₦airaland Forum

We can blame NFF all we like

B7t please what exactly is Austin Eguaveon's role in that sports setup

As technical adviser. the national teams have performed poorly.

A honorable man would've resigned but Austin isn't I guess

His only role is the rinse repeat cycle of caretaker manager for any team without a coach using outdated tactics and shady players

We have to start holding him accountable too

benji93:
Unpopular reaction to your unpopular opinion. The players you mentioned are just a tad above average by European standards. Unfortunately, we can't do better. The best of them will choose the other countries. Nigeria is currently merely a dumping ground. Besides, the world is fast becoming a global village in all facets, which means we can bring the fundamental technical training programs home. The NFF should be looking to support the domestic academies in this capacity. If your focus is to bring back foreign-born players, at the very least you will lose to the Europeans because the best in those technical abilities you mention play for them. Besides we were whooped by a team nowhere as talented. Clearly, technical ability is the least of our problems. No excuses. There's no reason to lose this badly.

Bros, Morocco isn't getting whopped by Guinea bissau on that pitch

What characterised Morocco is what I said there - a very good understanding of the fundamentals which one can only get by being educated properly in a proper academy wither home or abroad

Your onyeka, onyedika and other carpenters lack this

I'll take a team of above average European stars over local champions anytime, anyday

Joebie:
yen yen yen, same boys are midfielders in their clubs. Guinea-Bissau midfielders learned thier own from where now. usual mentality. oyibo praise worshipers.

Morocco is ranked no 5 worldwide

Most of their players (if not all) were educated in European football academies or in standard Moroccan academies

You can talk about Guinea bissau all you like b7t I don't think Morocco is getting beaten 3:0 on whatever kind of pitch they play on

Your boys are wack. Except for iwobi. Calvin and osimhen, the other have to start earning their place in that team henceforth

COOL10:
The average Nigerian football fan doesn't care about football technicality. All they know is physicality and pace. That's all they care about. Always coming up with the cliche excuse of "This is Africa. Football is played differently in Africa".

Like I keep saying, when it comes to football, technicality will always defeat physicality at least 99% of the time.


Run as fast as you want and foul as many players as you want. If you don't know what to do with the ball before and when you eventually receive it, you're not doing much more than a headless chicken.

Some of them are busy criticising me.here

But the truth still remains that technique and tactics beats raw physicality 99%

It's no wonder that Morocco who is the top african team ranked 5th worldwide have european-educated stars who learned the game well early on

Goke7:
Honestly my expectation was a draw! A loss was never what I thought of!

Just hoping this is not a set up for the coach sha!

Make una dey think na Haba!!

Who set him up??

Whio picked the players?? - Chelle
Who stubbornly refused to change formation?? - Chelle

Haba na

No be the same pitch guinea play use am score 3 goals??

Abegiii

I have an unpopular opinion that may ruffle feathers but i will say it nonetheless

If we want a thriving midfield, with good ball carriers and excellent passers with a keen mind for the game, we need to only go for players with proper academy background in European countries. The likes of Iwobi, Iroegbunam etc

These your naija boys learnt football via trial and error - playing on the streets and just mastering physicality and dribbling. They lack a proper football education and it shows when they have to play a tactically disciplined side or a top side

Things like:
When to pass
Mastering space and timing
How to go for tackles rightly
How to use the "third eye"
Properly playing with your back to the defense as a DM
How to correctly interpret the coach's instructions
ETC..

These boys don't know these things. It was pure talent and grace that brought them to Europe but now, they are failing. They lack proper football Education

If you think i am lying, how many CMs have we produced from Nigeria in the last 10 years that has gone on to be world renowned since Mikel Obi? And that's because Mikel at least is a product of a football academy which is pepsi football academy

The other ones you can't really trace their roots to proper education. So they lack intelligence and just play "anywhere belle face" footballe

You can blame Chelle all you want but these players can't give what they don't have. Personally, I'll say leave Iwobi and drop everybody else from that midfield entirely from the team. They have nothing to offer. The same goes for Bruno Onyeamechi whose head is big but his mind is little like that of a mentally-challenged kid

EElopa:
Dude, I agree with you on Ndidi, but I completely disagree with you on Iwobi. Alex Iwobi is the least of Nigeria's problems. Wilfred Ndidi, even in his prime, was neither a ball-playing nor a ball-carrying midfielder. He hides from the ball due to his limited ability with the ball at his feet. In his prime he made up these shortcomings with his V12 engine heart, world-class athleticism, and Jelaff legs that allowed him to intercept balls and win aerial duels and one-on-one battles in the midfield. It made him one of the top 10 defensive midfielders in the world back then. That leg and the V12 engine heart are gone, and he is now a complete liability for this team. Eric Chelle needs to develop the balls and let Ndidi simply concentrate on his club career. I don't see what he brings to the table now. His presence limits our ability to dominate the midfield due to his lack of ball-playing skills. When you have Ajayi and Ndidi on a team, it makes it very difficult to play smooth football due to the fact that both of these players simply cannot manipulate the football.

