₦airaland Forum

Ooooh, Iheanacho dey pass!

LET THE DRUM ROLLS BEGIN!!!

GOOOAAAALLLL!!!

It seems the Mexican tactic is to keep possession. If the Nigerian lads don't have the ball they can't wreck havoc abi?

alala dakosta: THANKS OOOOOO, one my spanish station dey show am. make i called diego my neighbor make he come watch as my hubby no dey house

I will tell.

MAYOWAAK: At d end of today's match, Nigeria will either become d 1st to win d championship for a record 4th time in history or Mexico become d 1st 2win it back-to-back.
Anyhow, history is about to be made.

I do believe Brazil won it back to back in 1997 and 1999.

Ehm, guy abeg shift make I siddon. Stadium go soon full. Safarigirl, how you dey? Emmysteve, you sef don dey. Abeg una don see Mukina Bance?

CFCFan, I hail o! All mods in the house, i greet una o! Every, every I salute o. All protocols observed.

*sits back with gala and la casera*

Let's go Eaglets!

sauer: I understand arguments like yours. What i don't understand is why you make it seem it's only Nigeria who does this.
Ivory coast might as well have fielded old players, yet they didn't go far in the tournament. Since many a African country doesn't keep records anyways, they might all have fielded older players, or perhaps way older players, in the preliminary competition leading to this, yet it seemed to have done them no benefits. How does Nigeria happen to be the best among the teams? Could it be just the sheer quality of the side?? A quality which seemingly has nothing to do with the respective ages of the boys?? But more to do with the hardwork they have put in??
And remember, in Last u-17 tournament Nigeria didn't even qualify. What happened?? The players were not old enough??

Anyways, my point is, winning this tournament has never been about age. It has always been about class, hard work, quality of play, and sheer determination to win. The Nigerians have demonstrated this at every level and they deserve commendation for that!

You are so on point. The funny thing is when we crash out early we still blame it on over-aged players. Case in point was when we crashed out to little Oman at Ecuador 2005. Nigerians blamed it on the use of over-aged players. It's like Nigerians sometimes can't make up their mind if age is an advantage or not.

Check out my thoughts on the age falsification issue here: https://www.nairaland.com/1506923/failure-move-u17-senior-team

chic2pimp: Still a whole lot better than the god u have right there who continues to ruin your life every day u unrepentant cretin.


A pass can be given to those not born in Sweden. The majority however are and therefore there's no doubting that's indeed their true ages. By the way I'm not here to argue for or against the accusations of age cheating being thrown about. Simply just correcting the dolt who was comparing both countries record keeping.

Whilst their records keeping might be less than perfect, it is still a whole new world better than the ones kept in Nigeria. No amount of "Ifs", "Buts" and isolated cases can change that FACT!

Okay, got your point. Their record keeping might be better, but then who says we don't keep records of births in Nigeria? I dare say that the problem is not record-keeping but a collective decision (actively or passively) to cover up for age cheats, and laziness on the part of our sporting press to carry out detailed investigative journalism. I don't think any parent at the birth of their child knows that the kid will play at U17 or U20 for Nigeria such that they would decide to hide his/her birth or age. Most hospitals actually record births with date and time. Even General hospitals. A lot of parents, especially in urban and semi-urban cities and towns actually register the births of their kids at their local councils. Many of these boys when enrolling in primary school had their ages registered along with other information. I can bet you they were registered during the last population censors. Nobody knew they would play soccer to national level then. They went to school with human beings, not ghosts. People know their true ages.

The records are there (even if it is written in paper and ink) if anyone decides to dig deep enough. But we don't because we are all part of the cover up. If it was politics now they would dig it up. Or did people not dig up old documents on James Ibori and his purported previous jail term. Did they not dig up info on Tinubu and the primary school he "supposedly" attended? The records are there bro.

chic2pimp: MECHIONU!..... SHUT IT!
Only a dolt would compare Nigeria and Sweden as far as record keeping is concerned.

