₦airaland Forum

Mujtahida:
Is the guy that good?

He is better than Omeruo and plays for Wolfsburg.

tbaba1234:
If Tunde Adelakun talked about Felix Uduokhai, then it is most likely him... If true, that will be exciting news.

It would be nice to have him as a back-up for Leon but we also need J.Torunarigha and Dominic Iorfa Jnr before the WC.

Lamiri:
Onauchu is probably a Striker the team needs to call up

We also need to give a call-up to Club-Brugge's Bonaventure and Utretcht's Cyriel.

Icon79:
You made a good point! If I am advising Rohr for the World Cup, I will ask him to play Mikel and Ndidi (Onazi) as DMs and play Iwobi in AM. This would help solidify our defence, while unleashing the creative ability of Alex Iwobi. But to play this formation successfully, we'll have to deploy a 3-4-3 formation (with two adventurous wingbacks). I am not sure that we currently have them.


O pari

We can play V.Moses and Shehu(Etebo) as wing-backs,Leon,Ekoong and Awaziem as CBs in a 3-4-3.

Icon4s:
Someone said here last night that he will like to see the reactions of Zambian fans.

Well, here we go: Scroll down to the comments after the match report:

http://zambianfootball.co.zm/zambia-2018-world-cup-race-loss-nigeria/

Those guys are blaming Ngoga for failing to convert a one on one chance with the goal-keeper on our own part, we need a very good nine who is clinical in front of goal and helps in build-ups.Am not fully satisfied with Ighalo.We need to try out Dennis Bonaventure and Cyriel Dessers against Algeria.

Danielnino00:
My people lemme not lie ehn... . It was a tension soaked game . I missed a large part of the first half cus it was raining and DSTV signal dy f**k up.. ;
Here's my thought on the game..

1) The Zambians were good. I must confess,they gave us a run for our money. speed everywhere. That goal they scored might not be an offside though (But I don't care ). If they keep it up,they might make it to Qatar 2022

2) I never knew that Iwobi had that much speed oo.. . . the way he ran at the ball after that Zambia corner gave me joy .. His goal was class!! his celebration was wow . To be honest he is a sure starter in the team.. he has more footballing brain that Simeon Moses

3) We were wasteful today.. We could have been 2-0 up by half time had we converted our chances.. If not for Onazi injury, Rohr would have brought in Nacho. we can't rely on Ighalo all the time.. he has shown that he is an unreliable striker..

4) Apart from Echijele, our back four are quite solid..Balogun and Ekong are the real deal,no argument . And that Shehu should get the hell outta Cyprus , I might be wrong tho,but he seem too good to play in that kinda league..

5) Aina got his chance, and he made good use of it . Too bad Moses couldn't convert his cross.. Moses was kinda selfish today though with some unnecessary dribbles. I hope Aina get his chance in hat role against Algeria

6) Mikel is the Igwe . .I used to be a proud member of the "Slowobi" crew but Mikel's recent performance in the team since Rohr took over has proved me wrong..Currently I don't see any player that can replace him in the SE team.. his leadership quality is another great motivation in the team.

7) I'd like to see this lineup vs Algeria next month..
Alampasu.. Aina ... Awazeim...Agbo...Ebuehi
Etebo.. Ogu...Agu
Onyekuru... Iheanacho... Iwobi

An invitation should be extended to Cyril Desser and Dennis Bonaventure..





I almost slipped on my way back from the viewing center today the ground was too slippery..



*Modified*

I think an invitation should be extended to Tiago Ilori too for the Algeria game...Otherwise Baba Ilori(forgiveness) might vex

We can't rely on Ighalo and Iheanacho.We need to try Cyriel and Bonaventure.Those two have had their chances.We also don't need an Iwobi against Algeria because he has proven himself.

poshemmanuel:
Rohr should play mikel for 90 minutes..We need him to play full 90 minutes.

Mikel is not that fit to play for more than 60 mins.

We have Iwobi or Etebo to replace him.

forgiveness:
He is not eligible for the under grade teams.

Besides, he can dispose the ones you know.

dispose Moses Simon,Iheanacho or Kayode?

