₦airaland Forum

lbrichman2:
You're right
This is where Chuks miss becomes very painful
I mean with everything, God still gave us a chance..
He go there go chew gum like roadside ashawo
Painful!

As much as I don’t want the player to be scapegoated but all the anger against him is justified.

We won SA on penalties last Afcon because iheanacho another experienced player converted so what was chuks problem sef

chrisooblog:
Chief even in international football it's not easy facing big teams back-to-back unless you have a strong and balanced squad omo you go crumble.

Senegal that won in 2021 who dem face? Guinea, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea and Burkina Faso. The Egypt dey beat in the finals sef na penalty.

This year Egypt has been the only reasonable opponent they have faced.

Winning competitions as much as you require great squads you also need a huge slice of luck.

I agree with you we need luck with way the game was going yesterday I was just praying for luck and a scrappy win

lbrichman2:
There are even some rumours that they secretly installed spy cameras in our training location
But with all of that, they still couldn't win in over 120 mins of football..

It seems I'm the only one seeing what a great job Chelle is doing

Yes and I think it showed in the game they indeed spied on us including the coach tactics I heard some analysts said this and even suggested that the Moroccans should be punished if true.

In all it would have been a very sweet victory if the guys took advantage of the spot kicks to send the host packing. The way the game was going it was if all their dark arts were failing until the spot kicks.

lbrichman2:
We dey crumble
But na biased ref & PK Dem use win us
How that take be crumbling?

Chuks should have converted his kick so we crumbled there bro. The Moroccans after missing a kick were there for the taking if we had converted all our kicks. That’s where our players can raise their game no matter how hard.

This is where the likes of oliseh will continue to run their mouths our boys need to shut such kind of people up finally na wetin Dey pain me be this

lbrichman2:
That extra is not on the boys
That extra is on the FA

I will explain..
The bonus row shouldn't have happened..
1. Pay these boys their dues on time and eliminate unnecessary distractions..
2. Play the boardroom politics. Never should a Ghanaian officiate in a high stakes game where the SE would be playing. We saw the implications of that. They were supposed to vehemently reject that choice from CAF. But as usual, we dey do fair play and big brother
3. We had terrible logistics coming up to this game..
After the match against Algeria, why did we have to travel back to Fez and back to Rabat?
Worse still, via bus?
Why not stay in Rabat and save that travel energy?
Our players where clearly tired, hence our sluggish first half

This is where a sound FA could have stepped in, and made it easier for their team to come out tops

NFF as usual, are not proactive at all

I agree with you but nff will never change the same nff that was ready to play that Libyan game after all their terrorist act

I was actually shocked when the nff play down the choice of the ref Abi dem don collect money 😂 I heard an nff official was even selling tickets for the match they got free of charge 😂 na those ones we wan rely on?

chrisooblog:
Kudos all round to the boys for the valiant effort.

Bassey and Osayi were real warriors yesterday. Even Nwabali with his quirks stood up to be counted.

Onyedika's timidity really set the stage for how the game progressed. Has the technical ability but his failure to assert him was such a letdown.

The less said about Chukwueze's rubbish pen the better. Yes, anybody but miss a penalty but the way he took his own after Stanley had sweated to save one was so demoralizing. We have a goalkeeper who will give you a fighting chance in penalty shootouts which ordinarily should put our opponents under pressure but sadly our timidity doesn't allow us to capitalize on it.

We really need to inject more players with strong mentality not just talent and technical ability.

We are just wasting the talent of Nwabali of stopping penalties to win big games and titles even the 94 set never had a keeper who had this specialty. I saw Nwabali post on social media and I felt for him. His teammates need to complement his talent. Too bad

minfelix:
dem dey use penalty shootout kno who and who be strong/weak team?🤣🤣….no b Zambia use penalty collect Afcon for CIV head?

The Jamaica game no be big game jor forget matter 😂 our boys Dey fumble for bigger games jare like Congo like Morocco our players like you said earlier Dey get ptsd for penalties

Maybe we go carry them go MFM for special deliverance 😂

minfelix:
see ehnn this Eric Chelle will hardly loose to a team beneath him like Finidi,Jpes, Eguavoen and Roh did…And that is what we need in super eagles to qualify for tournaments…beat baby teams and qualify for tournaments and go struggle it out with superior teams

You’ve said it all 💯 na to Dey raise our game more in bigger games remain

Mujtahida:
I didn't see anything special about this Moroccan team. They were bolstered by home support.