What record keeping are you on about? Some of those players were not even born in Sweden, but in countries like Turkey and Albania which are not as developed as you might think. Or you think every state, county and village in Europe is super-developed? Besides who say information stored in computers cannot be altered. Ever heard about witness protection programmes that can give you a whole new identity? Gimme a break. Was it not in the USA that one man kept his three daughter locked up in a cellar for over 10 years and even had babies with them. What records recorded those births? Do you know how many records have been lost to wars in the Balkans. Do you know how many immigrants have crisscrossed the different borders of Europe with children whose ages were simply declared by their parents and registered by immigration.

Keep on deluding yourself that Western age records are 100% perfect.

With the Golden Eaglets recent qualification for the finals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the UAE, the perennial question of what becomes of these talented youngsters has started to ring out again. The age long (no pun intended) argument about age falsification within the nation’s youth teams is an ever constant colossus that usually overshadows whatever laurels the U-17’s or U-20’s win.
Nigeria has won the U-17 tourney three times and has played in the U-20 finals twice, throwing up a pool of amazing youngsters that showed so much promised and left Nigerians dreaming of a strong Super Eagles that would one day win the World Cup. However, that dream is still but a dream.

One factor that most Nigerians believe is responsible for this failure to transfer youth team success to the senior level is the tendency for youth players to falsify their ages. Many Nigerians tend to ask, “What happened to the stars of the all-conquering U-17 teams we had before?” Where are the likes of Peter Anosike, Ibrahim Babangida and Sambo Choji of the class of ’93; Femi Opabunmi, Soga Sambo and Temile Omonigho of 2001, King Osanga, Macauley Chrisantus, Yakubu Alfa of 2007? And these questions are not out of place.
However, the truth is that this phenomenon is not only peculiar to Nigeria. Usually, only a handful of youth players ever go on to have glorious careers at senior level; in most cases, between three to five players per squad.

It is very easy to say Gianluigi Buffon and Francesco Totti played for Italy in 1993, Andres Iniesta and Fernando Torres played for Spain in 2001, or Toni Kroos played for Germany in 2007 as did Eden Hazard and Christian Benteke for Belgium and Borjan and David De Gea for Spain. But how many of their team mates can we remember? How many of the squad of 18/21 players then, play for their senior teams today?
Where are the promising stars of yore like Florent Sinama Pongolle and Anthony Le Tallec (France U-17 2001) who were quickly snapped up by Liverpool? Pongolle was the only one lucky to get a single cap for the senior team. What of Fran Merida and Daniel Aquino (Spain U-17 2007) who have never been capped by Spain. Merida who was once an Arsenal youngster now plays for a lowly team in Brazil. Where is Richard Sukuta-Pasu (Germany U-17 2007) who scored four goals on their way to third-place?

The same is the trend at U-20 level. You only need to do a comprehensive research to discover that most youth players from the U-17 and U-20’s, even those from winning squads, usually just fade of into their local leagues and never get more than one to five senior caps if they are lucky. Many never do.

Below are a few reasons why youth players and Nigerian youth players in particular, never make it to the senior team.

1. A Large Biennial Pool of Players
The U-17 and U-20 World Cups take place every two years. This means that large pools of about 42 youth players are showcased on the world stage constantly every two years. That is 84 in four years, and 126 in six years. So imagine Nigeria, or any nation at that playing at U-17 and U-20 consecutively for six years and producing 126 potential senior team players. How many will end up making the cut?

2. Quality Senior players often play for over a decade
The chances of youth team players breaking into the senior team is also limited because their senior colleagues usually play for many years thus shutting them out of the senior squad. How many youth players between 2001 and 2008 stood a chance of displacing Joseph Yobo, Austin Okocha, Kanu Nwankwo, Vincent Enyeama, John Utaka, Obafemi Martins and the likes from the senior team? You would have to be exceptionally talented and extraordinarily lucky to do so. In the same vein, players like Asier Illaramendi, Nacho and Borjan (Spain U17 2007) will probably never get more than the one or two senior caps as long as Xavi Alonso, Gerard Pique and the like of Xavi and Iniesta continue to play for La Roja, just like Haruna Lukman and Rabiu Ibrahim.

3. The Quality of the Local League
A lot of youth players go on to enjoy their footballing careers playing in their national leagues. So many English players that we know from watching so much of the EPL played at youth level. We watch many former youth players in the La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and other top European Leagues even when they never play for the seniors. Can we say the same for Nigeria?

