₦airaland Forum

charlesemeka85:
where a player plays doesn’t matter what matter is his skill set

There are levels to football. If you play in the championship, you will never make an English national team. If you play in the championship, you will never make a Brazilian, Spanish, French, or Argentinian national team. We need to stop this nonsense that where a player plays does not matter. I agree that some players developed into proper international-level footballers later on in their careers, and yes, I have seen some players that have come from the Championship and developed into elite-level Premier League players. The thing about it is that as you develop in the later years of your career, the growth in your game will be noticed, and you will be rescued from the championship. Femi Azeez is a case study; he showed his quality in the championship, and he is essentially on his way to the Premier League.

The notion that you have this quality player in this backwater league who for years has demonstrated his qualities but was just so unfortunate to be noticed just does not sit well with me because it is just a fallacy.

I was watching the Nigeria U20 tournament, and it took me 15 mins to totally identify Benjamin Fredericks. I turned around and I told my friend that this boy is going places and will be in the Super Eagles in less than 2 years. I watched Chubuike Nwaiwu for the first time in his first game with Trabzonspor, and I knew he had a high ceiling and was supereargles ready. Trapzenspour just rejected a 30 million pound bid from West Ham. Bayer Leverkusen and Fulham are all coming for him.

mank1234:
Their keeper is levels above so many keeper in Europe You're saying all this because they lost.

They are only lacking strikers. Dot. Forget this same team stopped Nigeria from qualifying. No disrespect.

If you watched the South African team this tournament and you think their only issue was lack of a number 9, I don't really know whether you actually understand football. Their decision-making in the final third, technical ability of their players in dangerous positions, and inability of their wingers to beat an opponent in one-on-one scenarios were glaring to see. Should I continue? What about their off-the-ball movements and ball control in dangerous areas of the pitch? Their players in the final third were often miscontrolling the ball, taking too many touches to control the ball, and constantly making bad decisions. Most of their attacking players were lightweight, and the way they were easily being bullied and shrugged off the ball was glaring for all to see.

Sithole and Mokoena in the midfield are just not good enough at this level, and I'm not sure either of these two players can make a match-day squad of any championship team in England.

With regard to their goalkeeper. I agree with you that he is good enough to go to some of the non-top-5 leagues in Europe, and he is also on a decent salary for Sundowns, which is probably better than he will earn playing for mid-table teams outside of the elite European leagues. He is not better than any starting goalkeeper in Serie A or any of the top 5 leagues because if he were, he would not be in the South African league. Football is not like a music or movie career, where you can be active in it for 50-plus years. In football, an average career is less than 10 years long, so every player wants to maximize profits before Father Time comes, and until you can give me a substantial and data-driven reason why Williams would turn down earning millions of dollars more playing in the top 5 leagues in the world as opposed to playing in South Africa, I am not buying any of your argument.

Football is not rocket science, and when somebody tries to convince me that a player playing in South Africa is better than a player playing in Serie A, I just laugh at how ridiculous that sounds. This might have been the case 30 years ago, but football is now a global sport and a business for that matter. A lot of European clubs have extensive scouting departments, so if you are good, you will be discovered.

A classmate of mine in high school who was very good immediately left for a Croatian team called HNK Gorica that discovered him through scouting in Abuja. When a player is playing in the South African league, he is not there because he was unlucky or has a bad agent; he is there because he has been extensively scouted and there are so many deficiencies in his game.

South African players at this level just can not score or create chances. We can play another 24 hours; I don't think South Africa would have scored in this game. I don't even think they registered a shot on target against a very mediocre Canadian team.

When you watch them, you will see why they are in South Africa, and that is because there are deficiencies to their game. Their best player on the pitch, Mbokazi, plays for Chicago Fire, and you can see he was levels above his teammates, and with his performance today, he will probably be heading to Europe. The guy that scored the only open-play goal that they had in this tournament, Maseko, plays in Europe and not the South African league.

There are levels to this game, and this is why there is a strong correlation between the league a player plays in and his quality. A player playing in South Africa can never under any circumstance be better in any position than a Serie A player.