Delaw they are special it’s the pressure of playing at home to win at all cost that affected them during the tournament.

I watched the game on beinsports so I saw both teams getting dressed in the dressing room before the game while our players were full of confidence the Moroccans were seriously tensed including Hakimi which showed how much pressure they were under. The coach had been heavily criticised and he expressed this at the press conference before the game. This Moroccan team is excellent. We would have seen more exciting game had the ref not interfered unnecessarily. I see them doing well at the World Cup again especially if they win Afcon as they will finally be out of that pressure

minfelix:
Trust me you are not being scammed, we can’t dismantle two North African teams and you wont wana put faith in the guys…this is just a matter of team pass team….it shows why we are not number 1 on africa…maybe 3rd best is our real position…keeping faith in them is actually justified especially winning 5straight games with heavy scorelines…imagine starting the worldcup qualifiers with 5wins and a draw, its more like winning all the first 5matches and drawing the 6th, thats a whooping 16points…ajeh dis afcon no pain me at all…na world cup pain me…this team is a world cup team…qualified to play at the world cup quarterfinals

No be lie o Morocco semi final finish at the last World Cup was no fluke just that they don’t need bad officiating to win fairly but dem no care.

Our boys did give good account of themselves based on that I mean we played the number one ranked team in Africa and they couldn’t beat us in 120 mins that’s something great to cheer about sha

mrwilliams9:
I just dislike how off we look in this big games. We just look like a team that doesn’t belong…

That’s where your most experienced players come in see how Mane rescued Senegal against Egypt. See how Salah even dragged an underperforming side to the semi final that’s what your most experienced players can do.

Now going forward since most experienced players like iwobi, Ndidi, Simon and chuks can’t push us further than this, from next tournament and if they are still in the team players like osihmen, Lookman, Bassey, Onyeka the onus now falls on them to finally deliver us from this curse if not then they too won’t be different from their seniors.

TheSuperNerd:
Onyedika fall my hand in that Physical aggression aspect. Yes, he helped out a few times defensively and progressively BUT on the whole he was timid in duels. Like a soft ginger breadman. Haba! I know he is technically brilliant and can pull off great passing but he was being tossed in nearly every duel and in nearly every moment he was pressed.


If I have 2 or 3 more midfield lads built and aggressive like Bassey and they have the technical and tactical traits to excel, then forget it, it is over for Africa and the world too. Add those 2-3 to Ndidi and Onyeka and we are really cooking. Add the experienced Iwobi creative spice and it is the top off.

Akor tried ooo. Akor did use his physicality in certain passages of plays. I remember him powering past 2-3 markers on the right, holding them off with a fine mix of raw power and technical nous and won a throw in the offensive half.
If Onyedika was like Akor in the physical aggression aspect... he would have coped better against the Moroccan press as he had the technical part on lock already.


My midfield scouting just got narrowed. Easy to find midfielders but are they technical, progressive and aggressive? Na the main focus be this, all 3 must be present not 2/3 but if it is 2/3 then one of the 2 must be physical aggression. Would be a huge advantage too if the MFs have fine height. I am now more obsessed with the Yaya Profile.

Onyedika is not Ndidi and will never be we just need to start grooming replacements for both Ndidi and Iwobi as they are not getting younger. I almost thought our midfield woes were over but looks like it’s still a major headache we can’t be getting bullied in the midfield on the African continent na wetin we go do for World Cup if we had qualified! haba

SymphonyRad:
Yup, not sure it's a coaching issue at this point..we just lack the players with the elite mentality like the Senegals etc when it matters the most at the most crucial stage.

It's psychologically gutting to lose out on a world cup final playoff on PKs after demolishing Benin republic and Gabon...

And then this after all that show against Algeria, these boys can't scam me anymore. Hats off to them for trying, but this is it...it's time to rebuild with younger players like we saw Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Senegal etc do at this tournament, Ademola, Osimhen etc aren't winning shit, they are a generation comparable to Belgiums own.

17 semifinals, 8 finals and ONLY 3 AFCONs is a very diabolical return, the type that makes you question if we are truly cursed?
This isn't a coaching issue anymore, even prime Pep Guardiola can't save this bunch.