I am also still shocked that nobody on this message board has said anything about the stinker Ademola Lookman has dropped this window. Ademola Lookman was as bad as any player on the field in Uyo and in today's game. I cannot wait for the arrival of Femi Azeez, Yohanna, and the young German kid, Onyeka. Ademola Lookman needs to earn his place in the supereagles. Performances from him like he did this window should have him warming the bench next to Eric Chelle for a while. I have never seen or spoken to any African out here in the states that really see Lookman as an elite player. Most of them simply view him as a good player, and I am beginning to see why. How can I really view you as a world-class player when you are a NO SHOW for Nigeria on games that involved world powers like Losotho, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Benin, Rwanda, Madagascar, and Guinea-Bissau

Finally, If you have a high IQ and you can logically think, it will make absolutely zero sense to you why a goalkeeper who could not find a club even in Tanzania should be benching a goalkeeper who is a starter for a mid-table Serie A team, and Juventus and Inter Milan made an inquiry on him this offseason.

If to sa you be woman, I for kiss you for lips bro!!!!

You don finish work

charlesemeka85:
Na today I don dey tell una say Onyedika is highly overrated?

The guy is a disappointment. As I will always say, Frank Onyeka is another brutal reminder of the days of carpenters in our midfield. The guy just has brute strength wioth no football sense. He just huffs and puffs and at the end pf the day, you can't point to one single thing he does right.

lloydtruth:
These players are not the problem.

Eric Chelle is tactically poor and by the time Nigeria would have realized it, the damages would have been done.

I have also noticed that there are some paid individuals running a PR for him. They are also here.

Eric Chelle will mess up both our AFCON and Olympics chances.

Bookmark this.

I have done si

joelsteron:
I’d like to see Chelle try a 4-3-3.

Ndidi as the 6. Onyedika as the engine and link between defence and attack. Iwobi playing higher as the creator.

Onyedika is very important to this setup. We need someone who can carry the ball, progress play and give the midfield some movement.

Ndidi protects. Onyedika connects. Iwobi creates. Enough said

I tho7ght you were going to say something new

Ndidi is washed. So in 2026, you're still relying on him as a 6??

Onyedika is overrated

I thought you were speaking of guys that haven't yet been invited to play but are good enough

The annoying thing is this:

Nothing will happen. No changes will be made

Next international.window, you'll see the same crop of players. The same 4-5 midfielders

You'll now wonder why some players are lax and haven't shown improvement. Is it really thwir fault? You've shown them time and again that there is no punishment for shambolic performances. They will be called up again and again

In big 2025l6, we are stillscouting for other creative CMs and good ball holding MFs. I've always said it that I've never been convinced by Ndidi performance for our national team.

Next time, na the same onyeka, onyedika, iwobi, and c9 una go still see. Same rubbish, year after year. Hian. Them swear for una scouts?

Kilishihunter:
2-0 could have been okay now we conceded a third. These guinea Bissau team is also made up of foreign players, when super nerd said they've gotten Beto I became uneasy. As we dey find goals they will sit to hit on the counter like today. We just have to hope Madagascar takes points off them while we win our double header against Tanzania. I'm so livid with the performance of this team

Barely 2 games in and calculations don start

joelsteron:
Nwabali lacks awareness. No bias, but Okoye should not be on the bench.

As for the midfield, Chelle needs to rethink it. We don't have the personnel to keep forcing the same setup. Onyeka isn't the answer to everything, Ndidi looks tired, and Iwobi shouldn't be our deep-lying playmaker.

We need someone who can actually control the tempo and move the ball forward.

Oys, tell us the person who will control the tempo??

If you people are true to yourselves, you'll agree that Onyeka adds no value to this team
He's an Anderson Esiti and Mikel Agu with a dint of small sense
There's need for overhaul in that midfield
The only reliable person is Iwobi
You blame the pitch but forget that the guineas too are made of foreign based players playing well on that pitch
Be honest with yourselves please!!!

