₦airaland Forum

Goke7:
We don’t deserve the guy, I pray he quickly surpasses the Yekini record and retire from the national team I don’t even care about any yeye trophy anymore. Most of the other players can’t even score when he’s not on the pitch, they need him more on the pitch to even score their own goals and yet he’s the problem. 45 minutes against Congo in the playoffs our entire attack went dead and it’s not like players no Dey o! But we keep deceiving ourselves we can do without him Oya let’s try it and see.

All over the world it’s when you have better options or good enough alternatives that you can easily freeze any player out of the team but if you have no better option you stick with you have, manage it and get your desired result. It’s only in Nigeria you’ll hear trash even when there’s no better solution just deceit upon deceit.

Osimhen is like the Mikel of 2017-2018 SE.The team collapses without him.

If we want to win trophies, we must play to Osimhen's strengths.

Sarsaparilla524:
Former Super Eagles forward Brown Ideye: “You guys should calm down over this Victor Osimhen matter. Allow the boys to focus on the next task ahead. What he said was right, but the way the message was delivered was wrong. I have seen players do more than what he did.

He should have addressed it in the dressing room, not on the pitch. But these things happen in football; it’s normal. He’s not the first player to do this, and he won’t be the last. Up Eagles.”

[One joblessboy]

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.

TheGoodJoe:
I have to comment about this Osimhen attitude issue. I am one never to hold back pointing out when a player is wrong but in this case, I understand Osimhen.

When a player is in space and the team fails to pass to him repeatedly, it turns to sabotage.

The bond in the National team is like brotherhood, so it is clear why Osimhen feels bitter.

Exactly.

It's a team sports,pass!

Of what use is it, to make those runs when your teammates cannot pass.

Blueelf:
Abeg, no ever talk this thing for public, especially inside viewing centre for warri

Haa!!

We beat Benin, a better side than Mozambique 4-0 without Lookman.

CornOak:
None of the players today were selfish. We shouldn't be creating issue out of nowhere. You think if there weren't passing we would have been scoring goals and creating tons of chances?

Most journalists have opined that the SE, would have been 7-0 up if not for missed chances.

Bannedlargejr:
Thunder faya your head. Lookman is 100% the best player at this Tournament. Let’s stop lying

Same Lookman that have had issues with the previous coaches of Atalanta.

Just try googling Lookman's issue with his past 2 coaches and his reaction to subs and taking of PKs.

He is not as cool-headed as Osimhen oo.

The last time we beat a team 4-0, was against Benin, with Osimhen scoring a hat-trick and Chukwueze assisting 2 of his goals.Frank scored the last.Simon assisted one.Lookman was suspended for that match.

Lookman and Bony partnership failed to click, because of selfish play from both forwards.


Osimhen is indispensable, but Lookman isn't


Pls do not take away any blame from him.

Bannedlargejr:
Thunder faya your head. Lookman is 100% the best player at this Tournament. Let’s stop lying

Can you drop Osimhen to the bench for our next game, as a means of punishing him for today's act?

Of course, you can't.

But Lookman can be dropped for Chukwueze, anytime anyday.

The team always collapses in the absence of Osimhen.We saw this against DR Congo.

We are yet to face a tough side in this tournament, only then will you cherish Osimhen and the X-factor he brings to the team.Case closed.

TheSuperNerd:
What a front 3.

Super Eagles on Fire!!!

The 4312 is Hell vs any team.

The coach should educate his team on the importance of team spirit.They should be more selfless;pass the ball to a free teammate or one in a better position infront of goal.
Gracias.

Mybettingtips:
He’s not the only player on the field. He should learn to control his emotions and stop shouting on his teammates everytime. He’s always throwing fist and shouting at them if they don’t pass to him.

It’s hard to play with a teammate with such attitude. Didn’t you play football while growing up?

Osimhen is the most important player in this team.

He is always unselfish infront of goal.You recall the pass from Osimhen that Onuachu failed to convert b4 scoring via FDB assist.

Lookman should be more of a team player.We are grateful, he has a knack of assisting his team mates.

