I think what we need is a bench that is almost as good, if not as good as the regular starters. If I were Rohr, that will be one of my two points of focus after our qualification. The other being team cohesion in mastering different tactics.

forgiveness:


Hahahahahah! Skelewu!

yes nah, alingo go too much

forgiveness:


Of course, we need to know 75% of our team and focus on cohesion but team cohesion can be disrupted by injuries hence the need to look out for equally good replacement.

This replacement must have played in high profile matches to ascertain the level of cohesion or damages should incase a key player is out due to injury.

Moreover, they must be acquainted with the pattern of play before the world cup else a player becomes jjc and confused when brought in to replace a player.

What happens peradventure Balogun get injured or get banned for a match? Who partners Ekong?

What happens peradventure Mikel is indisposed to play a match against France in the world cup, who will play in his place? Etcetera etcetera.

However, I disagree that the only positions for reinforcement are left back, creative midfielder and winger.

The defense, the goalkeeper department, CMF and even the striker position are also areas with deficiency or stability.

So, if Martins is scoring goals we should just ignore because he too old, ba?

Abi, what is your point.

If balogun/ekong gets injured, we have awaziem, Agbo and even Ndidi can play as a CB. And if push comes to shove, we can always fall back on omeruo. Who would you rather have? Yobo? Shittu? I really don't see any problem in that central defence.

I did mention that we need a creative midfielder didn't I? The problem with the Eagles midfield is that thier creativity dies with mikel's substitution. Someone like Aluko would be a good addition, if not, Iwobi can always take that role.

We do not need another goalkeeper, Enyeama is still a member of this team.

Martins will have to do something extraordinary to displace any of our striker.

...

Mickael2:
www.101greatgoals.com/blog/were-chelsea-really-robbed-against-barcelona-in-the-2009-champions-league-semi-final/


please read this article and see that Barca were robbed just as much as Chelsea. One clear penalty call in the first leg and a dubious red card

You pointed out just two right..

I might as well point out over 5 of Chelsea.. So??

You ran away from the main issue though which is the H2H rule you brought into the picture

And BTW the infamous referee had this to say from your link

“I still get a few death threats but they go straight into the garbage box. I don’t take them seriously, although sometimes I wonder about the people who send them. Just yesterday I got an email from a Chelsea fan saying he wanted to kill me and my family. Everyone who knows the laws of the game knows I should have done things differently, but that’s the life of a referee.” – Tom Henning Ovrebo.

Mickael2:


there are currently 4 or so clubs fromTurkey looking for Enyeama if not for his injury(there own transfer window is still open), they even want to tie him down to a post-injury contract just like Ibra and Manu, but Enyeama wants to move to a better league, so he may stay till January for a bigger league but the guy's class is just too much.

Alampasu like you rightly said should be the third choice going to the world cup but the problem is that you have to remember that Nwokolor is still alive, he is young and is doing better than Alampasu, he is closer to that first team than Alampasu. I personally would go with Enyeama, Nwokolor and Ezenwa/Alampasu in that order

Michael2 honestly i go flog u o.pls is Nwokolor in Super Eagles for him to be closer to the team than Alampasu who has been part of d team since Rohr took over.Hope u listen to Rohr recently he named them, Ikeme,Enyeama,Akpeyi,Ezenwa, Alampasu,mind u new entrant Dele Ajiboye.Let Nwokolor joined the team first before this your assertion.

adegwurulez:

If balogun/ekong gets injured, we have awaziem, Agbo and even Ndidi can play as a CB. And if push comes to shove, we can always fall back on omeruo. Who would you rather have? Yobo? Shittu? I really don't see any problem in that central defence.

I did mention that we need a creative midfielder didn't I? The problem with the Eagles midfield is that thier creativity dies with mikel's substitution. Someone like Aluko would be a good addition, if not, Iwobi can always take that role.

We do not need another goalkeeper, Enyeama is still a member of this team.

Martins will have to do something extraordinary to displace any of our striker.

Simply tell me, which of our strikers including those who have been invited to the SE that are currently better than Martins . Statistically speaking and or otherwise. Please no unsubstantiated assumptions just raw facts.

If Ronaldo, Alves, Defoe, Ibrahimovic, Evra, Riberie, Arjen Robben, Carlos Tevez, Yaya Toure, etc, etc, who are older than Martins, WHY NOT MARTINS most of these players under consideration in the SE have not smelled the heights Martins has attained and indeed may never.

Kog45:
Michael2 honestly i go flog u o.pls is Nwokolor in Super Eagles for him to be closer to the team than Alampasu who has been part of d team since Rohr took over.Hope u listen to Rohr recently he named them, Ikeme,Enyeama,Akpeyi,Ezenwa, Alampasu,mind u new entrant Dele Ajiboye.Let Nwokolor joined the team first before this your assertion.

try to understand what I say before you jump in.

