₦airaland Forum

Mujtahida:
The way Tolu fell by the wayside. Too bad

Broooo!
Just vaporized into thin air

Predator87:
Its 2-2

Which match? 😒

Edit:
Ah, I see. Nvm.

Second Edit:
USA scores again. Back to 3-2 😂

Bruh, USA no really send our African champions like that. 😮‍💨

Edit:
3-2
Dramatic second goal for Senegal. This is about to be an interesting second half.

BascoVanVeli:
Flamingos vs Guinea Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCkJyIO7ilM?si=Bso62sfibTfHrxI0

This is sensitive content. Absolute child abuse. The return leg was not necessary. 😭😭😭

SymphonyRad:
Senegal look very shaky in that defence

They just pulled one back. 2-1 now.

NasirIbnLaAhad:
I'm not quite sure of what to make of Osimhen's absence from the upcoming friendlies. Chelle's justification was that Osimhen "may have to change clubs." But if we're to go by the actual reporting from Galatasaray itself, the club confirmed three weeks ago that they have made a firm decision to keep Osimhen for the 2026-27 season, closing off any prospect of a summer departure despite reported interest from teams like Madrid and Barca. They also structured a multi-layered commercial financing model to sustain his €21 million annual wage package, sourcing funds from merchandise revenue and sponsorship agreements to name just a few. So as of three weeks ago, Galatasaray's public position was that he's staying, and I guess that was that. And yet somehow a transfer concern urgent enough to pull him from two high-profile international friendlies has materialised?

The way I see it, there's a clear and obvious discrepancy here. The optimistic reading here is that something has shifted dramatically in the last few weeks with top clubs like Barcelona pushing hard (which is possible given the noise around him). The pessimistic reading is that Osimhen simply didn't want to come.

I'm not sure which angle is more credible at the moment, but do I blame people for piling on Osimhen about this? Not really. Let's look at the pattern here.

When we had our decisive World Cup play-off final against DR Congo, Osimhen hobbled off at half-time and we struggled in his absence. We went on to play rubbish and lost on penalties, missing a World Cup for the second successive time. Obviously, not his fault. He was injured. I personally have -- and will always -- attribute that loss to the poor physical condition of the players who refused to train because of NFF's politics and the poor timing of the strike. As for Osimhen, he had already missed 2-3 qualifying games due to injury, when we had become far too reliant on him during that campaign. Then at AFCON 2025, even when he was there, in the round of 16 win over Mozambique, Osimhen was seen in a heated exchange with Lookman after a misunderstanding. He asked to be substituted and was also the first to leave the dressing room when the teams were leaving the stadium.

Now, to his credit, Osimhen responded in the very next game against Algeria with a complete centre-forward performance , scoring, assisting, combining effectively with Lookman, and winning Man of the Match. Any talk of division was firmly put to rest by the unity Nigeria showed on the pitch. That's the complicated thing about him: on his best days, he is the heartbeat of that squad. The quality is not the question. The question is reliability and engagement. It feels like he misses out at the most crucial moments, and I understand the grievance of the Nigerian fans who feel some type of way about this.

Some people here will say, "Well what about Lookman?" And I would respond that there is genuinely nothing to fault with him here. He had a serious season with a club that has been proactive and formal in protecting his workload. He played his heart out at AFCON, and even though he had a poor WC qualifying run, I could see the passion in his play, even though his form was terrible. The NFF arguably had this coming after ignoring Atletico's concerns in March. Lookman is not the story.

For Osimhen, the picture that has built up over the last 18 months is of a player whose relationship with the Super Eagles is increasingly conditional. The injury absences during qualifying -- some genuinely unavoidable -- the AFCON incident, the early dressing room exit, and now a transfer-uncertainty excuse that doesn't fully square with reporting from three weeks ago. I mean, surely it's not hard to see why people are upset. What it says about Osimhen is not that he doesn't care. I personally don't think that's true. We've watched him show up and performs at his best when he does show up. But there's a growing pattern of his club priorities, his commercial situation, his personal circumstances taking precedence over Nigeria duty in a way that goes beyond what even other elite African internationals accept.

Sadio Mané played in a World Cup qualifier days after his father died. Didier Drogba turned up for the Ivory Coast through chaos. Osimhen is a generational Nigerian talent who, at 27 and in his prime, has chosen not to play against Poland and Portugal because of..... a transfer situation that his club publicly says doesn't exist right now?

I mean, come on.

I'm just happy that the team is finally learning how to produce results in his presence or absence. We're no longer a one-man team. And to be honest, he needs some serious competition in the CF position. So far, I can't see anyone who's really turned up as a huge threat to that position.

Eric Chelle has unlocked Alhassan Yusuf and potentially put an end to the quota system narratives. That guy is a monster when he's locked in.

minfelix:
The more chelle wins, the more i dey vex why we no go world cup…This super eagles of Eric chelle is capable of advancing to world cup Quarterfinals and even attempting a semifinal sef

Kai. This World Cup thing will never stop being painful. 🫠

Jamaica don dey join SA to become our customer. I foresee a more bitter rivalry in the coming years. 😁

kingphilip:
I'm seeing C team up and down, which one is the B team?