Does this mean that Algeria cannot find a half-decent goalkeeper that simply can't keep costing them games? Ninety percent of the goals they've conceded are due to poor goalkeeping. Where did they find these useless goalkeepers from?

The Dr. Congo coach is an elite-level coach, and I will be shocked if he stays with that team after this World Cup. Some of these Middle Eastern countries will throw the kind of money at him that Dr. Congo cannot just match. They still have some top attacking talents coming to them after the World Cup, like Senny Mayulu of PSG.

I don't know if he will choose to stay and chase the AFCON title and perhaps a real run in the 2030 World Cup with some big attacking talents that are on their way. The Democratic Republic of Congo will be a problem in Africa for the next foreseeable future.

AFCON, to me, has now established itself as the second most competitive continental tournament, only behind the Euros. He is milking out every ounce of ability in that Dr. Congo team. I love Eric Chelle, but he tactically outmaneuvered him in that playoff finals. England struggled with Ghana's and Panama's low block and physicality, and they can give England problems.

They are now playing with house money. They have nothing to loose anymore. They have outperformed expectations, and all the pressure in the world will be on England on that day. The world will expect England just like they expected Portugal to tame them, but it is now up to Dr. Congo to shock the world like they did against Portugal.

What exactly does Jordan Ayew bring to the Ghana team? He can barely run; he is too slow, so you cannot really press with him as a team. Dude is an absolute waste of a spot on that team. That captainship should be stripped from him, and dude should just be a veteran on the bench and, after this World Cup should just retire from international football.

Dude is old and finished at the highest level. He might be able to nick a goal or two against minnows of African football, but against any real opposition, dude is of no help to the team in any aspect of the game. He is like the Ahmed Musa of Ghana, where it seems like he has a strong connection to the upper echelon of Ghanaian football, where his starting spot on the team is guaranteed. I would really like to sit down with the Ghanaian coach and really ask him to explain exactly why this dude keeps stinking up the joint and he keeps starting him.

Ghana's front three should have Antoine Semenyo on the left, Abdul Fatawu on the right, and Brandon Asante as the center forward. I will choose Brandon Asante ahead of Iñaki Williams because of his pace. He can be swapping and interchanging positions with Semenyo, and his pace will make Ghana's pressing and counterattacking football more effective.

FiveFootNinja:
WTF is a Venezia? Smh

Just your typical African player. This attitude is the reason why no sub-Saharan African team will advance to the finals of the World Cup in our lifetime. Low-ambition and low-self-esteem players in the national teams with an inferiority complex.

The problem with the African man is how short-sighted he is. Everything that rings in his brain is what he is seeing right in front of him rather than a strategic, ambitious plan. You scored 10 goals in La Liga last season despite being away at AFCON for weeks; 15-plus goals this season for Sevilla will get you a move to a well-established Premier League team or top 6 sides in Serie A, La Liga, or Ligue 1 in France.

They probably offered him a little bit more money than what he was making in Sevilla, and he decided to take the money over career progression. This is just an absolutely terrible move, but I am not surprised. These Nigerian players often lack ambition and motivation to reach the highest levels in football.

I must admit that I really underestimated this Ghana team. Football is really a strange sport. Ghana, a couple of months ago, looked like they were going to be the weeping boys in this World Cup. Just like Nigeria in the 2023 Afcon, where expectations were very low, which kind of took all the pressure off them and allowed them to play with house money that took them all the way to the finals, I believe this Ghanaian team can actually shock a lot of people because the expectation for this team in Ghana before the world were low; in fact, some of my Ghanaian friends before the World Cup were simply praying for Ghana not to be embarrassed, and now they are actually beginning to believe in this team.

Carlos Queiroz has done a tremendous job really organizing this team and making them difficult to beat. I'm not saying Ghana will get to the semi finals or finals, but this Ghana team, with a little bit of luck, can actually go further in this competition than a lot of the more fancied African sides like Morocco and Ivory Coast. Make no mistake about it; they completely nullified that England team yesterday. They are not as talented as Ivory Coast, Senegal, Algeria, or Morocco, but they are actually the most organized and drilled African team I have seen so far.