Yeah I thought this team had a destiny with a title but looks like this is the best they can offer us. Making it to the entire finish line na problem 😂 especially our midfielders and strikers 😂

I will put it more on players like Simon, Chuks, Iwobi and Nididi(though not available yesterday) who are the most experienced in the team who don’t have very strong finish line mentality. In games like this you need them more to step up. Simon and Chuks perhaps it’s time to leave as these are players who’ve got trickery in their play but can’t translate it in big moments, too bad!

minfelix:
But shebi na same Chelle eagles beat Jamaica on penalties at Unity cup….why is his head no longer winning pk shootouts again

Jamaica na team? 😂

minfelix:
out of the 3 afcons we have 2 were against lowly rated rivals(Zambia and Burkina Faso) the other one in 1980, we won as the host.

im beginning to see that super eagles cant measure up in final/semifinal when they meet a fellow african power house in a back to back, either they win 1 and jah in the next stage
Mali 2002 (senegal comot us for semifinal)
Tunisia 2004 (Tunisia comot us for semifinal after beating Cameroon in quarterfinals)
Egypt 2006 (CIV comot us for semifinal after beating Tunisia in quarterfinals)
Ghana 2008(Ghana jah us for quarterfinals)
Angola 2010 (Ghana jah us for semifinal)
SA 2013 (we met Mali and Burkina faso enroute winning the cup)
Egypt 2019(Algeria jah us for semifinal)
2021 (Tunisia jah us for round 16)
2023 (we played Angola,Cameroon,SA and CIV remove us)

omo seeing the way powerhouse nations lined up from quarterfinals to the final, i was just having some scary feelings….make super eagles beat powerhouse back to back to back ? aaah omo e go hard in this era oo

You’re very right, I think when we start meeting tougher nations back to back we Dey crumble!

Honestly once the game entered extra time I was no longer interested in the final cos if we had won we won’t have been able to win the final as our players will be fatigued against an in-form Senegal. I preferred we bow out in the semi final than having another heartbreak in the final. Once we couldn’t do the business in 90 mins I knew we were done. Check out back in 2013 We did the quarters, semi and finals in 90 mins.

mrwilliams9:
We still crumbled because technically we had a kick advantage once Nwabili made the save. We make all our kicks and we are in the final.

23 AFCON final. Up 1-0 but concede 2 goals to lose.

WCQ Playoff - Nwabili made two saves to draw us level but we tossed it

16 Semifinals but 8 final appearances and 3 wins. We have to gain more self belief as a nation of players…

I agree on that self belief part, we can’t just be freezing out in big games and moments Afcon is getting harder and this is how it will continue to be even in the last Afcon finals we were leading until civ drew level with us. Our players need to learn to rise up to big moments instead of chickening out.

The boys have done excellently well but that extra to be resilient when it becomes tougher still needs to be addressed

Anybody blaming our strikers should keep quiet as the Moroccan strikers sef no see ball score. This was an almost even game o. Make Una calm down.

yinkeys:
My observation
Osimhen doesn't play his beast mode football whenever he is captain

Dude no see ball cos Iwobi couldn’t get enough of the ball

lbrichman2:
Plus all that, Morocco still no score
They needed a casual chuks penalty to win the game
That should tell you how strong this team is
Yes we lost the midfield, but the defence didn't fold
We didn't press, we didn't press, Morocco wey press from morning till night, shey them use am score?

Abegii!!!

Our defence has been world class in the last 3 games the same eagles that was leaking goals in the group stage come on let’s give these players their flowers. Na that Ndidi we miss for this game his experience was lacking and we paid for it

lbrichman2:
The Simon sub affected our shape
The coach corrected it by bringing in Bashiru
I don't see what Chuks would have done in this game where Morocco squeezed all the spaces.
They'll probably just kick him and he won't get any free kick in a threatening position, only in the midfield would he get free kicks

As a condition for Chelle to be retained Simon should retire from this team abeg e don do.

Once Chelle wants to remove anyone the first player to come in is always Simon whether he’s replacing a striker, midfielder or defender. The technical committee needs to stop him on this.

We still had more possession than this people 😂

TheSuperNerd:
This is not an agenda against Iwobi but our midfield struggles today falls on him and Onyedika.

