₦airaland Forum

do4luv14:
I disagree with you, why was the center open

how did their scorer saw space to unleash that screamer, even at that, why not do something to close that space on-time

read my comment below.

codemaniacs:
The midfield wasn't exposed...

SE were defensive .

The reason for the Gap is due to Ihenacho and Chuks not tracking back quickly anytime SE lost the ball.

Aina was made to attack and defend that wing due nacho and Chuks lack of pressing and tracking back so anytime Aina lost possession there was a gap because his the one that will also try to defend it..

forgiveness:
Apart from saying there was no gap, I agree with the other point you made.

read my comment properly... I agreed there was a gap...

you said it as if the midfield was permanently exposed..

forgiveness:
To be honest, Okoye messed up big time. It was not even a rocket but the dude lacks experience.

However, I reiterate the coach is to be blamed because the midfield was exposed from the blast of the whistle but he did nothing to change it until we were a goal down.

The midfield wasn't exposed...

SE were defensive .

The reason for the Gap is due to Ihenacho and Chuks not tracking back quickly anytime SE lost the ball.

Aina was made to attack and defend that wing due nacho and Chuks lack of pressing and tracking back so anytime Aina lost possession there was a gap because his the one that will also try to defend it..

Joezinho:
I have been a fan of Rohr but I think firing him was the best move..

Eguaveon did get the team to play with more urgency and to believe, that cannot be underestimated. To pay an unknown coach big money at this stage seems illogical...

All these woulda, shoulda, coulda won't change anything .History books would affirm we lost to Tunisia..
It's crystal clear Eguavoen and his coaching crew were outcoached. He failed the one real test the team faced in this tournament. Right now ,I think we should stick with Eguavoen and get him better assistants. Hiring Peseiro would be doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result..

Eguavoen wasn't outcoached..

SE was playing with inferiority complex which made them not to press and close down players and switch to a defensive pattern..

Eguavoen's mistake is not playing Tunisia with the same urgency , pressing and closing down the SE played in the group stages.

minfelix:
The super eagles I watched yesterday didn't play to defend, from the blast of the whistle we started attacking via Moses wing...jus that he was caged.

SE were "laid back" off the ball and staying in their half. If the SE was attacking then SE will have scored..

minfelix:
Thats it bro....wetit concern Mourinho and beautiful football..."oga play rubbish and give me trophy....Di matteo use defensive football carry champion league ...but anyways let still support any coach coming in especially the one giving us what we want

SE lost the match because they wanted to play defensive football.

The plan was to score first and defend which is also the plan the Tunisians came with and when the Tunisians noticed it and also noticed the inferiority complex of the SE they started to attack..

12large1:
Maybe, it would had been better if we had drawn or lost our final group game in order to humble ourselves ahead of the quarter final game. Our 100% group stage record totally initiated an arrogant attitude at the SE and made us pompous. We underrated/undervalued the Tunisians and believe that, we had won prior to the on set of the match. I just hope that, this loss can be beneficial in our next WCQ considering that our players want to redeem their-self. As for our coaches, please never underestimate the power of a balanced midfield. The midfield is the fulcrum, foundation of a team and if the midfield is imbalanced, your team could easily crumble. As for iheanacho, you have to improve other aspect of your game. I.e First touch, awareness, stamina etc if your only attribute is “finishing” and “creating chances”, you’re supposed to be played as a 9 or be dropped.

SE were not arrogant and pompous..

SE played against Tunisia with inferiority complex and that's what affected the S.E.

Barryseal:
This is so on point. You really watched the game. Kelechi and Awoniyi were strolling around the pitch in the first half. They didn't trigger the hard pressing which was the advantage of playing with 2 strikers.

Another player I failed to mention in that comment was Chukwueze..

he was also non-existent and not pressing.

they were showing the Tunisians too much respect by sitting back and defending ( and strolling like you called it )...

sometimes Awoniyi and Ihenacho tried to press but the other players were "strolling"...

PurpleHouse:
For me, the coach takes all the blames.

You know you have become too predictable. You know Moses would be marked. You know they will defend tightly. Why start with the same team, same approach, same tactics, same system?

What happens to tweaking the system to take the opponents by surprise? What happens to using Iwobi, Aribo and Ndidi from the onset?

What happens to stsrting Moses from the bench and start with Ejuke or Onyekuru?

Being too predictable with a predictable system is a recipe for failure. Because soon, your opponent will decipher you and demisticate your system.

SE wasn't predictable, SE allowed the Tunisians have possessions which gave them confidence and opportunities..

then another issue was Awoniyi was non-existent which is also due to the Tunisians having possession..

Tunisia came to sit back and defend against S.E but it was the S.E that was sitting back and defending..

S.E also had a potential penalty which VAR didn't review...

It was as if the referee was against us...

S.E did not start with the same approach, same tactics and same system they used in the group stages... In the group stages the SE were closing down opposition players from the moment the match starts but against Tunisia the S.E didn't close them down...

Zanistico:
If a donnarumma pops up, by all means replace maduka.
We don't have stellar options to pick from in the GK department. Let's stop acting like Maduka came and replaced a Manuel Neuer or an Allison because he's half German.