Unlike other African teams that are vulnerable on set pieces and cornerkicks, the Ghanaian team completely dominated and nullified England set pieces and cornerkicks yesterday. This aspect of the game are actually England's greatest strength, and for Ghana to have dominated them in that aspect of the game yesterday tells a lot about the grit in that team.

Yes, they are offensively limited, which might come back to bite them, but their defense will always keep them in the game, and with a player like Antoine Semenyo, who can pull off individual brilliance on any given day, this team can actually shock the world and make a deep run into the quarterfinals.

WhiteIverson:
Senegal needs to trash Iraq

The Netherlands, Japan, and Sweden will make it out of this group.

Scotland will put up a fight, but Brazil will still find a way to nick it. Scotland will have 3 points with negative 1 or 2 goals. I think that will be enough for them; Brazil, Morocco, and Scotland will make it out of this group.

Argentina will beat Jordan. The Austria and Algeria game will decide which team finishes second. Argentina, Austria, and Algeria will make it out of this group.

United States. Australia and Paraguay will make it out of this group.

Cape Varde will either draw or beat Saudi Arabia. Spain will beat Uruguay. Spain and Cape Verde make it out of this group.

Belguim will beat New Zealand. The Egypt and Iran game has "draw" written all over it. Belgium, Egypt, and Iran will make it out of this group.

Portugal will comfortably qualify. Three teams in this group will make it to the round of 32. Portugal, Colombia, and Dr. Congo will make it through.

The Czech Republic will lose against Mexico. South Africa will loose against South Korea. Mexico and South Korea will qualify from this group.

Ecuador is tossed. They will lose against Germany, and Ivory Coast will beat Curacao. Germany and Ivory Coast will make it through.

Bosnia will trash Qatar. Bosnia, Switzerland, and Canada will make it out of this group.

Panama will lose against Croatia and England. Ghana will lose against England and Croatia. Ghana's negative goal difference will determine

if they sneaked in or not. I have Ghana out simply because the Ghana team I saw against Panama was bad, and England will run away with a comfortable 3-0 win, and Croatia will beat them 2-0. They will probably end up being at 3 points with negative 4 or 5 goals. Ghana's only path is that they have to get something out of the Croatia game.

Senegal will beat Iraq. France, Norway, and Senegal make it out of this group.

Summary

The eight third-place teams will be

Sweden

Scotland

Algeria

Paraguay

Iran

Dr. Congo

Bosnia

Senegal

All is not lost for Senegal. The way the World Cup is going and looking at the group standings and upcoming games, 3 points with a negative one or 2 goal difference will likely get you a spot in the round of 32. The bad news for Senegal is that any of the World Cup contenders that they will likely meet in the round of 32 will send them packing.

Senegal is overtly overrated; I don't really see a world-class player on their team. This is a team of mostly average players and players that have seen thier best days. I was not impressed with them in AFCON. I was not impressed with them in the friendly games I saw them play, and it is no surprise to me how they are struggling.

The average USA team was cutting them up and should have scored 5 or 6 in their friendly game against them. I saw them against a terrible Saudi Arabia team, and Saudi actually had better clear-cut opportunities in that friendly draw.

Senegal is suffering the consequences of their best players playing in the Saudi Arabian league. I have never really rated this Senegalese team the way some of you guys do. Ivory Coast, Morocco, and Nigeria currently play the best brand of football in Africa. They are a very boring team to watch. There is very little dynamism in their game; everything about them is just so slow and boring.

I remember watching Senegal in AFCON 2021 when they only scored one goal in their three group games, and since then, I have never rated that team. I still maintain that after this World Cup they need to get a proper coach that will bring dynamism to their game.

I just don't get why he keeps playing a boring ass player like Sarr over Assane Diao of Como, Ilman Ndiaye, and Ibrahim Mbaye. If they lose this game, they are out of the World Cup. Senegal just does not have the offensive power to steamroll Iraq in their last game.