I meant Nwokolor is the one who is closest to first team action for his club, that means he has more experience than Alampasu, I didn't say he is closer to the number 1 spot for the SE

Mickael2:


I was referring to those calling him names and not you.

I can't see Mikel in a spanish team because he never will. If Mikel was a spainard he would have probably developed as an Amf at a top Spanish team but this current Mikel playing in China will not be a starter for Spain. So you see, that assumption isn't concrete


but I totally understood your point and you are correct. He held his own and can hold his own against anybody

Chei my friend, pls don't see as craze man,am damn serious,can Busquets enter Nigeria team with d presence of Ndidi,recently old warhorse David Villa made a come back to d same Spanish team and u are telling me Mikel cannot make Spanish team.Hope to meet Spain soon,may be by that time u w accept reality.Pls are u talking about Spain of 2010 or the present Spanish team.

Mickael2:


try to understand what I say before you jump in.

I meant Nwokolor is the one who is closest to first team action for his club, that means he has more experience than Alampasu, I didn't say he is closer to the number 1 spot for the SE

Oh understand! pls read my comment again,did i say No 1 spot for d Eagles.My point is cleared u don't refer to a player who has not get invitation to d team as one of d possible to world cup.

Kog45:
Chei my friend, pls don't see as craze man,am damn serious,can Busquets enter Nigeria team with d presence of Ndidi,recently old warhorse David Vil]la made a come back to d same Spanish team and u are telling me Mikel cannot make Spanish team.Hope to meet Spain soon,may be by that time u w accept reality.Pls are u talking about Spain of 2010 or the present Spanish team.

please tell me you are joking. This is getting more and more ridiculous by the day, as in it is Ndidi that will displace Busquets? Wilfred Onyinye Ndidi? Oga you are sounding like a 2year old who thinks his dad owns everything in the world. Busquets will walk into this team, in fact he will play even if he is injured, Busquets oga, Busquets.

That David Villa got back into the team means nothing. We are not talking about age as a yardstick but talent and output wise.

And yes I am talking about the present spanish team that walloped Italy and destroyed another country 8-0, that is the team we are talking about.

Kog45:
Oh understand! pls read my comment again,did i say No 1 spot for d Eagles.My point is cleared u don't refer to a player who has not get invitation to d team as one of d possible to world cup.

if Tammy switches won't he go to the world cup. Anyways this argument sef no make sense

Mickael2:



please tell me you are joking. This is getting more and more ridiculous by the day, as in it is Ndidi that will displace Busquets? Wilfred Onyinye Ndidi? Oga you are sounding like a 2year old who thinks his dad owns everything in the world. Busquets will walk into this team, in fact he will play even if he is injured, Busquets oga, Busquets.

That David Villa got back into the team means nothing. We are not talking about age as a yardstick but talent and output wise.

And yes I am talking about the present spanish team that walloped Italy and destroyed another country 8-0, that is the team we are talking about.

My man am sounding like a true Nigerian and w not take a shit from some one trying to rubbish Nigeria national team.Pls give respect to our own and stop all this hypes.

Mickael2:



if Tammy switches won't he go to the world cup. Anyways this argument sef no make sense

How are u sure?switch mean automatic shirt to world cup.

yes for now like all top african teams we have deficiencies that top teams will exploit but with all modesty this team under rohr has shown a better team cohesiveness and sacrifice i have not seen in many super eagles matches. watch the 2nd leg game against cameroon not for the result but defensive performance it was top notch. against a spain definitely onazi would be more cautious so the rest of the the team.

parking the bus though a crude tactic is a very effective plan against superior teams like spain, france, argentina etc. but facing such teams as germany brazil this would be a very wrong move.

i think we should stay humble and first address the zambian hurdle at hand before addressing how we play top opposition God willing we will have ample to discuss this further in the near future

Mickael2:


i just did and I think that what I said was an understatement. If we play like that against Spain they'd have us for breakfast everyday of the week and twice on sundays, not to mention Germany and Brazil.

The defeciencies in that game were quite open, and I will be using instances too.
From defence: if Isco drifts into Echejile's wing(even if Echejile is there he will still beat him silly, no brainer really) and has enough space to operate that will draw Balogun out of his wings like he did a lot of times(this should actually be Onazi's role but Balogun was doing it, nice against Cameroon but deadly against top teams) that creates a Spanish over-load in the middle and we all know Isco's decision making is top-notch, a quick pass into the middle(if he doesn't fancy his chances against Balogun one-on-one anyways,just ask the Italians) and they will surely create a chance, Enyeama can only do so much. This is the defence first of all.