R2bees:
what if Nigeria draw Zambia match and lose to Algeria??

Bro,pls stop.

forgiveness:
This is the time to lure him to play for Nigeria because by the time he starts playing, you will see what he is made of and it will be too late to get him.

I think we should concentrate on getting quality back-ups for our defenders because in that role, we already have Cyriel,Dennis Bonaventure,Kayode,Iheanacho and Ighalo.

Out of these only 3 might go to the WC.

Kog45:
Yea Michael2 has a lot of reservation on this team and he has been saying it that d team lack cohesiveness,meaning they don't play as a team but always bank on individual brilliance but I believe after qualification,things w take shape.

Truly if u look at it critically our match against South Africa confirmed his opinion,with absence of our key players we lost d match meaning we don't have a strong squad yet.

If i may ask can anybody go to sleep with d absence of Mikel,Moses v,Balogun against Zambia.It was glaring this individuals make d team thick but it should not be obvious.

I try to prove a guy wrong here when he said we did not missed Balogun,Moses V.against Zambia forgetting that Omeruo was able to stand in,though that stupid error ruined his rating,he had a good game even than Ekong.Brown Ideye was able to raise his game and had a good chemistry with Nacho,Mikel, Iwobi.So with their performance we did not feel d absence of Balogun and Moses.

Rohr just need to fix things up before world cup coz we need a good squad in case of anything like injury,right now i don't see any capable replacement for Balogun in d squad

We need Felix Uduokhai,Jordan Torunarigha,Dominic Iorfa (Jnr).The NFF should get this guys before the WC.

Mickael2:
in the first 5-10mins against Cameroon Moses was playing RWF. Still on still, an overload can still be created, just that one of their Amf will come into the equation. Moses will be too concerned with the opposing RB to notice

S.Moses also tracks back to help his full back.

Mickael2:
I see light, well MAINLY light but some darkness still and I will explain why.

I have seen some people saying we can sit back if the Zambians sit back forcing them to come out and play, home ground does not support that. If I pay 5k to sit in the VIP corner and you are playing 0-0(plus a boring game) after 60mins, I will join and start chanting 'all we are saying...' and if you have been in that situation before you will run mad, and go all out attack forgetting what the coach said, this is what happens to Madrid, once it's 60mins and they are yet to score, the boos start ringing and the players get disorganised and become easy picking. If Zambia can withstand our attack till the 60th minute mark we are in trouble.


Another point, the coach is going to show them some clips of that first leg. Trust me the Zambians had 3-4 very good chances that should be put away, if they have a proper team psychologist he will point out the fact that they have become more clinical since that match(I think they beat Algeria with only 2 shots on target), that is a nitro-level confidence booster. There mindset will be if we can create just that same number of chances like we did in the first leg, considering the fact that we are more clinical now and their gk is worse than ever, we may be able to put one away and hold out for the remainder of the game. If they score the first goal we have a big problem, I am not sure we have won a game that we conceded first under Rohr, he is not a tactical genius.


Also, they may watch our clips from their first match against us down to our last match and notice one thing, our midfielders(Mikel is included) all take atleast 20mins to settle into any game and that is a bad omen. If they can take advantage of that by attacking through the middle instead of the wings in the first twenty minutes then they are sure of two good chances, that is assuming Onazi remains Onazi and is caught out of position a lot of times in the first half and Ndidi remains Ndidi who would rather concentrate on attack rather than defence.


Finally they will watch that first leg again and discover that their lord and saviour(Echejile) who provided them with 3 good chances in the first leg is still our LB. Now Leon is a good CB, but he is different from Omeruo in the sense that he is always quick to rush out whenever a player beats his LB, now this is not really a bad thing but with proper tactics it becomes a bad thing. Create an overload and Leon is dinner, that is let the RW beat Echejile and while Leon comes out to mark the RB runs past Leon and receives a pass, that means Leon is out of the equation and assuming Onazi isn't back covering they have a safe passage to our 18.