The fight in this Cape Verdean team is unbelievable. Tunisia will need to go and bury its head in shame. This is what the World Cup is all about. Leave it all out there on the field. Pound for pound, I don't think this Cape Verde team is more talented than the Tunisian team, but unlike Tunisia, these boys have balls between their legs. Absolutely proud of these boys. Whatever happened, now they all are legends in their country. I was insanely pissed off by the Tunisian performance last night. In recent memory, I have not seen a team come to the World Cup and not put up a fight at all.

This Tunisian team has no talent; I understand that, but the attitude of these players is really irritating as hell. I have seen teams in this tournament with limited talent, but they at least have a fight in them. Haiti, for example, yesterday left everything they had on the pitch; they were simply no match for the Brazilians due to the gulf in quality.

Every single Curacao player ran himself to the ground against Ecuador, and their reward was a point, which at least still kept them in the competition. People around me watching the nonchalant attitude of these Tunisian players are all saying, "Are they even aware they will be eliminated losing this game?"

Japan is a good team, but Tunisia is simply not even trying to put up a fight and make this game at least uncomfortable for them. Japan is simply at ease, and this game is like the first preseason game for them.

I am beginning to really hate the Tunisia national team. These fools always come to the World Cup gift-out points and exit in the first round. I am perplexed by their ability to consistently navigate the qualifiers, only to falter on the world stage. Countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Gambia, Gabon, Angola, and Zambia must take action to halt Tunisia's World Cup qualifications. I am so sick of seeing this useless team every time in the World Cup just fucking coming there to mark attendance.

This is an atrocious Ghanian team. This Ghana team, alongside Curacao, is by far the worst team I have seen in this World Cup. Ghana has really fallen off. Ghana used to always produce quality midfielders, and what kind of junk are they parading here?

Why are you playing defensive against Panama when you know your next two opponents are England and Croatia? No shot on target in the first half. Why is he playing with two defensive misfielders against Panama?

I like their attitude; they really care, but the talent is just not there. Ghana surely has better players than this. This Ghana team is bad.

Algeria is a good team, and they played well today against this old Argentina team. This Argentina team is an old team; the result in this game was not actually a true reflection of the game.

The Algerian goalkeeper made Messi look great tonight. Messi, to me, is the greatest footballer of all time, but you see, for tonight's game, that Algerian goalkeeper made him look great tonight. If the Algerian goalkeeper had not been just terrible, this game would have been tied going into the last 15 to 20 minutes of the game, and the Algerian would not have overcommitted for that third Messi goal. This is an old Argentine team; they will be exposed in the knockout stages when they jam any of the dark horses or contenders in this World Cup.

All my Algerian friends I was watching the game with in a bar here in Houston are all ready to lynch Zidane. They were aware that he was the weakest member of their team, and their fears were confirmed with his atrocious display tonight.

Algeria needs to get over the loss quickly and realize that Argentina did not outplay them today. The Algerian team I saw today was not in any shape or form inferior to the Argentine team that defeated them 3-0. In '94 Bulgaria lost 3-0 against Nigeria, but they came back and made it all the way to the semifinals.

If you take out the horrible goalkeeping, I liked what I saw from the Algerians today, and this team can easily beat Jordan and get at least a draw against Austria.

Algerian goalkeeper just didn't give them a chance in this game.

Iraq dey ball. Senegal better bring their A game against this boys or their fate will be sealed. They play exactly like the North Africans.

Tunisia is essentially the most useless so-called traditional football team in Africa that I have seen. Can they not simply follow their Algerian and Moroccan brothers' method of hunting for foreign recruits, especially in France? Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria had similar colonial histories with France, so I expect Tunisia to have a large diasporan population in France.

Always at the World Cup and have never made it out of the group stage. I swear to God that useless team always goes to the World Cup to dash out points. How useless can you be that every World Cup, every team in your group already have you marked out as the guaranteed 3 points in the bag.