Onyedika struggled against the Moroccan press. He wont give us the Ndidi aggression, I already mentioned this in my analysis pregame. But he was expected to offer us a decent defensive cover at least and passing buildup base.

He partly carried out his duties but not in a great manner and also his buildup duties had to be altered as Alex was struggling too against the press whenever Onyedika gave him the ball.
Onyedika still defended when needed and used 2 tactical fouls to help the team. He also did drive us forward on 2 occasions.

Yes, he struggled but he was not all bad.

Iwobi also struggled in in duels and possession loss today like Onyedika.

Onyedika lost 2/12 duels in total, was dispossessed 2x.

Iwobi lost 2/10 duels in total and was dispossessed 3x.

It is Onyeka who gave us a fighting chance in the duels battle. He won 6/9 of his.

So you see.... it is just a pointer to how the game went.

I mean, Onyedika was subbed out and who were you expecting to come in? A suspended Ndidi? A young inexperienced Nnadi or Akinsanmiro who has only played a friendly? Who? Usman mohammed maybe...

So face the truth.

I said it here that the way we managed Ndidi absence will be key! I also mentioned that hope the person coming in for Ndidi will be a player that others understand him well enough. Onyedika looks like that player that may still need more time to properly blend into the main eagles squad for him to be a starter

lbrichman2:
What was even more painful was the manner in which he took the penalty..
Dude just passed the ball to Bono, chewing and blowing gum like a roadside ashawo..

He should pick himself up though
We need everybody

Abeg make we see Akinsanmiro, Usman, Fago and others in the next game

😂 the players you mentioned played in the friendly match against Egypt it will be nice to see them again

TheGoodJoe:

I don't think that was the problem. The Moroccans didn't score.

The problem was us not given ourselves chance to win the game by putting the Moroccans under pressure when they had the ball.

The Moroccans didn’t score because our defence and keeper was top notch!

The middle was where we lost the game as we couldn’t progress the ball much. Nididi does both defensive and attacking duties flawlessly allowing Iwobi to roam as he like but onyedika was slow in decision making that he has to be passing backwards most of the time

opes:
I have never even seen him taking one before. Under Chelle, we ain't been fortunate with penalties

It’s obvious the team doesn’t prepare well for penalties or they are too tired I don’t know

minfelix:
bro we can only manage to beat a host in a group stage but in knockout stage since the turn of 2000, its has always been bad luck upon bad luck
Afcon 2004 Host Tunisia removed us
Afcon 2008 Host Ghana removed us
Afcon 2023 Host CIv beat us

It’s becoming a curse as we seem to switch off when we face the host.

As giant as we are in African football we may need to up our mentality in tournaments. Hosts can be beaten. We are losing too much Afcon titles this way!

yinkeys:
Onyedika couldn't carry out Ndidis defensive responsibilities

Period! 💯

TheGoodJoe:
On the contrary, we did not press. We did not alter our shape. It was towards the end I saw a bit of thinking but it was too late.

Ndidi absence affected our shape to be honest. Onyedika was a bit panicky for a big game like this

caprikon:
This AFCON is officially over for the SE. We have too many bronze medals already. I think Egypt can take this one. lol.

If these guys don't win the next AFCON, then it is game over for the core of this generation. The team will go another rebuilding phase and AFCONs will be quadrennial.

Our record against hosts especially if it’s a big soccer nation is just too poor. We can’t seem to overcome it. If we never met the host we will be in the final. We’ve lost two Afcons in a row because of the hosts. It’s terrible

lbrichman2:
All those fouls the red gave against us would have been worse if we were pressing
I could count up to 8 questionable calls..

Twice Osayi was hacked down, even Iwobi, not even a card!!

Our boys did well
CAF just wants Morocco to win
That's all

Now if Chuks had buried that penalty, we would have scattered that script

Ordinary corner sef dem no give us 😂

TheGoodJoe:
Today, we did not do our best. If we did our best and lost, I won't have any problem. But, to fold up and hand the game to the Moroccans. That is unforgivable.

The middle again is where we lost the game!

yinkeys:
Alex Iwobi couldn't fly today
They put so much pressure on him
They cut our supplies

Ndidi has been his cover! It’s now obvious why Iwobi struggled in last Afcon