Now they have to pray that all these things go according to plan and they must remain clinical. If after the first twenty minutes they haven't scored then they should pull back and choke every attack and wait patiently for that 60-70th minute mark. All in all this will not be a blowout, quote me anywhere. You do not destroy Zambia, it is impossible, highest two goals, you do not see them at the wrong end of a proper hiding

Our LB is our weak link.

You forgot to add that V.Moses plays the LW and just like S.Moses was instructed to track back to help Shehu,V.Moses can also help Echiejiele better because he plays as a wing-back for his club.

zuchyblink:
How to beat Nigeria : defend and counter attack. Ghana knows how to do it. Am afraid, Zambia may adopt that

SA did that and it worked for them because we had Awaziem and Ekoong,no Balogun,Etebo as AM ,no Mikel, Iwobi as Lwf,no victor Moses and Iheanacho as CF, no Ighalo.

No team in Africa can beat us with our stars present.U can't frustrate a team with Mikel,Balogun,Vic. Moses and Ighalo.These players are experienced and know how to approach such team tactically.

mumemma:
My Fears as Eagles-Zambia Clash
I will not mince words in saying I am not comfortable with the feeling about Saturday’s game. We all are so relaxed and at ease. I am worried,really worried. It will be tasking on Saturday and we cannot just make an easy win. I can bet on that.
We all got excited after the Cameroun win but hey, football can be funny sometimes. If we are all sincere, we had a below par performance at Yaounde and mother luck sailed us through with a draw. Then look closely at the Uyo encounter, I can say I am not convinced yet. For a while Cameorun had some good play over us.
Saturday will not be easy. The Zambians are red hot….They were quite unlucky at Ndola. This is ganna be more difficult that Cameroun clash. I warned you all. We may not get more than a draw…..
The South Africa game experience lingers…….
Just a little out of the box….Abeg where Efe Sodje and Furo Iyenemi dey sef? We need them to back up our defence o..lol

Yeah,our performance was not up to par in Yaounde because the game was played 3 days after the Uyo game,Substitution of Mikel for Mikel Agu and Hugo Broos dropping his stars to the bench,thereby capitalising on the fatigue of our players by playing his star strikers in the second Half.

This game is different because we now have Iwobi to replace Mikel and Zambia will start their stars in Uyo.So,we have all it takes to win the game in the first -half.

Ogenyi Onazi starts for Trabzonspor against Besiktas away from home.

Mickael2:
I think Iwobi played very well today as part of a front three playing out wide. It is just a matter of what the coach wants and if he wants to retain possession(like I know he will) then Iwobi for me, we don't need two wingers who will be trying to play totally on the wings. In context this was how Barca won their last treble, Neymar was stationed out wide as the only true winger on the team(VicMo can do that) while Messi was always coming into the midfield as a midfielder and of course Messi does not exactly track back(almost identical to what Iwobi can do). I think this system will work wonders if Ndidi can be technical enough to cover Iwobi's wings when we are without possession just like Rakitic used to do(Onazi should not do it at all because that will leave an empty space in the middle)

Nice,but not for a match of this magnitude.
We need to qualify in Uyo .
No experiments.

maidaboi:
My boy denis has score keep the fire burning boy

He wants to go to the WC.

Napoleon55:
between IWOBI and MOSES SIMON,who starts against zambia?
@Icons,Goodjoe,Mickael2,Goldfish80,forgiveness,etc
for me i will go for IWOBI

S.Moses starts,Iwobi to replace Mikel in the second half.

After qualification,we can consider playing 2 AM's (Iwobi and Mikel).

I prefer Iwobi to Ozil because to me whenever he starts Arsenal wins or draws.

tbaba1234:
Kayserispor 3 - 1 Bursaspor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uXiMMh91b0

Ekoong scores again. About five months back it was Ndidi.
Nice improvent.

forgiveness:
Why is Kayode not on the list? I am suspecting foul play..

A striker is expected to score when he plays.Has Kayode ever scored for the eagles?
Kelechi was dropped to the bench after his performance against SA.

If a striker is invited to the Super Eagles team, he is expected to score.

Onyekuru was dropped to the standby list because he failed to score against Corsica and Ebuehi dropped because he handled the ball in the box in the same match.