Akor's is understandable because he is yet to register a goal in this tournament.

This team needs a happy and motivated Osimhen.


They wouldn't have qualified without him.

He deserves some respect from his teammates.

We are yet to play Senegal and DR Congo, which I consider the best teams in the tournament.

charlesemeka85:
Mikel was 19 when he made his Afcon debut, same as Obinna Nsofor

Uzoho was 19 in Russia 2018 WC.

TheSuperNerd:
Kenneth Omeruo was 19 yrs at Afcon 2013 when he made his major tournament debut and shone like a million stars.

Ogenyi Onazi was 20 at same Afcon 2013.

Benjamin Frederick at 20 was already bound to start at Afcon 2025 but for injury.

Will Nigeria give a 19y/o such a chance you asked?? Something that has happened and is still bound to happen.

Samuel Chukwueze was also 19 at 2019AFCON.

Blackburn medical officers say' Ryan's injury is not serious, and he could as well finish the rest of the tournament'.

Quick recovery Ryan.

Osayi is prone to blunders.We saw this is in our games against Gabon and Tunisia.

BankyGee:
Onye-Ball ⚽🏆🤳🏾

1st AFCON game, 2 goals, MOTM 🌟

Only 2 players can score Diaz last goal in the AFCON against Zambia for the SE, it's Raphael and Lookman.

We must come-up with a line-up that will help utilise the weapons we've in our Arsenal.

chrisooblog:
Yeah he honestly impressed me.

Been a a while we had a midfielder who could provide that goal scoring threat.

His limited playing time is stifling his potentials.

He started this game with caution, always keeping it simple inorder not to give away possession.

He became more confident after his brace.

Bench role has a way of demoralising a player.

Hope he starts our next game.

Another player that caught my fancy was Nnadi, his forward and diagonal passes was a delight to watch.

Both Nnadi & Raph if given enough playing time can deputise for Iwobi.

Our coaches not giving Raphael playing time, is seriously affecting his game.

From his debut up until Chelle's appointment, he has always been known for his goals and forward passes.

The forward passes seems to be lacking in his game lately.He now prefers side-ways passing and back-ward passes.

He got his mojo back, and started threading diagonal and forward passes after his brace.

We've a midfield maestro in our hands, but must give him enough playing time to excel.

We will be alright, it's Uganda not Morrocco or Senegal.

Wow.Nice line-up.

A more creative/attack minded midfielders/attackers against less fancied teams, like Tanzania and Uganda.

From his line-up, he is attacking Uganda, like he did to Tanzania.

We should expect quick, breathtaking,successive attacking/counter-attacking football.

This is similar to what Mikel Arteta did with Arsenal last season.He started Ordegaard, Havertz and Rice against mid-table teams, but Jorginho,Rice and Odegaard against the top 6 in the EPL.

Mujtahida:
It ruined us indeed. We had players who were exhausted and players who had had no game time at all.

Chelle should rest our first XI.Let the second XI start the game.

5 players from the first XI can still come from the bench, after the hour mark.

Please we should rest Ndidi to avoid fatigue, he is already 29.

We need him fresh and rejuvenated for our R16 clash.

charlesemeka85:
Seriki of Sheffield United and Alebiosu should be cover to aina not Osayi

Aina self is aging and hv just few years left to retire from the super eagles team

Seriki is a good player.Arthur Okonkwo is having a good season with Wrexham.

The boys did very well yesterday.

Onyeka is very important to this team.

Ryan should start the Uganda game.Osayi nearly caused us a PK against Gabon.He repeated the same mistake yesterday, gifting Tunisia a PK.

Chelle didn't hesitate to drop Zaidu for Bruno,he should as well do same with Osayi,
since both play for Championship teams.

We should rest Ndidi,Bassey,Osimhen,Lookman and Iwobi.

We need them to stay injury free for the Round of 16.

Chelle's line-up was spot-on, Onyeka and Bruno coming in for both Chukwueze and Zaidu.

The Right-back needs a competent player.Let's see how Ryan fares against Uganda.