We have Uzoho...

Maduka is similar to Joe Hart they are both error prone and error prone goalkeepers make you lose matches...

Loris Karius never played a serious match for Liverpool after the UCL 2018 final errors he made..

for now, Maduka must be dropped..

Zanistico:
Maduka is a young keeper who gets harshly criticized by most with an agenda.
Dude loses concentration at crucial periods sometimes but he's definitely not as bad as they are making him out to be. He's young and will get better.

donnarumma is young and good...

Nigeria cannot wait for a Keeper to get better...

TheGoodJoe:

A winger must not always run with the ball. Sometimes he needs to make room for his teammates to operate.

Chuks worked with Aina, Iheanacho and Awoniyi. Made some tidy drops for Ndidi and Aribo.

Running with ball is not the only work of the winger.

goodnight..

12large1:
I told you guys on how you disrespected and called Rohr all manners of name. Now, una eye don clear small. Maybe By March, everyone eye go clear well…

If Rohr was our coach, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau may have beaten us... the only thing that could have helped Rohr is that I am 98% sure he would have called Dessers..

Nigeria lacked a pacy striker upfront and the only one we had ( Onyekuru ) he didn't play often..

forgiveness:
There was no support in the first half. Rewatch the match.

In football there's always support.. it depends on whether the player uses the support..

when you say support what do you mean

when I say support I mean players to pass to...

TheGoodJoe:

Chuks was actually sound to me. I think the coaching crew really worked on him. He made many right decisions, especially in the early part of the game. He connected with his team mates well, especially when he was in tight spaces.

If Chuks was sound Nigeria will not be over relying on Simon's Wing... It was the runs Aina was making that made Chuks look sound that's why I said Chuks played like the Fullback..

A winger is meant to:
- run into the opposition half and cross the ball into the box
- run into the opposition half and pass the ball into the box
- run into the opposition half and cut inside either into the box or just some yards outside the box.
- run into the opposition half and if can't cross, pass or cut inside then pass to the midfield or fullback..
e.t.c..

Anytime Chuks ran with the ball it led to a goal kick which means giving possession back to the opposition and unlike Simon who had at least 3 players on him, there was mostly one player on Chuks.

I'm going to crash..

forgiveness:
The both wings were used but they needed more support besides the full backs.

but Simon wing always seemed more potent.. I need to see stats because I didn't see Chuks crossing the ball at all..

the support was there but both Simon and Chuks were holding on to the ball for long and trying to dribble instead of passing back or to the midfield...

IN SUMMARY
The support was there but wingers didn't use it..

Mousup40:
chucks was poor the whole tournament. he's basically one of our worst player in this afcon

you're right but Nigeria over relied on Moses Simon's wing and Moses Simon too was feeling like Messi instead of passing back telling them to recycle the ball through Chuks wing because Moses Simon always had like 3 players on him and Chuks wing was usually free anytime the ball is passed to Moses Simon....



If Ejuke is not available then I think Dessers, Onyekuru, Olayinka, Iwobi, lookman or Amoo should start ahead of Chuks ( he looked like he didn't want to get injured ) ...

dijon:
Yes brother, i expected the coach to tweak his tactic at the beginning of that second half because the Tunisians were draging the game to suit there purpose and we played into their hands, they were not in a hurry to counter us and had clip all our dangerous outlets and were just waiting for that one opportunity to score and thereafter bring their playbook time wasting and frustrating football to play.
Our coach should have yanked kelechi off and push Aribo upfront and bring in Nwakali or onyeaka to shore up the midfield and take over the midfield lost to them at the last quarter of the first half.

they were not in a hurry to counter us at first because they were scared of us but then they noticed Nigeria was even more scared of them than they were especially due to longs ball from the defense that they kept winning and they scored...

If you have players who would rather play long balls that the opposition keeps winning than pass the ball and keep possession then your midfield and strikers will be non-existent which will lead to pressure on the defense which will eventually lead to a goal..

TheGoodJoe:

No...

Midfield support is very key to wing play. When in tight areas, the midfield provides support to help the winger keep possession, and also for touch and go movements.

you're right but for touch and go movements a player needs to pass in a triangular or quadrilateral pattern which usually involves the striker , the winger, the wing-back or fullback and the midfield..

or if there are only two players then quick one two..

forgiveness:
Either ways, the coach messed up big time.

Chuks didn’t live up to expectations due to how we played. No support from the midfield. Iheanacho ought to have been doing that but Aribo would have done better if he was allowed to play and Onyeka takes his place in the midfield.

The coach is tactically inept.

