₦airaland Forum

Goke7:
But you were never expecting us to win anyway, why the concern?

FiveFootNinja:
I'm doubtful if Iwobi is going to get enough space to give those passes like he did against Mozambique. Mahrez will be on his case. It's true that Iwobi sits too deep to mark but Mahrez has nothing to offer defensively. He has all the time in the world to shadow Iwobi. And we know how bad it can get when Iwobi loses the ball. We need to sharpen other outlets of creativity so that just in case Iwobi is locked up we won't be out of ideas.

Mujtahida:
I said it that the new team is forming before our eyes. Add Alebiosu, Felix Agu.

If we get that Arthur, goalkeeping don set. That Lucas Zidane is in Div 2 in Spain oo.

There's that Honest Ahanor. If we can get him, the LB go gell.

Napoleon55:
Here we go again!

Prior to an important match and we are hearing this type of bunk,of NFF payments settlement drama.
As if Osihmen's case which is yet to cool off not enough,NFF comes with theirs.

If they fail to win this trophy, it's on them.

Mujtahida:
E come be like say Ejuke no dey this team. Meliforme what's happening?

zicky:
Top Player.
Player of the Tournament battle

zicky:
Top Player.
Player of the Tournament battle

Mujtahida:
Blueelf, TheSuperNerd has touched all the vital points. For added emphasis on the Iwobi point you raised, watch this analysis


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=098DZOLi5xw?si=RD8fcmKRAgB0-E7G

Goke7:
Morocco go Dey wait Una na that one gan na the real battle!

Another country that’s scary is CIV I pray Egypt stops them. I won’t be happy honestly seeing that country wins Afcon back to back I go cry sef 😂

TheSuperNerd:
Yes, Bennacer was rightly noted but below is the difference.

-Bennacer is key to their rhythm in the middle but he was also onfield for 49mins vs DRC and Algeria didnt have any progressive sequence. So in essence, Bennacer was key to them keeping the ball but not exactly progressing the ball or hurting the opponent vertically.
Even against Burkina Faso, Bennacer played 87mins but only dropped 3 final third pass entries. Most of his passes were backward or sideways.


-In Iwobi's case, he is a high volume progressive passer. And it would be bad strategy for the Algerians to have 2-3 players on Iwobi constantly bcoz he plays deep and it would mean them leaving gaps in behind which our other midfielders and a Lookman or Akor can easily take advantage of.

It is difficult double/triple-marking a player playing a bit deeper on the LCM channel and who can also pop up meters short of the final third, especially knowing you would be conceding space and giving up a lot of gaps that a Quick Nigerian offensive transition can utilise.



Now, on the Ndidi or Onyedika question. Yes, it is okay Ndidi continues his role especially for the sake of Team Chemistry already at a high with the personnel executing the 4-3-1-2 setup. I guess you ask this because of the yellow Ndidi has. Well, that brings me to my next point.

Onyeka and Ndidi are on yellow cards, yes. I understand the risk but this is why we must begin the game on the front foot which I know is Chelle's plan and is Nigeria's style so far at this Afcon. Let the Algerians be the ones on the backfoot with need to defend and try stop our forays... it is the team that is on defence constantly that is more likely to commit fouls. I repeat "more likely". An attacking team commits fouls too and could be carded if there is a dangerous turnover in possession resulting in having to scramble back due to a poor "rest defence" setup.

Onyedika and maybe Nnadi or a winger can come in when the game looks "safe" to protect Onyeka and Ndidi from picking up 2nd yellows ahead of the semis. Akinsanmiro was reported ill as at last training report so I cant count on him now.


In finality, Blueelf, you seem more concerned than usual about how we approach this game. Oga, can you please continue in your negative work? Abeg.

minfelix:
i so love this word “by my assessment”…it means you have seen a 9 where others were seeing a 6….anyways from Assessment its seems we are both seeing same thing….we will beat Algeria, but meehn they are very good, way way better than Tunisia in this afcon❤️🙏🙌🏻🙇🏻‍♀️

minfelix:
bro i can swear it that before this Afcon started in december, i already saw this group as walkover…infact i carry Tunisia for mind as a revenge say we go beat them wetin no good…you see group that will always shake me at afcon, groups like
Nigeria
CIV
Benin
Zimbabwe
or something similar to this

plss where im i not giving credit, where does is sound like im not giving credit…
we cruised pass our group stage, i gave credit and im still giving credit to the boys for now playing sweeping aside lesser african oppositions….
Why una dey vex becos i say Algeria will pose a tougher test than Tunisia 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

oh chim🤦🏽‍♀️ nairaland eeehn🤣…like in a quarterfinal match against Algeria? 2019 Afcon winners? and you say they will be a walkover like the Tunisian case?….ahhhh issokay God abeg i really hope Algeria will be a low budget Tunisia shaa

now to your FIFA ranking i so 100% agree with you…but baba people in Algeria group are regulars of Round 16 and Quarterfinals compared to ours, since this 24nation afcon started…hope you know that

TheSuperNerd:
Now this is someone who observes patterns of play as it is and not as it should be.