Midfield: the spaces left by Onazi continously was an eyesore. Against Spain, we can count that as two assists for Iniesta wrapped in a gift bag and delivered promptly. Just drift in, receive a pass and do the damage, the worse part is that Onazi when he sees that he is out of position will come driving in, at the end there will be two players marking one player(Iniesta) and what does that mean? Another guy is free, creating more space and you can believe that Iniesta will pick that pass with perfection. This is how the midfield battle is won. With Mikel as our Amf and Busquets(probably the best DMF in the world or top 2 at least) holding him off trust me Mikel's impact will be reduced markedly, of course Mikel's brilliance may shine through once in a while but Busq gets the upper hand 90% of the time, now what happens when Mikel actually gets the upper hand? Read on

do you fancy Ideye's chances against Spain? I do not. Iheanacho stands a better chance. But then you are talking about two of the best CBs in the game against a young lad who is yet to cut it at club level, now that is not a great sight to behold. Now all they need to do is isolate Iheanacho from Moses and Moses will start trying to beat all the four defenders plus GK, result? No shot close to goal and when Moses is having a bad day our attack is too.

The defeciencies in our game like I said were clear, claiming that we stand a chance against Spain(Spain are vastly inferior to Germany or Brazil) is pure fantasy. Trust me the performance that Siaone's team gave against Argentina was actually better than this performance by far, that too against vastly superior opponent. Our best bet is to pray we follow Ghana's path, I fancy our chances against Uruguay and other mid-level teams but top teams? We don't have the players, the technical ability, the coach or even the facilities to attempt it

komekn:


Simply tell me, which of our strikers including those who have been invited to the SE that are currently better than Martins . Statistically speaking and or otherwise. Please no unsubstantiated assumptions just raw facts.

If Ronaldo, Alves, Defoe, Ibrahimovic, Evra, Riberie, Arjen Robben, Carlos Tevez, Yaya Toure, etc, etc, who are older than Martins, WHY NOT MARTINS most of these players under consideration in the SE have not smelled the heights Martins has attained and indeed may never.

Don't be too mechanical, my friend.

National team football is much more than just statistics, other factors come into play. Granted, Martins may have some impressive stats but still might not be suited for this team.

Ikechukwu uche also raked some impressive stats at villareal, leading to calls for his inclusion to the world Cup. Keshi heeded those calls and took uche to the world Cup but uche couldn't add anything to the team, Infact Ideye would have been a better pick.

If we were to rely solely on stats, our attack to the world Cup will be filled with players like onuachu, Bonaventure etc not even martins

adegwurulez:

If balogun/ekong gets injured, we have awaziem, Agbo and even Ndidi can play as a CB. And if push comes to shove, we can always fall back on omeruo. Who would you rather have? Yobo? Shittu? I really don't see any problem in that central defence.

I did mention that we need a creative midfielder didn't I? The problem with the Eagles midfield is that thier creativity dies with mikel's substitution. Someone like Aluko would be a good addition, if not, Iwobi can always take that role.

We do not need another goalkeeper, Enyeama is still a member of this team.

Martins will have to do something extraordinary to displace any of our striker.

abeg o, na so dem do Ike shorunmu wey break im hand o. Make martins no go extra ordinary o

Cameroon Journalist – Leon Balogun Is Currently The Best Defender In Africa, Why Mainz 05...



The fine performance of Leon Balogun in Nigeria’s back to back
World Cup 2018 Qualifiers hasn’t gone unnoticed as it has lead to talks about his current club Mainz 05.

Balogun was the only defender who made the CAF best XI players during the course of Matchday 3 and 4 of the CAF World Cup 2018 Qualifiers, thanks to his fine display in back to back games for Nigeria against Cameroon.

Patrick Jean who covered the games between Nigeria and Cameroon on behalf of a media outfit in Cameroon says the defender will easily pass as the best in Africa, and wondered why he is at Mainz 05.

” He ‘s 29 from what I found out, safe to say he is a late bloomer but I saw a defender who can easily pass as the best in Africa at the moment. In both games against Cameroon he was immense”, Jean told Owngoalnigeria.com.

” How and why top clubs didn’t spot his potential early amazes me. He is to me a quicker version of Rio Ferdinand in his prime. His distribution from the back is faultless and the way he times his tackles especially in the box is something else.


” I asked a Nigerian journalist what Balogun is doing at Mainz 05? because I honestly believe he should be playing for a team bigger than that judging by his qualities with all due respect to Mainz 05 “.


**Osas Mahawi

Source: http://owngoalnigeria.com/2017/09/08/cameroon-journalist-leon-balogun-is-currently-the-best-defender-in-africa-why-mainz-05/

i like martins but the main question marks i have about him are what are we currently missing that he will bring to the team? plus can he slot into the current tactical set up of the team?

komekn:


Simply tell me, which of our strikers including those who have been invited to the SE that are currently better than Martins . Statistically speaking and or otherwise. Please no unsubstantiated assumptions just raw facts.

