₦airaland Forum

I would prefer we meet Tunisia. They would be tougher, but a successful game against them would really shoot our rankings up. Also they have a huge COVID crisis in their camp that will take out some of their most important players like Khazri for that game.

If Tunisia win today:

In our bracket, the only feared name is Senegal (maybe Mali too, they meet Senegal in the quarters if both win, one will knock out etither way).

In the other bracket, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia will all knock themselves out to meet the team in our bracket that makes it to the final.

If Tunisia beat Gambia, our path to final is clear.

minfelix:
What if Algeria beats CIV and climb to 4pts and Equatorial Guinea wins Sierra Leone and climbs to 6points...CIV/Alg will both be on 4points na

Then Tunisia would have to lose to Gambia for us to face a group E team.

safarigirl:
I don't even know if I should call you generous.

Sadiq Umar 7.5? Dude was dancing around 4.0 the entire match, that goal could have only boosted him to a solid 4.5, 5.0 if you want to be generous

His misses were criminal, so criminal, I'm very sure we can still arraign him for attempted murder, because I nearly died.

You're generous O. The rest of the ratings were good, might have scored Ndah a little higher, as well as Onyekuru, but otherwise, cool.

Na you dey talk for the video?

Haba... His poor game wasn't even due to his misses. It was due to his playing style and poor decision making. He only had two big misses, one was the one-on-one. It was clear the guy was nervous, let's cut him some slack. I've gone in-depth to analyze his game and how he's a confidence player. His gameplay is not sleek or flashy like Awo or Osimhen, but he had presence (which was something Olayinka lacked) and was very unselfish. If he can calm his nerves and sort himself out, he'll come out good.

Mujtahida:
He will never be loved. Even if he scores loads of goals. Personally I wish he'd continue to be given more time but can we afford the luxury?

Confidence players turn into beasts when they do get the confidence back. Look at Nacho at Leicester last season for example.

The problem as you have said is time. We don't have the luxury to give you ten games to grow your confidence before you start playing like a beast. Look at Awoniyi, once he got the chance against Egypt he took it hookline and sinker.

Sadiq is playing like the whole of Nigeria is on his neck to score, he is playing like someone told him that if he doesn't score, they will pursue him with cutlass. He is panicking, he feels like at any moment he could lose his spot so he is desperate and trying too hard, only to fail and get his confidence even much lower.

I remember when Eguavoen said after the first game that Sadiq's problem was psychological, I thought he was joking because wetin consign football consign psychology? Kudos to Eguavoen by the way for understanding his players so well, another reason why he is able to utilize the talented squad he has so effectively.

I think what Eguavoen shoul do is meet with the guy privately, calm his nerves. Explain to him that he doesn't need to go into games burdened, he should just calm down and play the way he normally plays.

Kog45:
Oga Joe,Ejuke and Chuckwueze dey fall my hand o....imagine I rated Ejuke than Simon but I was wronged...I always see Chuckwueze as unplayable player in GWG but so far am not impressed......the duo just need up their games cos we have Dennis,Lookman and Kalu waiting after Afcon

Collins made Ejuke look like a fool today. Ejuke was too isolated on that wing, he barely touched the ball throughout the game.

alekside:
Forget the unnecessary hype on this thread. Nwakali is a good player. His not playing in a top league is definitely not because of lack of talent. I was really impressed with his calmness on the ball.

Talented player on the ball. Very good set pieces.

Off the ball though, he has a long way to go. Ndidi was too stressed today.

For the moment, I think Olayinka is a better backup CF to Awoniyi. Strong enough, excellent work rate, nothing flashy but links up play well. Another Awoniyi but just smaller and slimmer.

Sadiq may be useful in certain games. His height combined with Ajayi made us especially dangerous from set-pieces in the first half. However the guy needs to work on himself a lot. He needs to be more fluid, add some upper body mass and learn to link up play better. He gives off this Onuachu 5 years ago vibe (Onuachu's days at Mitdjylland when he scored that goal against Manchester United).

Sadiq seems like a confidence player. You could literally feel the relief on his face after scoring that goal. Too bad he was taken off immediately after, I think he would have played a lot differently.

Problem is, confidence players usually don't do well in high-pressure situations, especially with national teams where no spot is guaranteed.

Despite his woeful performances so far, I still feel like the guy can come good.

Ppogbae:
Ajayi the sweeper

He is getting his interceptions right, but he needs to clear more accurately.

We need two subs. Onyeka in for Nwakali or Nacho. Olayinka in for Sadiq.

Ajayi has been poor with his clearances, putting us under pressure.

Olayinka CF second half.

Nwakali dey ball abeg.

Omo me sef don tire for Sadiq matter. Haba!

TheLoneCitizen:
Ramazani played as a winger whenever Sadiq was available, not second striker.

Ramazani drifted inside a lot, almost playing as an SS most times.

drDoom3:
My opinion: Iheanacho could be a Ramazani, and yes, it could work.