We dont deserve to win this March
I'm done watching
Chelle is a good coach. He can do better
Lookman, Alor Adams aren't it at all
There's need for fresh legs in that midfield

Una rush dey blame Akor Adams

The midfield is shit

We aren't escaping the beating today

Hopefully, it'll be obv8pus that we have the poorest midfield in thw top 5 teams in Africa

Unlimited22:
And I thought we are playing with three midfielders



Why is it so easy to bypass the midfield then

This here is the problem. You get it

You people are blaming nwabali but forget that the midfield has been.open since the game started
How.many chances have we created
It was bound to.happen
When we are ready to.move on from onyeka, onyedika and Ndidi, then we can talk, but till then, this isn't a championship team

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

I n9.just understand

That midfield is very pooooorrrrrrrrr

The match against Guinea Bissau may end in a goaless draw

MetalJigsaw:
You see that Adams eh.. d guy fvvck up wella. I hope he gets punished by permanently overthrown to the bench. Very annoying😡

Loll

Shebi they said he was going to venezia as an integral part of the rebuilding process
Very overrated player

AndSunGorilla:
One of the few times you have made sense (na joke o).

I think I would blame the Guinea Bissau as hosts for not providing good security too.

You dey craze

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

True but in future, make sleep sef get better protocol

Arab fans are more sinister than West Africans and I shudder to think what would've happened in a place like libya

TheSuperNerd:
The Super Eagles' arrival in Bissau was met by a passionately warm crowd at the airport.

Massive love! ❤️🇳🇬 The Super Eagles received a warm welcome in Guinea-Bissau as they arrived at Ceiba Hotel. 🏨🦅

📽️: Mighty George/IG pic.twitter.com/dvcFM87gLW

— Pulse Sports Nigeria (@PulseSportsNG) September 28, 2026

Looks cute

But very dangerous. I shudder that enough security wasn't provided. They shouldn't have been allowed to mob those players that way

chrisooblog:
I commend Charlesemeka for his insistence we cap George as soon as possible.

Kid looks to have a high ceiling and this is the time to start grooming Osimhen's successor no matter how hopefully far off that might be.

He will find his way back to European top 5 leagues I'm sure. Just needs to keep growing his game and improve his craft.

Let me leave this here for you

He shouldn't have gone to Saudi in the first place

His highest movement may be turkey. They kulu like Naija players

Elnino9:
Cho cho cho. Too much talk....

No mind am jare

Subzero047:
You always say this but he's in Leverkusen balling, one of the highest profile clubs in the SE squad

All his form.never translated to the Super Eagles
D9r the Super Eagles, he is overrated.
He should c9ntinue his social media hanger boy work

Subzero047:
I'm really disappointed in Onyedika, I don't know if it's the coach but I thought by now he would have taken over the mantle from Ndidi

It isn't the coaches fault

the guy has been overrated from day 1

TheSuperNerd:
Osimhen
Akor
Ilenikhena
Orban (when he comes in)
Awoniyi

Going forward, these 5 strikers could just be it. Any other such as Durosinmi, Tolu, etc are extraneous weight.

Bos abeg do for midfield abeg

Taking into cognizance those foreign borns that aren't yet with us but likely to come play for us

Can you think of our best 7 midfielders?

I don nearly get BP from watching today match

TheSuperNerd:
Osimhen
Akor
Ilenikhena
Orban (when he comes in)
Awoniyi

Going forward, these 5 strikers could just be it. Any other such as Durosinmi, Tolu, etc are extraneous weight.

Gbam

oloriooko:
Mali 3 Cape Verde 1
50min played

If this malian team should meet this lack lustre SE, they will sack Chelle

calm down brofootball no be math

We just need tosort out that midfield and we will be fine

AndSunGorilla:
Y u dey always focus on midfield Attack and defense nko (na dem be the real assets).

Midfield is the Engine room of any great team

Assembleing world class attackers and defenders but amateur midfielders won't do any team any bit of good

Meliforme:
Ndidi keeps coming out as the best in his role, even when we played against top teams like Portugal.
Wilfred Ndidi and Alex Iwobi completed more passes than anyother midfielder in this game, infact more than any other player. Only Calvin Bassey completed more passes of the ball compared to the duo.

Alex Iwobi creates chances and coordinates play from deep. Created 4 chances today.

What made you think that their combination brings more disappointments then successes.

Their combination is the best we can muster at the moment.

If you have a better suggestion, bring it up, let's analyse the combination potential.

Person wey never taste another woman soup go think say him mama soup sweet pass

I will leave it at this proverb