The only thing that works for them in Africa is that they are able to simply complain, deceive, cheat, and intimidate the referees for favorable calls. They are very good in the craft of skimming and cheating their way through matches, but once they come out of Africa, all that nonsense stops working for them.

This is a bang-average Swedish team that they simply handed the game to due to fundamental schoolboy errors. Their goalkeeper cannot make a simple routine save to save his life. That their coach better pack the bus and lose respectably against Japan or Holland and simply exit the scene, or the curacao humiliation will be coming their way in their next two matches.

They can win this game if they simply don't self-destruct. Ecuador has no answer for Diomande. Keep feeding him. Also, all three players that were on yellow cards should be substituted. That referee looks to me to be one of those that will not hesitate to reduce them to 10 men.

All the clear court chances Ecuador had in this game were handed to them by Ivory Coast. Stay tactically disciplined and play smart football, and you can come out of this match with at least a point.

I have never been a fan of of this Agbadou. Ndicka is definitely better than him. Ivory Coast look like they are going to beat themselves rather than Ecuador actually beating them. Keep your head in the game and don't throw it away by a silly error.

I was watching Bouaddi, and I was having a football orgasm. What a player. As mentioned before, to have an elite-level national team, you have to have technical ball-playing players in every position. The decline of the Super Eagles started when non-ball-playing players like Troost-Ekong, Omurue, Ajayi, Balogun, and Frank Onyeka started playing paramount roles in the Super Eagles.

I was watching the USA '94 Super Eagles games at the World Cup, and every single player on that team was so comfortable and technical on the ball. This is why I said the likes of Semi Ajayi and Sanusi need to be thanked and retired from the national team if we are really serious about competing with the big boys.

Morocco is a really good team, and they can really go far in this tournament. The people clamoring for all these junk NPFL players and non-technical ball-playing players don't really wish well for the Super Eagles to perhaps, in their lifetime, be in the semi-finals or finals of a World Cup.

Switzerland is going to regret this rubbish display they played tonight. This nonchalant performance today against a very bad Qatari team will surely come back to bite them in the ass. Their manager's defensive and negative approach of playing a defensive midfielder, Zakaira, as a winger and playing defensive-minded midfielders Xhaka, Aebischer, and Freuler against one of the weakest teams in the tournament is a sackable offense. Their performance today was absolutely disgraceful and totally unacceptable.

Canada and Bosnia are going to beat this Qatari team silly, and Switzerland has completely complicated this tournament for themselves. Some of these coaches are simply unbelieveable. This motherfucker essentially implemented 4 defensive players who are not defenders to be on the field in a game against Qatar. Qatar, not France, Argentina, or Spain. Simply unbelievable.

Kog45:
Sorry,Ajayi played in EPL in his career and just got promted to EPL again,yes played majorly in championship.

Pls i need more explanation on word LIMITED as a player....

A limited player is a player that is not well rounded in all aspects of the craft required in his position. When scouts evaluate a player, there are parameters they are measuring. Abilities corresponding to the offensive side of the game (when the team is in position) and abilities to the defensive side of the game (when the team is out of position). Frank Onyeka, for example, is a limited player. He will work his ass off for the team, and he will run himself to the ground for the team. He reads the game very well. He is a very good box-to-box midfielder when the team is out of position because he has the engine of a V12 truck. Frank Onyeka will always have suitors, especially among some of the smaller teams in the top 5 leagues, because of what he brings to the table.

Some of the more ambitious teams, the bigger teams, will not look his way because of lack of technicality in his game. He does not have the technical skillset of some of the very good players that play in his position. He cannot carry the ball; he has limited passing range and can not control the tempo of the game. This is why I say he is a limited player. Mikel Obi was not a limited player. He had the ability that corresponded to the defense side of the game and the ability that corresponded to the offensive side of the game, and that was why he played for Chelsea for so many years. The same with Sunday Oliseh. There are levels to football.

forgiveness:
Who is talking about 2030 world cup? We are taking about the match against Portugal and his performance so far in green white green.

If Ajayi wasn't good enough, you think say you go reach AFCON final or do well in last AFCON? Please, stop joking here.