Chuks is a winger so he doesn't really need support from the midfield he needs support from the fullback playing his wing but Nigeria was more focused on Moses Simon wing instead of using both wings and Chuks was playing like the fullback today...

safarigirl:
Musa don tell una say he go retire after World Cup, no dey rush am

he has to be rushed...

we need another pacy striker.. and learn not to bench Aribo, Onyeka and Ndidi that should be our starting midfield with Nwakali, Iwobi, Amoo, Bonke as replacements..

forgiveness:
That’s true but he played badly in that game compared with today’s game.

forgiveness:
I disagree. Iheanacho ought to have come out before the second half commenced because he couldn’t link with the attackers due to Tunisia’s overwhelming control of the midfield and he couldn’t no longer press due to the yellow card he had.

you're right that Ihenacho couldn't press due to the yellow card but he can finish so its either him and Awoniyi come out before the 2nd half or Awoniyi comes out before the 2nd half and Ihenacho moves to the main striker and Onyeka moves to Ihenacho's position...

Nigeria's midfield trio of Aribo, Onyeka and Ndidi none of them must never ever be benched and Nwakali should be coming on for Onyeka or vice-versa..

Chukwueze should have been replaced by Onyekuru..

Musa needs to retire so that Amoo, Lookman or Dessers can have space...

forgiveness:
It was Olayinka that brought the best out of him. If he had played with Iheanacho, nothing go happen.

Ihenacho assisted him for his 1st goal..

forgiveness:
The coach messed up. He ought to have read the game and quickly make tactically changes but no....bros was rigid.

How long do we keep building?

the only thing he could have done was to not let Awoniyi start the 2nd half..

he can't read the referee giving a red card.. not checking VAR for penalty..

zuchyblink:
You see why Rohr decided to play safe by playing unattractive football that gives result

the same would have happened under Rohr...

Nigeria played safe in the first half and tried to play safe in the second half until they scored... then the red card...

It was playing safe that put too much pressure on the defense..

Kog45:
Oga forgiveness,there is no need to argue,some of us have pass this level....truly Awoniyi had a very poor game inclusive Iheanacho but how will you be arguing with someone that said Ebuehi would have done better than Aina...Aina who was the best in that defense.

Good that we lost than to lose to Ghana...time to pray for injuries free for Victor Osimehn,Leon Balogun,Odion Ighalo,Onuachu,Dennis and possibly Lookman....I think time is too short to get a keeper against Ghana but I want Uzoho in goal.

Lookman is not yet sure so let's give Amoo, Dessers ( I don't know why Dessers wasn't picked ) , Onyekuru , Onyeka more chances...

komekn:
No we did not.

He made one big costly mistake on what should have been a very basic routine save. I am not surprised by the match in was very lethargic he had nothing to do and lost concentration.

But we lost the game we became complacent and believed our own hype. It's the same thing we do we hype our player to high heavens.

This game was lost because we did not turn up with a WINNING MENTALITY.

Rohr looks like Klopp now compared to Eguavon.

we lost the game because of the referees and Awoniyi was non-existent then Okoye poor-goalkeeping and not closing down the Tunisian players...

Nigeria never played like they were complacent...

Nigeria played like they were scared of the Tunisian team in the first half...

If the defenders had closed down that Tunisian player he wouldn't have had the chance to shoot...

drDoom3:
This was the major problem we had.

Why did Onyeka not have more gametime? Our midfield was clearly overrun.

Aribo was almost playing as a defensive midfielder today. Someone that plays as a winger sometimes for his club.

Irrespective of the result I think we should keep Eguavoen. He looks like someone that can learn from mistakes and the football was good despite the costly mistakes we made here and there.

the major problem we had was the referee...

the second problem we had was showing the Tunisians to much respect by letting them have the ball instead of closing them and attempting to win the ball back immediately...

If this is Eguavon is going to play against "big teams" then he needs to treat every team the same just like Marcelo Bielsa..

the third problem is goalkeeping..

the fourth problem was Ekong's long balls..

the fifth problem was Awoniyi, due to Ekong's long balls the Tunisians were always getting the ball back unlike how we played Guinea-Bissau and Sudan were they were passing the ball through the middle and through the wings..

the sixth problem was Chukweze, he was playing at the extreme end of his position instead of coming lower the pitch and switching with Moses Simon and he was also playing like he was the full-back...

PurpleHouse:
We lost because the coach and the player's UNDERRATED the Tunisian team. Their mentality was weird. I took a lot of stones here while warning about this mentality. But all the same, we move.

You will fly again eagles. Another day.

We lost because of poor goalkeeping...

Nigeria did not under-rate the Tunisian... Its the opposite Nigeria showed the Tunisians too much respect...

PurpleHouse:
First in the list is too much confidence from the boys in the first half. They played like the game was assured for them.

it wasn't too much confidence from the boys...

the boys didn't show any confidence in the first half and Awoniyi was non-existent..

they played like they came to draw the match in the first half and were afraid to attack Tunisia...

then the referee didn't give us a penalty, then he sent off Iwobi for a yellow card challenge, Football is a contact sports not every contact should be deemed intentional especially the Iwobi one...

komekn:
We lost this game from the first minute.

ATTITUDE we were lethargic, languid and felt we had won the game by just turning on up.

Coach didn't do enough .on getting them the right mentality

We weren't lethargic. Awoniyi was non existent..

the referee was against Nigeria.

PurpleHouse:
Don't know what happened. I'm shocked and not too shocked.

But everything happening now was what I warned about.

The referee, poor defending and poor goalkeeping.