Onuachu, Dele Bashiru, Onyedika, Fernandez, et al

As long as NFF no allow devil use them, we gat this next AFCON and WC qualifiers in the bag.

BascoVanVeli:
Jamaican frustration

Body go tell them. I like how Chelle has groomed our squad. Compact and resilient. If you like run like road runner, you no fit maneuver our squad.

Thank God it's Otele. For a moment I thought it was Oseni. 😑

Nnadi. See movement. I too like this guy. 😂

lbrichman2:
You know book

Is this Jamaica's main squad? Don't really know any Jamaican players besides Dixon and Palmer. I know Dixon is here but Palmer isn't.

Finally. Now we can breathe a little.

This game don dey take style dey long o. The ceiling of this C team is starting to show.

We need a second goal to properly demoralize the reggae boys.

do4luv14:
Life it's a mystery which Mankind had been trying to unmasked since time immemorial


Chukwueze is in Umuahia laying his mumsy to rest and saying his final goodbye chaiii it is well i

Sleep well Mama

I hope she didn't die as young as she looks in the picture cos that's way too young.

All the same RIP to Chukwueze's mom.

Odunayaw:
So upon the xenophobia our bro still snuck in

Normally our Z-list players can rub shoulders with their A-listers. They had no choice.

Jamaica beats India 2-0

So it's going to be a rematch of the 2025 final

ChrisKels:
I hope Jamaica beats India because it would be embarrassing watching Nigeria play against India. Jamaica would be a more worthy opponent.

That Jamaican team can be very discouraging at times. They play even worse than Nigeria before Chelle. They will likely win though (India is simply too far below them and also have a non-existent attack since Chhetri retired) but watch how Jamaica are gonna struggle like mad.

minfelix:
Thank you Oshimole, your team played well

Nawa 😂😂

Kog45:
Chelle fumbled with that Oseni call up,funny he said he saw something in him,even included in june friendies...nawa o

Lol. He saw something indeed 🤣

Goke7:
If una like make una chase this coach away. Everywhere go first blurrr!

NFF are looking for excuses as we speak. It's already a big red flag that they've not yet renewed his contract.

Oseni is buns.

Obviously smuggled into the setup from the higher-ups. Smh.

For context this is the same Zimbabwe that troubled Egypt and South Africa at the last AFCON and almost beat both.

I think this "C-team" have done a fantastic job.

The way Femi Azeez dey shine for this Unity Cup, I hope it won't be like Cyriel Dessers who was hot during the last Unity Cup only to disappear during the qualifiers and AFCON?

God abeg long may this current Azeez form continue.

TheGoodJoe:
Really an emotional period for Manchester City. Many will talk about the amount trophies won. To me it was about the growth of the team. Watching players moulded into legends.

From
Bernardo Silva to Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, Laporte, Walker, Cancelo, Sane, Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Zinchenko, Delph, David Silva, Phil Foden and others.

Even this season, the second half was a masterclass when Pep brought in Semenyo and Guehi.

We have seen excellent football displays and it is down to his passion. Pep will surely be missed.

I wish him well. The guy absolutely dominated England. He will surely have his detractors due to his style of play, but there's no denying that he could produce results.

EElopa:
Good list; the goalkeeping department is as strong as it has been in years. Maduka Okoye, Author Okoronkwo, and Stanley Nwabili are the best trio I have seen since I started following the Super Eagles in the early '90s. The CD positions are very strong too. Emmanuel Fernandez, Calvin Bassey, Chibuike Nwaiwu, Benjamin Fedricks, and Vince Osuji are the strongest we have been in the CD position since our golden generation of the 90s. The right-back position is very good when Ola Aina becomes available. The left-back position needs improvement. I don't really think that Eric Chelle sees both Bruno Onyemachi and Sanusi as starters in the Super Eagles he is trying to build. Both of them are really backups, and I know he is desperately looking for a starter in that left-back position. The midfield is getting really strong and promising. Tochukwu Nnadi, Ebenezer Akinsamiro, Victor Eletu, and Israel Isaac Ayuma's development will take that midfield to another level. I don't really understand what Victor Eletu is doing in AC Milan's U23. He needs to go out on loan to the Netherlands, Belgium, or even Switzerland to continue on his football development. Suleman Sani and Ademola Lookman on the left and Zadok Yohanna and Chuwueze on the right will give the Super Eagles a devastating wing play in the coming years. The strikers' position is very strong. The future looks bright. NFF Please, in the name of God, allow this man to mold this team into a formidable force in world football.

@bold, I'd argue that Enyeama+Ejide+Aiyenugba of the late 00s to early 2010s were a more potent trio, but that's just my thoughts.

Na this Owen Oseni wey weak me pass for the list. I just want to trust that Eric Chelle knows what he's doing and that there's a solid reason he's being included.

In both lists for that matter.

Btw, whatever happened to Salim Fago? I recall some people here giving him props after the friendly against Egypt before the AFCON?