Modified:He should bcom a regular starter and score many goals for Girona to be invited for the WC.
There is no need having a back-up who will not score when the main striker fails to score.

TheSuperNerd:
Words of a Zambian football fan ahead of the Nigeria-Zambia Cracker in Uyo

Courtesy of Zamfoot.con

Musonda says:

September 8, 2017 at 9:51 am

Beat Nigeria in Nigeria? Why do we like deceiving ourselves? Is it because they lost against South Africa? It was clear they underrated Bafana Bafana. More than five of their key players were absent in that match. Did anyone watch Nigeria against Cameroon over the two legs? They are currently unplayable at home with Moses, Mikel, Balogun, Simeon, Ighalo, Ndidi, Iheanacho, Musa and Iwobi. They are so dangerous when going forward and comfortable defending.

That Balogun is the best centre half in Africa right now. And no player in the Chipolopolo can stop Victor Moses and Ighalo. I don’t want to raise my hope. We are meeting Nigeria at a wrong time. I don’t see us winning that match, period.

Copied from http://www.zamfoot.com

This reminds me of the words of a South African journalist before the South African Match.

safarigirl:
Leicester playing a 4-4-1-1 formation

Kelechi plays behind Vardy

Kelechi as "SS", nice competition.Kelechi vs Onyekuru.Rohr should try this formation in one of our friendlies.

solonnachi:
I think Rohr wants to resurrect his coaching career with Nigeria. He wants to use Nigeria to make a global statement that he isn't a failure after all with his stints in certain African nations. He doesn't really care about the salary because he knows how the African football administrative system works with his coaching experiences in Niger etc. I heard a report that he owns a hotel in France. I don't know how true it is sha. But I think he is fortunate to coach one of the most talented national teams in Africa at the moment. If he qualifies Nigeria for 2018 world cup, I think he would be unstoppable!

Exactly,we will manage a quarterfinal finish with him.

An average Chelsea team beating Quarabag 3-0.

Nigeria and Cameroon face off at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on Friday, in the first of two crucial FIFA World Cup qualifiers in three days.

What could the coaches -- Gernot Rohr and Hugo Broos respectively -- be thinking tactically when both teams renew their rivalry? Here are five key individual battles the bosses will be keeping in mind.

Ikechukwu Ezenwa vs. Vincent Aboubakar

Nigeria goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa could not have a trickier baptism of fire as he looks to stake a permanent claim on the Super Eagles number one jersey. The FC Ifeanyi Ubah stopper will be in the direct line of fire of red-hot Vincent Aboubakar, a striker who has already netted four goals in four games for FC Porto this season, including a hat-trick against Moreirense.

Aboubakar is not usually the most potent goal scorer for the Indomitable Lions, with 18 goals in 60 appearances, but he does pick his moments to deliver. A typical example is his AFCON-wining strike against Egypt this year.

Ezenwa needs to earn his pay on the day when faced with the very experienced Aboubakar, but with adequate cover from the defensive duo of William Troost-Ekong and Leon Balogun, he should possibly see out the Aboubakar threat.

Wilfred Ndidi vs. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting

Two Premier League 'giants' will slug it out in a potentially decisive battle. Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi will be tasked with the responsibility of man-marking Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, the 6 ft 3in forward from Stoke City who complements his height with pace.

In the absence of Jacques Zoua, who played a withdrawn role behind the main striker during the AFCON triumph in Gabon, Broos is likely to deploy Choupo-Moting, a player more naturally suited for the job.

Ndidi, one of two defensive midfielders to be fielded by Rohr on the day, needs to track the run and movement of the man who will play in the 'hole' for Cameroon. Failure to do so will afford both Choupo-Moting and Aboubakar an easy linkup, an outcome which could be damaging on Nigeria's defence.

Elderson Echiejile vs. Christian Bassogog

Christian Bassogog embodies the Indomitable Lions' biggest threat moving forward, and he could be in for a profitable day against Elderson Echiejile, a player, who despite earning 53 international caps for Nigeria, has never really convinced his critics.