Nigeria's possession game seeks instant damage. It is always and repeatably progressive.

Algeria's possession game is for safety. They do little with it as seen vs DRC where they did not even get a shot off until 77mins.

There are so many analytical points in the writeup that is brilliantly stated and expatiated. This is someone who is truly watching the Afcon.

minfelix:
which one b coping again?….shey no b say na fight u dey carry come

minfelix:
After Tunisia played a 1-1 draw with Tanzania, then i knew they were not a real test😀

lexyman:
Benin and Tunisia were real tests—even Tanzania to an extent. Yet many people still don’t believe in Eric Chelle or the Super Eagles, mainly because of the failure to qualify for the World Cup.
This team has already made up its mind to make Nigerians smile again, and that’s why we’re seeing the best of their football. It’s been a long time since we saw almost 80% of the squad firing on all cylinders at the same time.
Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt, guys.
Nigeria is beating Algeria.

ECOWAS Ragnar Lothbrok

Peace is NEVER an option pic.twitter.com/RUJOvdJf4E

— SIR CHUCHO 🎖️ (@SirChucho) January 7, 2026

jihday:
I hope he’s a good player, we need to phase out Ajayi and Awaziem

EEGA:
Osimhen is the only indispensable player in SE.

We beat Benin 4-0 without Lookman (suspended as a result of accumulation of yellow cards).

Chukwueze had 2 assists in that game with only 45mins played.

Osimhen deserves some respect.

Pass the ball to your striker or it is perceived as sabotage.

Lookman shouldn't have interfered.

We've Lookman's replacement on the bench, who grabbed 2 assists against Tanzania, but non on the bench can deputize for Osimhen.

We don't need any form of apology from Osimhen.

Gala in Turkey reveres him, but we belittle his achievements in SE colours.

Till you produce a striker similar or at the same level with VO9, pls always pass the ball.

Chelle can't drop VO9, but will advise his players to always pass the ball to their striker.

Every team relies on their striker for goals.

Immediately Osimhen got injured and was receiving treatment on the sidelines,the Carthage eagles(Tunisia) raised the tempo of the game, attacking the SE left with quick transitions from defence to midfield and then attack.

He possesses that fear factor that stops defenders and midfielders from attacking (defensive cautiousness on the part of the opponent).

Go!Go!!Go!!! Super Eagles.

typicalgamer:
We were not always what ??

Our entire identity was overage players

Jam body football and kick and follow

I’m glad we’re adapting to technical football albeit slowly but still adapting all the same

typicalgamer:
DRC is playing exactly how Nigeria and Npfl used to play and win matches

Highly physical Off the ball marking

And beat you on the break with a quick counter

Now we’ve adopted technicality football at the cost of our physicality

Now we complain that our boys are tired for playing 120mins 😔

JohnBullMySon:
You’re not worth any response.

JohnBullMySon:
Otondo.

JohnBullMySon:
It is not the job of the captain to be cautioning anybody during the match. That’s why we have coach. This is not local football.

The only time any player should raise their voice on another player is to call their attention esp during set pieces. There’s absolutely no place for a pro player to be cautioning his fellow teammate on the pitch. That’s amateur nonsense you find in Ibadan or Onitsha street football.

NasirIbnLaAhad:
As good as Nigeria has been in this AFCON, we must not get carried away. The truth of the matter is we haven't truly been tested yet. Mozambique were a good side because they were well coached. Their individual talent though was always suspect, and many of us already knew how porous their defense was, so conceding that many goals against Nigeria wasn't that much of a surprise, as delightful as it was to see. I shudder to say this, but our run is starting to look eerily similar to PSG's dominant run last year at the FIFA Club World Cup right before they encountered Chelsea in the finals. God forbid that we share similar fate. This AFCON is a must-win for us, as we don't have a World Cup to participate in (I know the DRC case is still under review, but I'd rather err on the side of caution).

Nigeria should prepare for opponents who might employ Chelsea's blueprint against PSG last year - intense pressing to disrupt our rhythm. Expect aggressive man-to-man pressing in our next couple of games. Eric Chelle need plans to play through or around aggressive pressing. Don't rely solely on overwhelming opponents. Majority of the "minnows" in quote, have been knocked out. It's mostly the big dogs now. As the tournament progresses into semifinals and finals, teams will be more evenly matched. While our attack is excellent - and by far the best in this tournament, we need to maintain a compact defense. I'm happy that Bruno and Osayi seem to playing better, but truthfully neither have really been tested. Plus many coaches have seen enough of our games in this AFCON to study our pattern. For instance, you'll notice that Iwobi always falls deep to get an accurate picture of the game, before slotting in those insane low ball crosses into the opponents half. An intelligent coach will find a way to neutralize him. Chelle must be prepared for opponents who study his patterns.

Dominance in earlier rounds means nothing if you can't adapt when a well-prepared opponent disrupts your gameplan.