If Ronaldo, Alves, Defoe, Ibrahimovic, Evra, Riberie, Arjen Robben, Carlos Tevez, Yaya Toure, etc, etc, who are older than Martins, WHY NOT MARTINS most of these players under consideration in the SE have not smelled the heights Martins has attained and indeed may never.

Ezenwa: My Reaction After Rohr Told Me I Would Start Against Cameroon
By Kayode Ogundare




After two years acting as understudy, Ikechukwu Ezenwa was suddenly thrusted into the firing line as injury and sickness rendered the two ranking goalkeepers ahead of him unavailable for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Cameroon.

The FC IfeanyiUbah goaltender tells
www.completesportsnigeria.com ‘s KAYODE OGUNDARE that he’s ready to take over the job of Super Eagles first choice if the coaches select him….

Congratulations on your impressive debut for the Super Eagles. How important was this game for you?

Well, I will say it was very important for me because I have been waiting for this opportunity for long. Don’t forget I’d been understudying Carl Ikeme and then Daniel Akpeyi who are both very good goalkeepers and they are doing very well for the team if not for the injury that knocked Daniel out and Carl’s battle with leukemia. So I could say I was sufficiently prepared because I’d learnt a lot from them.


What was the first thing that came to your mind when the manager told you that you’ll be starting the game?

I just had the belief that I can do it and it’s something I’ve been expecting for a long time. When the coach announced that I will be in goal, the first thing that came to my mind was ‘ Ikechukwu, you can do it‘, and by the special grace of God I did it.




Were you not jittery that you would be making your debut against Cameroon of all teams giving their pedigree as African champions and the fact that they’re always difficult customers for Nigeria?

No, I wasn’t scared of playing against Cameroon. Football is a universal sport that speaks one language. Don’t forget I have been doing this for a long time and preparing myself for a time like this. I have played continental games for my club and also internationals for the national teams but why this is different is that it is the World Cup qualifiers so the stakes are very high. I felt no extra pressure at all.

I noticed there was an altercation between you and Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar in the second half that the referee had to come and intervene. What was that about?


What happened was that I normally carry my rosary around because I’m a Catholic. I loved carrying my rosary around and it didn’t just start today. I have been carrying my rosary to games since my junior national team days. I dropped the rosary inside the net and Aboubakar picked it up and threw it away. I got angry and told him that if he knew the meaning of rosary he wouldn’t have thrown it away like that.




With your debut, will you now say you’re in the running for Eagles’ number one shirt?

The coach will make that decision whether I’m in contention for the number one shirt or not. My own is to just play my game and help my team to win. I’m happy to be here and doing what I’m doing. Just to be focused and concentrate on my game. Let the coach make his decision about it.


As captain of the CHAN Eagles, what should Nigerians expect from that team?

We’ve gone to CHAN three times but not achieved what our pedigree deserves at the competition. This time around I want us to do better and win the competition. And I think everybody is expecting us to do so. We have qualified now and the next thing is to talk about preparations. Early preparation is key because it will not be an easy task. All eyes will be on us and, as the captain, when I go back I have to call my colleagues and talk to them that we need to give every game our best shot. We also have the WAFU Cup coming up in Ghana which will be a good test for us so I pray we go to that competition with our best form to win it.


Who, in your opinion, will pose the greatest threat to Nigeria’s hopes of winning CHAN?

CIV and Congo will always be tough and luckily we’ll play the
Ivoriens in the WAFU Cup in Ghana. Its a competition that will keep us in shape so I look forward to our participation in it.




And how has your club fared in the Nigerian Premier Football League?

At the beginning of the season, we’d hoped to really challenge for the title but it didn’t go as planned. We’ll go back and prepare very well but we can still make something from the Aiteo Cup. We hope to defend our title even though we have seen a lot of surprises with big teams crashing out. That’s the nature of cup competitions but we hope to fight to the end.

Source: https://www.completesportsnigeria.com/ezenwa-reaction-coach-gernot-rohr-told-will-start-cameroon/

TheSuperNerd:
Cameroon Journalist – Leon Balogun Is Currently The Best Defender In Africa, Why Mainz 05...



The fine performance of Leon Balogun in Nigeria’s back to back
World Cup 2018 Qualifiers hasn’t gone unnoticed as it has lead to talks about his current club Mainz 05.

Balogun was the only defender who made the CAF best XI players during the course of Matchday 3 and 4 of the CAF World Cup 2018 Qualifiers, thanks to his fine display in back to back games for Nigeria against Cameroon.

Patrick Jean who covered the games between Nigeria and Cameroon on behalf of a media outfit in Cameroon says the defender will easily pass as the best in Africa, and wondered why he is at Mainz 05.

” He ‘s 29 from what I found out, safe to say he is a late bloomer but I saw a defender who can easily pass as the best in Africa at the moment. In both games against Cameroon he was immense”, Jean told Owngoalnigeria.com.