Ajayi is still good for the next AFCON. EOD.

Claiming Ajayi didn't thread the ball forward showed you didn't watch the match against Portugal because that was exactly what him and Bassey did. Oga! Go watch match again.

Morocco match that we dominated?

My friend, if not for referee, we for win Dat match.

Please, I don't want to make this a Semi Ajayi bashing day. Semi Ajayi has been a championship-level player throughout his career for a reason, mate. He is a limited player. If we want a Super Eagles that will continue to struggle to impose themselves against the elite teams in the world, then we should continue to invite players with limited technical ability, like Semi Ajayi and Sanusi. I am trying not to be disrespectful to you and Semi Ajayi, but if you simply cannot see that Semi Ajayi is not a ball-playing defender, then I don't see the point of arguing with you because I am not sure you actually understand the game you are watching.

forgiveness:
Which Ajayi was rusty against Portugal? Most of you watch faball through bias or sentiment which is clouding your judgment.

Dude played well against Portugal. His interception, clearance etc were obvious for all eyes to see.

Benjamin and Fernandez does not possess the experience Ajayi possess currently. Do you think they will fare well in a competitive tournament like AFCON? Time will tell.

Besides, the 2 goals we conceded has nothing to do with Ajayi. All had to do with the RB and LB. So make you na stop this joke of giving a dog bad name to hang it. Na lie.

Some of you guys can't seem to understand that there are levels to football. If Nigeria's Super Eagles are serious about winning the AFCON or perhaps making a deep run in the 2030 World Cup, a player like Semi Ajayi needs to be weeded out of the team. I have nothing against Semi Ajayi; he has represented his country well and, to be honest with you, has performed better than significantly more talented players in that position. There are levels to this game, mate. Did you even watch the South Korea game yesterday? Did you not see how every single South Korean player on that team was completely comfortable on the ball and could run and advance with the ball and how they all could thread the ball comfortably to the midfielders without aimlessly booting the ball down the field? Semi Ajayi is not a ball-playing defender, and every time he gets the ball, he simply does not have the ability to comfortably carry the ball and thread in a pass to a midfielder. Go back and watch Nigeria vs. Morocco and see how the Moroccan coach specifically tasked his players to press hard against Nigeria every time the ball goes to Semi Ajayi. Benjamin Fedricks, Emmnuel Fernandez, and Chibuike Nwaiwu are ball-playing defenders. These are the kind of players that take a team to a different level because they can advance with the ball and they can thread a pass to a midfielder in behind a hard press. This is the reason Emmanuel Fernandes is attracting interest from Dortmund; Benjamin Fredricks will soon be a starter at Brentford and Bayer. Laverkusen submitted 20 million euros for Nwaiwu, which Trabzonspor rejected. Seyi Ajayi has done well for Nigeria, but he is a limited player, and there are levels to this game, mate. If Nigeria wants to get back to the levels we were in in the 90s, players like Semi Ajayi and Sanusi should be thanked for their services and retired from the national team. Good guys but are simply limited players.

daveP:
Wait im lost. Help elaborate further


24 to final WCq round. So the prelim is 30 teams of 6 groups and 5teams each.

6 from prelim join the 24 in the final round=30 teams


9 spots+1 wcq playoff spot=10

30 teams divided into how many per group pls?

The boldened dey confuse me.

You want the 30 to be in 10s per group? 👀👀😲

That's gonna be exhaustive

There are 54 teams in Africa.

There will be three groups of 30 teams in the final round.

The top 24 teams automatically make it to the final round.

African teams ranked from 25 to 54 will go in the qualifying series for the 6 spots available to make it to the final rounds.

The final round will have 30 teams. The final round will consist of three groups: Group A, Group B, and Group C.

Each team will play a total number of 18 games, just as you have it in CONMEBOL.

The top three teams in each group automatically qualify for the World Cup.

The two best fourth-place teams among the three groups make it to the CAF playoff.

There will be a home and away match to determine the sole CAF representatives at the Intercontinental playoffs.