Kudos to Chelle, we are into the round of 16.

victornoah:
This current Cameroon go too beat us... See intensity

In our last two meetings, we were the better side, beating them 3-2 in AFCON19' and 2-0 in AFCON23'.

Spainever:
Someone should tell the coach it is not a must for Moses Simon to play. Tell the coach to find a replacement for Zaidu. Tell Osihmen to calm down ,he is always complaining even after he missed several chances he still moan and complain. Ndidi cannot play 90mins his legs are heavy we saw him almost scoring an own goal . Coach should play the players in their right positions or sit on the bench

Osimhen did very well.His runs alone is an X-factor, including his predatory instinct on a counter.

He was too much for the Tanzanians to handle.

isan:
Since when do bashiru become a RW ?

Bashiru played RWF during his days in the Trendyol Super Lig.

yinkeys:
So it’s guaranteed
Nigeria will concede against Tunisia
That’s where my money is
Tunisia seem very clinical with setpieces

It's not the Rohr Era, where we struggled to defend set-pieces.

We've gotten better, with even Osimhen contributing in set-piece defending.

Goke7:
I think the coach panic too early, it’s not that we were even trailing and boom you make substitutions. I complained here about the timing during the game.

You’re right he needs to make the make the game breathe, from what I saw both chuks and Akor were not happy being substituted. Both of them had goals in them in that match

Tanzania is a less fancied opponent.
We can as well see other players.
You just have to be effective whenever you get to play.

BankyGee:
Una dey talk go far seff, the day wey Osimhen injure against DRC, wetin the team do... All of them dey run on Osimhen confidence.

When you take him off in a UCL game Gala collapses.

Mujtahida:
Only Calvin Bassey stands as a pillar in that defense.

If defense wins tournaments, we'll good luck to Nigeria.

He has grown on the ball.

He is now metarmorphosing into a ball playing CB, thanks to Fredrick's partnership.

We saw some of these qualities in Frederick against Gabon.

semid4lyfe:
There was no need to introduce Moses Simon.

Chukwueze was very enterprising. He dribbled, took on defenders, and tucked into the half-spaces. He helped defensively by collapsing into midfield and gave us an extra body there. He also filled that gap between midfield and attack. Every time he got on the ball, I expected something to happen.

Moses Simon, on the other hand, hugged the touchline. He slowed the tempo. He delayed transitions. He killed promising attacks by taking too many touches. No synergy with Zaidu at all. Once Simon came on, Zaidu’s game dipped. Misplaced passes. Poor decisions. Jittery play.

The team lost balance. We became predictable. Everything went wide, nothing through the middle. The press weakened. The rhythm died.

Not every substitution improves a team. Eric Chelle needs to let the game breathe and leave what works on the pitch. No be everytime you gats do substitutions. And even if you wan do, make one at a time, observe the flow of the game for some more minutes before making further substitutions.

I happy we got the 3 points yesterday but the manner it was achieved left a bitter taste in my mouth, and we must massively improve if we want to defeat Tunisia.

They started the game with a high intensity, fatigue is most likely to set-in by the hour mark.

Frank should've came on for Ndidi.It's not easy to be doing the dirty work at that age.

The subs were spot- on for me.

Except you prefer Ejuke to Simon.

TheSuperNerd:
Jury still out on how tactically sound Chelle is. Even against Tanzania we could see his midfield 2 still kinda leaves Ndidi overworked defensively with the Captain losing several duels despite his valiant effort to hold the forte.

Iwobi was brilliant offensively and creatively. Producing even 17 final third passes but defensively, he didnt help Ndidi. He made zero tackles and few recoveries. Even a free role playing Chukwueze made more recoveries than Iwobi. Lookman made more recoveries as well despite fitting in behind Osimhen and Akor on the LHS and centrally.

Iwobi should focus on creating for the team.Let Ndidi do the defending and let Onyeka be subbed in before the hour mark when fatigue must have crept in.

A MOTM performance from Iwobi.

He linked the defence and attack with ease,
hope he replicates this performance against Tunisia.

He got redcarded against them in AFCON21.