China-based Bassogog is a player blessed with stamina, skill, and pace, qualities he will fancy using to his advantage against left back Echiejile, who is not known to be the quickest defender, and often displaying poor positional sense.

John Mikel Obi vs. Sebastien Siani

John Mikel Obi has recovered just in time from a long injury layoff to make the Super Eagles squad for this game. The veteran captain has rolled back the years in recent outings for the Super Eagles, with Rohr preferring to utilise him as his most advanced midfielder in a three-man setup, a decision which saw him score in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Algeria earlier this year.

His fitness level could be put to test when he comes up against Sebastien Siani, a hardworking midfielder who covers just about every blade of grass on the pitch. Mikel is a player renowned for his intelligence on the ball but not his mobility, and he could be in for a huge test against the 30-year-old KV Oostende man, who only made his international debut in 2015 against Nigeria, but has developed into the driving force in the Indomitable Lions midfield.

Odion Ighalo vs. Fabrice Ondoa

Striker Odion Ighalo has been handed an international lifeline as a result of his recent goal-scoring form in the Chinese Super League with Changchun Yatai. The Nigerian forward has good memories of facing Cameroon, netting the second of his three international goals against the Indomitable Lions in 2015.

He comes face-to-face with an inspired Fabrice Ondoa in goal for Cameroon, a young goalkeeper who is the latest in the line of successful Cameroonian shot-stoppers. A major weakness for Ondoa is his lack of height, and his questionable ball distribution could be his Achilles heel.

Ighalo needs to pressure the goalkeeper at every given opportunity, which could force him to make mistakes, and the striker must ensure he is clinical when presented with even half a chance.

Nigeria vs Cameroon: Indomitable Lions’ game plan revealed
dailypost.ng Aug 31, 2017 6:27 PM

Head coach of the Cameroon national team, Hugo Broos, has given a hint of how he will set up his team against Nigeria, in tomorrow’s 2018 World Cup qualifier in Uyo.

Broos, who initially said he was targeting a point from the game and all three points in the reverse fixture in Yaounde, insists his team will play the game based on the players at his disposal.

The coach is without some of his first-choice players and has ‎warned against attacking football.

“We have to worry about stopping them from scoring before we think of scoring ourselves. Yes we are not going to defend in numbers but we won’t go all out attacking as well. It could be counter productive.

“We know Nigeria has pace in attack, we have to nullify that threat and hopefully it will work out well for us. It won’t be easy but we are not scared of Nigeria,” Broos said on Thursday.

Highlight Of Super Eagles Training – Victor Moses & Mikel Show Class But Aina Steals The Show
mobile.nigeriasoccernet.com Aug 31, 2017 1:00 PM

The Super Eagles of Nigeria are expected to round up their preparations for tomorrow’s World Cup 20V18 Qualifiers clash against Cameroon later this evening.

Owngoalnigeria.com Osas Mahawi who witnessed their open training session and also gathered reports about their close door session held yesterday brings us his reports.

1. Victor Moses Will Be Key

He has shown his class in all their training sessions, his abilities on the ball is extraordinary, and that’s keeping it mild. So far he looks the real threat in the attack of the Super Eagles ahead of tomorrow’s game.

2. Mikel Obi’s Class Is Permanent

The captain of the Super Eagles of Nigeria John Obi Mikel appears not to have lost the quality that kept him at Chelsea for ten and half seasons as he has turned out impressive performances since the start of training.

Mikel’s link up play with Ndidi in the middle was one of the highlight of yesterday’s close door session as the team perfected their strategy ahead of tomorrow’s clash.

3. Ola Aina Is More At Home As Right Back Than Left Back

The latest in the line of players who have represented other nations at youth level but opt for Nigeria at senior level. Although his debut is still in doubt as he is yet to be cleared by FIFA, he has so far distinguished himself in training.

However he appears more comfortable playing as a right back than left back during the sessions witnessed by owngoalnigeria.com. Although he didn’t do badly as a left back, it’s clear from his performance that right back is where he can be truly efficient.