Goke7:
With a South African as CAF president? 😂

This is the irritation thing that I am talking about. What exactly is the point of qualifying for the World Cup by luck and going there and humiliating yourself? The South African showing today was bad for African football. A team that bad should not be qualifying for the World Cup out of CAF, generally regarded as the 3rd best confederation in the world behind UEFA and CONMEBOL. Look at the nonsense they are doing with underage football in Africa, all modeled towards helping eastern and southern African countries. Very soon if care is not taken, they will take World Cup qualifiers into regionals. This nonsense needs to stop. Madagasca was actually very close to qualifying for the worldcup. Imagine Madagascar vs France; the scoreline would have been historic.

Amedino99:
Our group was so bad that we were the only group whose winner ended with less than 20 points in the whole CAF qualifiers. It was a battle of who was less useless

CAF needs to adopt a system in which there will be 3 groups of 10 teams. The top 24 ranked teams in Africa qualified for the final rounds. 25 to 54 teams will fight for 6 spots to make it to the final arounds. The top 3 teams in each group automatically qualify for the World Cup. The 2 best 4th-place teams in the three groups qualify for CAF playoffs. The winner in the home and away game qualifier for the intercontinental FIFA playoffs. The goal should always be to have the best African teams in the World Cup.

This is the problem with a Black man. He is always trying to create a shortcut through affirmative actions that ends up producing mediocrity and outright disastrous results. This South African team is a disgrace to African football and CAF. Other confederations set up their World Cup qualification format in ways that the best teams from that confederation qualify for the World Cup, but CAF sets theirs in a way that luck of the draw plays a major part. This South African team is a disgrace, and they only qualified because of the stupid set of criminals we have in the NFF. They qualified because of the unmotivated Nigerian team with bad coaching. A weak group, and because of them playing 90 per cent of the games at home against minnows. This shit is really irritating. Some of my friends who are seeing this South African team are completely lost for words on how poor they are and how they managed to finish above Nigeria. This shit is really irritating. This South African team, along with the 2014 Saudi Arabian team, are two of the worst sides I have seen at the World Cup in my lifetime.

There are levels to football. These South African players are completely overwhelmed with the intensity and tactical approach of this Mexican team. The openings they see in the South African league are just not there, and they are all confused. This is why I continue to maintain that there is a strong correlation between the club an experienced player plays in and his ability. A player moving to Saudi Arabia or some Middle Eastern team for financial purposes is completely different from a player who plays in those leagues because they are not good enough. There are reasons these South African players play in the South African league and not in the top leagues of the world. They were lucky they played a badly coached and unmotivated Nigerian team at the qualifiers. The current Nigerian team will chew them and spit them out. When I hear people saying a player that plays in one of the worst teams in the South African league and is currently clubless is better than a Serie A starter, I just laugh at the absurdity. a player the likes of whom Inter Milan and Roma are looking at I just laugh at the stupidity. People, if you guys understand the kind of evaluation that takes place before a club coughs up millions of dollars to sign a player, you will understand why there is no logic behind saying a clubless player is better than a top 5 league in the world player. The South African goalie is in the South African league because he is a good shot stopper, but there are errors all over his game.

SymphonyRad:
Ajayi
Zaidu
Simon Moses

All need to go, even Onyedika and FDB are too average so they can go as well, let's stick to the midfield we used at the unity cup under the leadership of Ndidi and Iwobi till they retire after the next AFCON.

FDB to me is a very good player. I heard Man United is looking at him.

Prosilo:
Alhassan Yusuf and Nnadi bring the physicality, energy, and aggression we desperately need in midfield. They can win battles, protect the defense, and dominate the center of the park.
Iwobi should be given the freedom to operate higher up and provide those killer passes that unlock defenses. He has the vision and creativity to make things happen in the final third.
That said, Alhassan Yusuf also has quality on the ball and can pick out decisive passes when needed. This combination gives us the perfect balance of steel, energy, and creativity in midfield.

I like Alhassan, but he is not a ball carrier, he does not have the passing range, and he is not a tempo-dictating midfielder. That is the profile that we desperately need.