” How and why top clubs didn’t spot his potential early amazes me. He is to me a quicker version of Rio Ferdinand in his prime. His distribution from the back is faultless and the way he times his tackles especially in the box is something else.


” I asked a Nigerian journalist what Balogun is doing at Mainz 05? because I honestly believe he should be playing for a team bigger than that judging by his qualities with all due respect to Mainz 05 “.


**Osas Mahawi

Source: http://owngoalnigeria.com/2017/09/08/cameroon-journalist-leon-balogun-is-currently-the-best-defender-in-africa-why-mainz-05/

I remember I brought this up a while back.

Super Eagles Killed The Lions With ‘Chair’, Zambia’s Copper Bullets To Die Too!
MoreGoals By Nnamdi Ezekute


Victory is sweet, and when the warriors achieve it in spectacular fashion, the stakeholders feed on it with so much relish in form of joyous reviews and analysis, fanatic banters, tantrums at the vanquished and some haphazard hypothesis about the making of a famous win.

All Nigerians are stakeholders in the Super Eagles – the team that represents the nation. If the team was an incorporated company, the about 190 million Nigerian populace would be its shareholders.

Nigerians share in the joy and national pride that Super Eagles’ victories bring to the table and as well in the degradation from any woeful outing.



Cameroon Annihilation

Nigerians have savoured the famous Super Eagles’ 4-0 win over the ‘Indomitable Lions’ of Cameroon and the impressive 1-1 draw the team bagged in Yaounde. A 5-1 aggregate win over two legs against an arch-rival in FIFA World Cup qualifiers is worth celebrating, more so on the heels of a recent setback. On June 10 2017, Bafana Bafana of South Africa preyed on a depleted Super Eagles in a 2019 AFCON qualifier in Uyo. That left all of us Nigerians with a soiled national pride.

For me the celebration of that national pride restoration with a Cameroon annihilation was with caution. Football is an eternal fickle. Even for a winning team, two games against the same opponents do not always pan out. Cameroon, for instance, lost scandalously in the first leg of their double-header against Nigeria in Uyo. They identified their undoing, shedded some arrogance and came down from their high horse before they played better football in the second leg in Yaounde, But it was too late for them to salvage things against a more talented and niftier Nigerian side.

After the matchday-3 in the Group B, the ‘Group of Death’ in the CAF 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Nigeria were cruising on the fast lane with three wins, but then the rest in the group were not yet dead and buried. The wounded Lions of Cameroon, Zambia and Algeria were all living on mathematical chances of qualifying ahead of Nigeria. I thought seriously, ‘football is too dynamic and a winning team must not leave anything to chance.’


Mathematical Chances

Zambia and Cameroon, with sheer motivation from the mathematical chances at their sight, simply went for broke on matchday-4. The Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets) got it right with the 1-0 away win against Algeria. This result has breathed huge life into the young Zambian team, now radiating with a stronger self-belief as they challenge for a world Cup slot at the expense of Nigeria.

The Indomitable Lions played out of their skin in Yaounde, but Super Eagles were too strong in their way. While they succeeded in slowing down Nigeria’s speed in the race, Cameroon’s 2018 World Cup hopes completely went extint.

Zambia’s threat to Nigeria’s 2018 World Cup dream is real, just as the Super Eagles posing a stumbling block to their dream World Cup debut is a bigger threat. So everything point to a nervy match between the two sides in Uyo on October 7.

The moment Zambia earned those lifeline three point in Algeria, the talking points in conversations about the Group B changed from Nigeria’s roller coaster ride to a modest Zambian side which is ambitiously turning a cul-de-sac into an avenue of opportunity.


Chair Formula

I am very curious about what antidote the Super Eagles must put to use to undo the Chipolopolo’s firepower and resistance in Uyo.

I have found an answer, quite easily. It’s a winning formula that coach Gernot Rohr and his Super Eagles stars are quite familiar with. In fact, it’s exactly the formula they put to use and snuffed life out of Cameroon in Uyo.

Super Eagles must not take anything for granted just because they beat the Chipolopolo in Ndola on matchday-one. The Eagles must adopt that defiant winning mentality, poise and killer mien which took out the Lions’ lives in Uyo. That’s what I’m dealing with here, certainly not with the kid gloves. The antidote is encapsulated in a ‘CHAIR’ formula that I stumbled into recently.

A friend, a Zoology graduate, told me recently that a clever lion tamer uses wooden chair as one of his key tools in making the the big cat succumb, submitting to training routine and commands without being violent. It’s the four-legged chair that all of us know and use everyday.

His explanation, a pure fact, was that lion and other animals in the big wild cat family are single-minded.