Nigeria Vs Cameroon Preview : Moses & Iheanacho Key, Aboubakar Exposed, Strengths &Weaknesses
allnigeriasoccer.com Aug 31, 2017 9:33 AM
Nigeria Vs Cameroon Preview : Moses & Iheanacho Key, Aboubakar Exposed, Strengths &Weaknesses

Back in November 2016, Indomitable Lions of Cameroon’s coach Hugo Broos had said it was hard to find any weakness in Super Eagles.
The Eagles had just defeated Zambia 2-1in Ndola and Algeria 3-1 in Uyo, their first two games of the 2018 FIFA world cup qualifier and were poised to take on Cameroon who were in the same group B but were yet to pick a win, with two draws from their opening two games.

Hugo Broos had told reporters that he was lucky his team would not be facing the Super Eagles until eight months later.

''They (Super Eagles) are on a high, hard to find any weakness in them at the moment, maybe we are lucky because we don’t play them until next year.

''Hopefully we would have built up confidence to explore any weakness,'' he said.

Between November 2016 and August 2017 Cameroon played 13 games while Nigeria only played just four matches.

During this period, Cameroon also emerged Africa champions having defeated teams like Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Egypt on their way to winning their fifth AFCON title in Gabon 2017.

As African champions, they represented the continent at the FIFA Confederations cup where they drew 1-1 with Australia, lost 2-0 to Chile and also lost 3-1 to world champions Germany to crash out at the group stage.

The Super Eagles on the other hand drew 1-1 with both Corsica and Senegal, beat Togo 3-0 all in friendly games and lost 2-0 at home to South Africa in a 2019 AFCON qualifying game.

Buoyed by his team’s progress in eight months, Broos now has a new message for his 2018 FIFA world cup qualifier opponent.

''We won the AFCON trophy in style beating teams like Senegal, Ghana and Egypt in the final.

''Considering the pedigree of the teams I mentioned earlier are either better or same as Nigeria, it’s normal that if we can beat them in a tense situation like at the Cup of Nations, we should also be confident we can beat Nigeria''.

The Cameroonians are known for their robust kind of game, offer a lot in terms of physical strength and are more of a defensive unit than an attacking force.

Defender Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui was the top scorer for Cameroon when they won the AFCON in January, he scored two of the team's seven goals in Gabon.

Since the cup of nations triumph, Cameroon have managed just five goals in seven games with FC Porto forward Vincent Aboubakar responsible for three of the goals.

Aboubakar’s attributes as listed byWhoscored.com include; ''likes to play long balls, likes to cut inside, likes to do layoffs, likes to dribble, indirect set-piece threat.''

Aboubakar is a beast when allowed to run at goal one-on-one with a defender, his pace and ability to shrug off defenders stands him out against teams like the Super Eagles of Nigeria who are not comfortable playing against physically demanding opponents.

His goal in their 1-0 win over Morocco about a month ago is a typical example of the threat he poses when given the chance to make a dash at goal.

So far this season Aboubakar has registered four goals in four games for FC Porto.

He is likely to be flanked by Christian Bassogog and Benjamin Moukandjo who both play in China.

Both are not good ball handlers but have blistering pace that could trouble Shehu Abdullahi and Elderson Echiejile who are likely to play the right and left back positions for Nigeria.

Cameroon’s defense is marshaled by Michael Ngadeu Ngadjui of Slavia Prague, and Adolphe Teikeu of Sochaux, both in their late twenties and stand at about 190cm and 189 cm heights respectively.

It will be a futile bid to go into a physical war with the Cameroonian defenders because there can only be a
winner, instead it will be wise for Super Eagles ‘coach Gernot Rohr to play players like Kelechi Iheanacho, Odion Ighalo and Victor Moses who can sneak behind defenses undetected.

The presence of John Obi Mikel is very vital in this game, because without him the Eagles struggled to create against South Africa.

The Eagles attackers should also play to earn penalties (Victor Moses our best bet).

I have no doubt that a midfield comprising of Obi Mikel, Ogenyi Onazi and Wilfred Ndidi can hold their own against Arnaud Djoum, Sebastien Siani and Andre Anguissa but what am not sure of is if William Ekong ,Abdullahi Shehu , Leon Balogun and Elderson Echiejile can afford not to make costly mistakes in the Eagles defense for 90 minutes.

