido has his moments but he seriously needs to be dropped as he kills our plays more often than he contributes in the middle and in the final third. His possession loss Stats are possibly the worst in the team.

Olowoporoku's workrate off the ball was also well noted. Lad doesn't wait for the ball to come to him. He goes where the ball is and isn't afraid to have the ball. That right there is a Baller and he is the youngest in the team. Insane talent he is.

His on-the-ball quality is obvious. I am glad he got some minutes so folks can see what I have been saying on the lad.

He ought to be starting games for us and contributing to influencing plays in the final third phase of plays.

Other good MF options on that bench are Simon Cletus (Dada) and possibly Adewale or Akinfenwa.

#MDU17AfconDiaries

mank1234:


Yes points first then goal difference for 3rd place teams. Their matches against 4th place team won't count since group C has only 3 teams.

South Africa thus has 0 points and -3 goal difference in ranking of 3rd place teams.

I understand now. Thanks

TheSuperNerd:
If Ugbade is being technically honest with himself and with this team, our starting midfield in the KOs should be Owoyemi/Linus/Olowoporoku. Tochukwu Ogbabido has his moments but he seriously needs to be dropped as he kills our plays more often than he contributes in the middle and in the final third. His possession loss Stats are possibly the worst in the team.

Olowoporoku's workrate off the ball was also well noted. Lad doesn't wait for the ball to come to him. He goes where the ball is and isn't afraid to have the ball. That right there is a Baller and he is the youngest in the team. Insane talent he is.

His on-the-ball quality is obvious. I am glad he got some minutes so folks can see what I have been saying on the lad.

#MDU17AfconDiaries

I don't know why Olowoporoku is not being given enough minute. From his brief cameo, his quality shown. He should start the next match. Linus will shield the defense, okowo will be the distributor and ball carrier while Owoyemi will supply the energy.

Seems we will be meeting the winner between Burkina Faso and Cameroon tomorrow, I'll fancy our chances against either team...then Mali and Senegal (two teams that scare me so far).

TheSuperNerd:
If Ugbade is being technically honest with himself and with this team, our starting midfield in the KOs should be Owoyemi/Linus/Olowoporoku. Tochukwu Ogbabido has his moments but he seriously needs to be dropped as he kills our plays more often than he contributes in the middle and in the final third. His possession loss Stats are possibly the worst in the team.

Olowoporoku's workrate off the ball was also well noted. Lad doesn't wait for the ball to come to him. He goes where the ball is and isn't afraid to have the ball. That right there is a Baller and he is the youngest in the team. Insane talent he is.

His on-the-ball quality is obvious. I am glad he got some minutes so folks can see what I have been saying on the lad.

He ought to be starting games for us and contributing to influencing plays in the final third phase of plays.

Other good MF options on that bench are Simon Cletus (Dada) and possibly Adewale or Akinfenwa.

#MDU17AfconDiaries

But Nerdie, I think Owoyemi (No 25) hits his ball too hard when trying to connect strikers. This was visible in the first half. Most times, Agada was frustrated at his crosses at times.

I also felt that Agada was too selfish with giving passes in the first half. Although he had his eyes on goal but most times failed to give passes to Abdullahi even when they were close.

In attack, it is clear that Light Eke's tag as a supersub was a complete misleading assessment. Lad is no supersub. He is starting material. His Game-changing quality and take-on ability are weapons you put out there from the start against any opponent.

Light Eke, Charles Agada are surely part of our best attacking 3 at this tournament. The only question is who should be the Number 9 being flanked by these two? Abubakar Abdullahi or Precious Williams.

I would go with Abubakar Abdullahi. He has been horrific in front of goal for the past 2 games before today and even missed 2 good chances in the first half today but I feel that now he is on the scoresheet, his confidence in front of goal would be boosted.

He remains the best bet in the Number 9 role for this team at this tournament.


Ugbade should work more with this front 3 and see how he can improve their synergy with the midfield.

#MDU17AfconDiaries