Single-mindedness makes lion the typical brute carnivore it is. While it is very powerful, it’s not such an intelligent animal. It is too focused and too resilient to a fault on it’s goal and mission. Lion hates distraction, but often in a foolish manner.

The zoology expert explained that a chair, as a strange object standing on four legs, weakens the lion’s sense of reasoning when dragged to produce motion. So a lion is likely to become quiet with this trickery simply because it’s thought process has been distorted, but obviously not out of fear.

I was simply wowed by this revelation.


Are you now thinking aloud? In literal sense, your guess is as good as mine regarding reasons the Super Eagles dominated and beat the Cameroon’s Lions ‘black and blue’ in Uyo and then came out from their Yaounde den unscathed.


‘Chair’ Axiom

Seriously speaking, ‘Chair’ can be adopted as an axiom for a football team’s match strategy. It could simply represent a team’s coded game plan that can ultimately confound the opponents. ‘Chair’ as an axiom could represent the key players, including a joker, on whose experience and rare talents the coach structures his game plan and playing philosophy.

If you ask me, the Super Eagles’ ‘Chair’, for now, is the foursome of Mikel John Obi, Victor Moses, Leon Balogun and Odion Ighalo.

The foursome was a class act for the Super Eagles against the Indomitable Lions in Uyo and Yaounde. They can be Nigeria’s resourceful ‘chair’ again against the Chipolopolo in Uyo on October 7. However well the Zambia coach Wedson Nyirenda knows the Nigerian team, this ‘chair’ can inspire the Super Eagles again to smother the Copper Bullets.

MoreGoals Super Eagles!


Source: https://www.completesportsnigeria.com/super-eagles-killed-lions-chair-zambias-copper-bullets-die/

England Plan To Fast Track Nigeria Target Tammy Abraham From Youth Team To First Team




The English FA have unfolded a plan which will help them keep hold of youth internationals with dual nationality , in light of the current trend of players switching allegiance despite representing England at youth level.

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick confirmed talks are underway with highly rated Anglo-Nigerian forward Tammy Abraham to switch allegiance to Nigeria, shortly after Nigeria moved a step closer to qualifying for the World Cup in Russia following a win and a draw against Cameroon.

Already Nigeria has succeeded in luring the likes of ex England youth international Victor Moses and Alex Iwobi , with Ola Aina also joining the duo in switching allegiance to Nigeria early this year. Nigeria are now targeting Abraham who is on loan to Swansea City from English Premier League champions Chelsea.
However England have drawn up a plan to help keep the likes of Abraham by proposing to play most players from their youth teams if they are able to seal qualification for the World Cup with games to spare.


Present coach of the senior national team of England Gareth Southgate is in support of the idea as it will help the nation keep top prospects who were educated by the system, where Southgate was youth team coach before his elevation to the senior team.


**Michael James

Source: http://owngoalnigeria.com/2017/09/08/england-plan-to-fast-track-nigeria-target-tammy-abraham-from-youth-team-to-first-team/

Super Eagles Dazzler Victor Moses : I Am Ready To Take On Anyone




Victor Moses is unfazed by the prospect of competing with Chelsea new acquisition Davide Zappacosta.

Manager Antonio Conte had been in a market for right wing-back to challenge the Nigeria international in that position, and had to wait until transfer deadline day before wrapping up a deal for the Torino star.

''I am ready for the competition. We needed more players, to be honest. We have a lot of games to play this season,'' Moses told
Standard Sport.

''You can’t expect to play 60 games or so. I’m ready to take on anyone that is coming here. I just want to play my football.''

The former Italian gaffer named Zappacosta in his provisional roster for Euro 2016, but Moses believes he has a special bond with Conte and reckons that he will be the preferred choice.

The Chelsea number 15 added : ''My game has changed and it’s all down to the manager.He gave me the confidence to play in the position.

''I’m enjoying my football and I just want to say thanks to him, really. It is always good for a player when a manager believes in you.''

Victor Moses was the standout player for the Nigerian national team that got four points off Cameroon in the recent World Cup qualifiers.


**Igho Kingsley
Photo Credit : chelseafc.com

Source: http://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=24561

TheSuperNerd:
Cameroon Journalist – Leon Balogun Is Currently The Best Defender In Africa, Why Mainz 05...



The fine performance of Leon Balogun in Nigeria’s back to back
World Cup 2018 Qualifiers hasn’t gone unnoticed as it has lead to talks about his current club Mainz 05.

Balogun was the only defender who made the CAF best XI players during the course of Matchday 3 and 4 of the CAF World Cup 2018 Qualifiers, thanks to his fine display in back to back games for Nigeria against Cameroon.

Patrick Jean who covered the games between Nigeria and Cameroon on behalf of a media outfit in Cameroon says the defender will easily pass as the best in Africa, and wondered why he is at Mainz 05.