Nigeria top Group B with six points after two matches while Cameroon have just two, with only the group winner qualifying for the World Cup in Russia next year.

Also, no one should celebrate Cameroon’s recent off the field issues because they have shown they can stand tough times.

In January 2017, Cameroon won their fifth Africa Cup of Nations title without seven of their regular players : Liverpool defender Matip, Allan Nyom of West Bromwich, Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana, Guy Roland of Nancy, Andre Zambo Anguissa of Marseille, Maxime Poundje of Bordeaux and Ibrahim Amadou of Lille.

Super Eagles, if playing at the FIFA world cup Russia 2018 is not enough motivation for them to beat Cameroon on September 1 in Uyo, how about winning for late Sam Okwaraji or in tribute to Eagles’ first choice goalkeeper Carl Ikeme who has been diagnosed of acute leukemia.

Bunmi Blair

Eagles wear T-shirt in support of Ikeme.

5 things we learnt from team's training session

pulse.ng

Aug 30, 2017 3:55 AM

These are five observations made at the training session of the Super Eagles on Tuesday.



The Super Eagles had a training session on Tuesday ahead of Cameroon's game  (Twitter/Super Eagles)

23 players trained at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on Tuesday, September 29 as the Super Eagles began preparation for their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Cameroon.

Following the arrival of the likes of Victor Moses, Leon Balogun and John Ogu on Tuesday morning, coach Gernot Rohr had his full squad for training later in the evening.



John Mikel Obi tackles Wilfred Ndidi in training  (Twitter/Super Eagles)

The training session started with some fitness run and stretches led by the fitness coach before the players were divided into two for a game of one-touch football.

The team with the highest number of consecutive passes won the tie. After that, the goalkeepers who were working on their own joined the rest of team for a training match.

These are five things we learnt from training

1. Aaron Samuel is needed against Cameroon

CSKA Moscow forward Aaron Samuel was called up to the squad following the injury toAlex Iwobi. The forward trained with the team on Tuesday and it was clear why he is a better choice for the Super Eagles for the games against Cameroon than Iwobi.

The CSKA Moscow man was menacing in training; fast with a good left leg and a physical presence, his is the type of striker that can trouble the Cameroonians. Why Iwobi’s place in the Super Eagles is not under question, Samuel needs to be on the team more often. Well, he has to prove that he deserves call-ups like this in games.

2. Super Eagles new goalkeeping coach is seriously working on the goalkeepers

New Super Eagles goalkeeper trainer Enrico Pionetti was seriously working on the goalkeepers for most of Tuesday’s training session.

Pionetti spent most of the evening working with Daniel Akpeyi, Ikechukwu Ezenwa andDele Alampasu separately from the group.

After Akpeyi’s horror show in June’s home defeat to South Africa, Pionetti is trying to make sure the Super Eagles goalkeepers don’t suffer a similar fate.

3. Elderson Echiejile is the only left-back in camp



Elderson Echiejile  (Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)

Echiejile, it seems will be one of the first names in the Super Eagles starting XI as he was the only left-back in the camp.

During the training match that was played, it was clear why he keeps getting games for the Super Eagles.

In the training match, Tyronne Ebuehi, a right-back played in left-back for one team while Echiejile played for the other.

Judging from Echiejile's last few performances for the Super Eagles, competition is needed in that position.

4. William Troost-Ekong and Leon Balogun central defence pairing tried out



The Super Eagles had a practise match in training  (Pulse)

Rohr seems to have decided on the Troost-Ekong and Balogun pairing in central defence which he tried in training.

Although they conceded a goal courtesy ofOdion Ighalo, Ekong and Balogun played well together. They communicated well and showed signs of a good partnership.

5. New boys settling in well

The likes of Ola Aina, Anthony Nwakaemeand Ifeanyi Matthew got their first training session with the Super Eagles but they did not look out of place.

The boys hit the ground running and it was good to see.

Aina has trained with the Super Eagles squad before but with an almost different team.