Most of our youth team players end up in the back leagues of Europe simply because they will settle for any deal that will pay foreign currency. At least with that they can support their families back home.

Yes some of our former youth players like Akpan Bassy have had long careers in the local league. Some have returned home after misadventures in Europe. But how many of them do we know of? How can we even know of them when we hardly follow the league, nor do we get to watch it on television?

4. Bad Career Choices
This is no doubt the bane of many fledgling careers. Our youngsters in a bid to play in Europe will settle for anything, anywhere. From Malta to Cyprus, Bulgaria, Qatar, Vietnam and Moldova; if there is cash to be earned, our players will go. Many do not seek to try and develop their game, but instead join clubs that will only turn them into a mediocre. There is no way you can play in such lower European leagues with players who with all due respect are not of a superior class and it will not affect your game. Even players like Pongolle and Le Tallec as stated above, who played with big names at Liverpool faded away. How much more someone playing in Malta or Liechtenstein?

In reality, it would be very myopic to just relegate the reason why our former youth internationals never graduate to play for the senior national team to just a matter of age falsification. There are many other factors to be considered. Only if these factors can be addressed systematically can we hope to see youngsters like Iheanaco, Yahaya, Awoniyi, Success and the many more that will come after them graduate seamlessly to the Super Eagles.

Alright, make I rush reach house before Man Utd match start.

THERE'S ONLY ONE UNITED

Cykik: Fruastration wan kill swedin o. Make una no worry canoe dey wait 2take una home.

Lol! Na Vikings dey row am abi?

And that's all folks. Mukina, I see you.

And another! EZEHHHHH!!!!!!

SILENCE!!!!!








GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!! Fire burn devil!

If that replay is anything to go by, that was not offside.

These Swedes are beginning to hassle our boys on the ball. They are closing us down so quickly. We need to open up the game, and we need a 2nd goal.

Arosa: You be Oliver twist?

Does it konsine you? Abeg, chop your own make I chop my own. Choi, second half don wan start. Make I quick rush this food. Arosa pass me pure water abeg. Na play I dey follow you play.

Chillisauce: Abeg una come chop...half time

Correct! You fit fry egg join?

adegwurulez: nigerians funny o,no be una dey shout "let dem use wing".






no be wing mohamed the play nw wey una dey complain

hahahahaha, I no fit laugh. The truth is only a coach knows the strength of his team. Which might explain why they continually try to exploit the middle.

Smallie Eze haf pulled hamstring o!

ritababe: abeg who see my shirt, as i dey celebrate goal just now i nor know were i put am

Say what? Abeg, make una hold that shirt o. Make nobody gree release am o!

Deiok: Nigerians should try and use both wings the more.

Exactly. We've been concentrating too much on Mohammed on the right.

Chillisauce: Anytime I watch Nigerian match, we end up losing. Should I watch

Go and sleep abeg. We'll wake you up later.

AWONIYI!!!

Evestar200: Oya boys win this match for me,,,,cuz have use u guys to make alot of noise to those zambians in zamfoot

Wetin you dey find go Zamfoot you dis girl? Waka jugbe!

Wey that my VIP seat again? Match don dey flow o. No time for play play.

Omo no dulling...

Make I quick take seat against tomorrow.

THIS SEAT IS RESERVED FOR A VERY VERY IMPORTANT SOMEBORRY!!!

Back in 2003 I went for 5 days with just N6 at home. That was before I went for NYSC. Had some food in the fridge and six bucks which I didn't spend until day 6.

For folks asking Keshi to bring in players he has never worked with into the squad for these two games, you need to understand that the games are too close together for the coach to take that gamble. Its easy to say use one set for Ethiopia and the other for Italy; but what happens if a day to the Ethiopia clash, a Mikel, Emenike or say Moses cops an injury? Would the coach want to now throw in a Haruna, Azeez, Imoh or Aluko into a crucial WC qualifier at the expense of players whose capabilities he knows already? What would we say of him if those players were to freeze on the big occassion or they fail to gel with the rest of the team?

Una still dey stadium? Na wa o! Spent the whole duration of the match driving through traffic. Congrats to the Eaglets. Bring on Sweden.