” He ‘s 29 from what I found out, safe to say he is a late bloomer but I saw a defender who can easily pass as the best in Africa at the moment. In both games against Cameroon he was immense”, Jean told Owngoalnigeria.com.

” How and why top clubs didn’t spot his potential early amazes me. He is to me a quicker version of Rio Ferdinand in his prime. His distribution from the back is faultless and the way he times his tackles especially in the box is something else.


” I asked a Nigerian journalist what Balogun is doing at Mainz 05? because I honestly believe he should be playing for a team bigger than that judging by his qualities with all due respect to Mainz 05 “.


**Osas Mahawi

Source: http://owngoalnigeria.com/2017/09/08/cameroon-journalist-leon-balogun-is-currently-the-best-defender-in-africa-why-mainz-05/

Komekn, I want to draw your attention to this article.

A Cameroonian journalist just referred to balogun as the best central defender in Africa. This same balogun has been on the bench for mainz since the beginning of this season and didn't even come in as sub in any of the matches.

Statistically speaking and by your logic, leon shouldn't be making this team but ironically he has been our saviour.

So you see, National team selection goes beyond club statistics.

Africa's 5 Representatives for Russia 2018: The Calculations Group by Group.

Group A
Current Leaders: Tunisia, with 10 points and +4 goals difference.
Contender: D.R. Congo, with 7 points and +4 goals difference.
Out: Guinea and Libya with 3 points each, stand no chance of qualifying.
Situation:
With two matches to go, Tunisia play two countries who are already out of the race to Russia -- away to Guinea and at home to Libya.
D.R. Congo face a similar match up, but away to Libya, and at home to Guinea.
Predictions:
All things being equal, should all teams present their strongest sides, the winner of the sole ticket will not be determined until the last round of matches. D.R. Congo has a higher chance of beating Libya away, than Tunisia beating Guinea away.
Hence, Guinea vs Tunisia (DRAW)
Libya vs D.R. Congo (WIN for Congo)
Tunisia will then lead D.R. Congo, 11 points to 10 points.

Winner: Tunisia will clinch the ticket as we predict they will beat Libya at home. D.R Congo will be held at home by Guinea.
Final points: Tunisia 14, D.R. Congo 11

Group B
Current Leaders:[/b]Nigeria, with 10 points and +7 goals difference.
[b]Contender: Zambia, with 7 points and +2 goals difference.
Out: Cameroon and Algeria with 3 points and 1 point repsectively, stand no chance of qualifying.
Situation: With two matches to go, Nigeria play Zambia at home and Algeria away.
Zambia after taking on Nigeria away, will play their last match at home to Cameroon.
Predictions:
All things being equal, should all teams present their strongest sides, the winner of the sole ticket will most likely be determined with the last round of matches to spare.
Nigeria vs Zambia (WIN for Nigeria)

Winner: Nigeria will clinch the ticket as we predict they will beat Zambia at home. We also predict the last round of matches to both end in draws -- we expect experimental sides to be involved.
Final points: Nigeria 14, Zambia 8

Group C

Current Leaders: Ivory Coast, with 7 points and +4 goals difference.
Contenders:
Morocco, with 6 points and +6 goals difference.
Gabon, with 5 points and -2 goals difference.
and Mali with 2 points and -8 goals difference.

Situation: Qualification is still very much open to all four members of this group.
To keep their Russia dream alive, both Mali and Gabon will have to win their next match. Mali's home match against Ivory Coast is a must win for them, and Gabon must beat Morocco away, which is possible, considering they achieved that feat away to Ivory Coast.
Morocco needs to avoid a loss at home to Gabon to keep their dreams alive, should Ivory Coast beat Mali away.
Even a loss away to Mali will not end Ivory Coast's dreams.

Predictions:
We expect the sole ticket in this group to be clinched on the last round of matches, since Morocco beating Gabon at home is more likely. Ivory Coast playing at home to Morocco in the last round, will be the decider. A draw will most likely be enough to see Ivory Coast through.

Winner: Ivory Coast will clinch the ticket as we predict they will earn at least four points from a possible 6.
Final points: Ivory Coast 11, Morocco 10

Group D (The most tricky)

Current Leaders: Burkina Faso, with 6 points and +2 goals difference.
Contenders:
Cape Verde, with 6 points and -2 goals difference.
Senegal, with 5 points and +2 goals difference.
and South Africa with 1 point and -2 goals difference.

Situation:
With the Senegal-South Africa match to be replayed, this group have become even more unpredictable. Senegal are the major beneficiaries of the replay ruling. As it stands Senegal could be the real table topper provided their win in the replay is guaranteed. South Africa's had not lost a match before their double header losses to Cape Verde. Should they continue their most recent poor form, Senegal will have the best chance to come out of this group.

Having said that, the reality still remains that any country in this group can clinch the sole ticket.