My only problem is work rate. None of our entire attack + midfield have a good work rate. If we have to defend, it will put a lot of pressure on the team. If we stay on the front foot though, we should bang in goals. Sadiq is a colder finisher than Awoniyi is, even as Awoniyi is a better all round striker.

TheLoneCitizen:
My opinion: both Iheanacho and Umar Sadiq cannot thrive in a two.

My opinion: Iheanacho could be a Ramazani, and yes, it could work.

TheSuperNerd:
The Lineup is here!!! Get ready!!!

Perfect lineup. Only concern is Onyeka should have started ahead of Ndidi. If not now, when?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwRBnDxR5M0

This is why we will win the AFCON. We don't have our best players, but not having a single stand-out player makes everyone play for the team. What we have is a good team all round without necessarily looping long balls to Osimhen and inshalllah like we have been doing for the past two years under Rohr.

If we can sustain this momentum, we will be a difficult team to beat going into the world cup and we could replicate Ghana's 2010 performance. Surprisingly it's not even us noticing it, it is our Ghanaian brothers.

safarigirl:
This one cannot be an excuse, not when the midfield maestro and conductor extraordinaire is spraying pinpoint passes across the pitch

The midfield will be fine, so, the forwards better pull on their bootstraps and get to scoring

The way Nwakali has been hyped here, I expect at least 5 clear goal-scoring opportunities created by him through midfield dictation and pinpoint long balls over the top. Anything less and I will be dissapointed.

fabyom:
Ghana 88 minutes winner to scale through!

You misspelt Comoros bro.

Subzero047:
Algeria was 4th behind Morocco in 3rd before the last Afcon so they were not far behind Algeria then won the Afcon and Morocco crashed out to lowly rated Benin in the group stages, Algeria then went on an additional 2 year unbeaten run, and still ended up behind Morocco in African rankings can you explain it without looking ridiculous?

Morocco too were not losing all their games in the same period na.

This Ghana coach looks like Rohr, only a bit taller. Same coaching style too.

Grozny:
How? What if we lose to GB and Egypt beat Sudan by a wide margin?

Head to head comes first before goal difference.

If Guinea had drawn or beaten Zimbabwe some minutes ago, the toughest teams in our semi-final bracket would have been Tunisia/Mali and Guinea.

Uzomacharles:
I'm above 17 to be honest cos I see no reason of lying and I once met a coach in Port Harcourt and he told me that I can never be allowed to participate in the competition cos the Host officials might rule me out saying m not up to the age and the coach might not accept due to the same reason...
This is it tho and if im even privileged to play for U21 then i will be happy

Then focus on joining a club or academy and start from there...

Uzomacharles:
Please I made my research and found out that NIGERIA U17 will be held next year and I really wanna to participate in it due to my love for football and joy to see myself representing Nigeria home and abroad...

But this is the problem, I'm a student in Owerri (FUTO) and I play for my department as winger,midfielder and striker if the need arise and I want to know if there's anyway I can connect to any trial or scout or even an agent here in nigeria?..

I'm from Eziobodo,the land which birth Emmanuel Amuneke,Kelechi Nwakali,Chidiebere Nwakali,Samuel Nnoshiri etc....
I would love to see your helpful feedbacks and also welcome for any insult too lol

You are 16 and already playing for your department in uniiversity?

safarigirl:
There is nothing more blind than voting for Alisson over Mendy, because Alisson was not even one of the top goalkeepers in the year under review.

If na clear eye Salah use vote, Alisson was not an option

So after Salah votes Alisson over Mendy, he will now go back to his club and tell them what?

This is a simple issue you are trying to overcomplicate. The priority is country first (which is even arguable), then club, then personal affiliation before continent. So you want Salah to jump the queue and vote for somebody he has no connection to other than they happen to play for countries within the same continent?

safarigirl:
So, Zimbabwe's Captain voted for Alisson over Mendy in that FIFA Best award, no wonder they are chopping bottom of the table at AFCON. No football brain, no brotherly feelings. Just otu players

Other African nations that showed their asses

Salah is more dedicated to club than continent, the eleribu voted Alisson
Tunisia's Captain, another idiot that voted Neuer
Namibia's Captain too, a whitewashed idiot voted Donnaruma
Uganda's Captain, a Mumu and more, voted Donnaruma.
Malawi's captain, na Senegal go deal with them today, that one too, voted Donnaruma.
Angola's Captain, another otondo, voted for Donnaruma

We suppose gather these useless people, flog them, especially that hating mumu Salah.

Salah cannot vote for Mendy over his club keeper... Chelsea and Liverpool are rivals, they are not from the same country too.

Joezinho:
I think Iwobi played the wide right role completely better than Chuks... He was coming infield and making Ola Aina make the wide overlap runs. Chuks was hugging the touch line and allowing Kelechi the infield space but it severely limited Ola Aina.

Iwobi's interpretation gave us an extra man in midfield and allowed to keep possession and build more without launching long balls from the back...

Villareal play a flat 4-4-2 with their wide men on the touchline. Chuks is used to that kind of set-up. Nigeria doesn't play that way. He has to adapt or he may lose his spot.