Predictions:
Senegal and Burkina have both pulled off similar results and have not been able to outwit each other head-to-head. We expect Senegal to pull off a similar scoreline - a win away to Cape Verde. But Senegal and Burkina Faso's results versus South Africa will determine everything. Should South Africa bounce back to their unbeaten form, we are afraid it may come down to the tossing of the coin to predict who will go through between Senegal and Burkina Faso. That is not to say it's impossible for South Africa to win all their last 3 matches.

Winner: Senegal or Burkina Faso
Final points: too tricky to predict

Group E

Current Leaders: Egypt, with 9 points and +3 goals difference.
Contenders:
Uganda, with 7 points and +1 goals difference.
Ghana, with 5 points and +2 goals difference.
Out: Congo

Situation: It's a 3-way race involving Egypt, Uganda and Ghana, as Congo stand no chance of qualifying here.
Ghana cannot afford to drop any more points as that may seal the ticket for leaders Egypt. But their away game at Uganda could prove a very tricky tie, as the Ugandans are no pushovers. Egypt will be home to Congo, a match they are expected to win. Should Congo do Egypt a big favor by not fighting hard like they did away to Ghana, Egypt would only need a draw away to Ghana in the final round to confirm their qualification. Uganda still stand a chance getting the maximum six points by winning at home to Ghana and away to Congo.

Predictions:
We expect the sole ticket in this group to be clinched in the next round of matches, with the last round to spare. We expect Uganda to slip at least once in their last two matches.
Egypt vs Congo (Win for Egypt)
Uganda vs Ghana (Win for Ghana)

Winner: Egypt will clinch the ticket as we predict they will earn at least 3 points from a possible 6, as Ghana have a mountain to climb in 4 points that currently separate both teams.
Final points: Egypt 12, Ghana 11

Done Deal : Former Golden Eaglets, Flying Eagles Skipper Joins Lokomotiv Plodiv




Through a statement on their official website, Bulgarian First League club PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv have announced the signing of Nigeria national-teamer Musa Mohammed.


The right back will spend the first half of the season at PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv on loan from Turkish Super Lig club Istanbul Bashkekkir.

A product of FC Hearts Abuja, Musa Mohammed spent the second half of last season on loan at Bosnian team Željezničar, for whom he made nine appearances.

In 2103, the defender captained the Golden Eaglets squad at the 2013 Fifa U17 World Cup and also skippered the Nigeria U20s in the World Cup two years later.

Mohammed has not been called up to the Nigeria squad in 2017, missing games against Senegal, Togo, South Africa and Cameroon.

Patrick Ogunsoto and ex-Olympic National Team invitee Oladele Oshobe have played for PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the past.


**Igho Kingsley
Photo Credit : MEXSPORT

Source: http://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=24555

I knew this is bound to happen, that why I was lambasting that Nigerian born BBC reporter on twitter yesterday. This dude interviewed Amaju Pinnick, then went and blasted the whole plans on BBC website and on twitter. So I really gave it to him yesterday. Some of us are not politically savvy at all.


O pari

TheSuperNerd:
England Plan To Fast Track Nigeria Target Tammy Abraham From Youth Team To First Team




The English FA have unfolded a plan which will help them keep hold of youth internationals with dual nationality , in light of the current trend of players switching allegiance despite representing England at youth level.

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick confirmed talks are underway with highly rated Anglo-Nigerian forward Tammy Abraham to switch allegiance to Nigeria, shortly after Nigeria moved a step closer to qualifying for the World Cup in Russia following a win and a draw against Cameroon.

Already Nigeria has succeeded in luring the likes of ex England youth international Victor Moses and Alex Iwobi , with Ola Aina also joining the duo in switching allegiance to Nigeria early this year. Nigeria are now targeting Abraham who is on loan to Swansea City from English Premier League champions Chelsea.
However England have drawn up a plan to help keep the likes of Abraham by proposing to play most players from their youth teams if they are able to seal qualification for the World Cup with games to spare.


Present coach of the senior national team of England Gareth Southgate is in support of the idea as it will help the nation keep top prospects who were educated by the system, where Southgate was youth team coach before his elevation to the senior team.


**Michael James

Source: http://owngoalnigeria.com/2017/09/08/england-plan-to-fast-track-nigeria-target-tammy-abraham-from-youth-team-to-first-team/

Kog45:
Chei my friend, pls don't see as craze man,am damn serious,can Busquets enter Nigeria team with d presence of Ndidi,recently old warhorse David Villa made a come back to d same Spanish team and u are telling me Mikel cannot make Spanish team.Hope to meet Spain soon,may be by that time u w accept reality.Pls are u talking about Spain of 2010 or the present Spanish team.

I was reading through until I see this.

saying that Ndidi is better than busquet sounds ridiculous. Not ear friendly at all.