₦airaland Forum

Mujtahida:
See ehn, it's not about having him as a coach, do they have the proliferation of talents that we have? Nigeria is a coach's wet dream. The only draw back is our lack of organization and financial muscle.

The feat Chelle is achieving cannot be divorced from the quality of our players.

No coach will easily pass over an opportunity to go to the World Cup with a team o. If the Tunisia offer is real, talent or not Chelle will jump on it. Appearance at the World Cup as a coach is a huge profile booster

Mujtahida:
Baba, you know those days we used to watch Willie Willie. It's better you watch it with your playmates than make you dey play alone when the program start.

I prefer to stay here oo. Outside cold

before Willie Willie himself go show for your parlour omo make person no lose guard!

Mujtahida:
Outside this thread, I start panicking but once I come here, the faith of my brothers gives me assurance.

Point is that whether we win or lose, it's best to approach the game with faith.

shaky shaky Daddy!

TheSuperNerd:
On that...

“Every coach knows he must be prepared for the sack [if he doesn’t win]. But I don’t think about that… I’m not afraid [of being sacked].” - Morocco head coach Walid Regragui, being asked about whether he will still be in a job, should he lose the AFCON 2025 semi-final to Nigeria’s SuperEagles on Wednesday.

wow be like e don sign up!

TheSuperNerd:
Osasu Obayiuwana to Walid Regragui during the Prematch Conference:

"After taking the team to the semi-final of a World Cup, the first time an African team achieves this, you should be bullet-proof for the rest of your career as national coach. But you have been under tremendous pressure to win this AFCON. Do you feel this is fair?"

Regragui: "Thank you for this question. I have been expecting this question and comment from Moroccan journalists but they have never asked me this. Normally, I should be [bulletproof]. But this is Morocco. And this is how it is. We are like this. I accept it. And I fight for my country.”

😂 his job is gone once he loses tomorrow dem no go allow am go World Cup sef

minfelix:
shey dey wan influence every goal scored?🤣🤣….how many opportunities at goal did Cameroon and Tanzania have….
If super eagles begin convert all chances at this Afcon teams will be going home with swollen lips

Na Akor make we just draw e ear make e no throw away chances anyhow cos osihmen will be busier dealing with their defenders

TheSuperNerd:
Match Officials for the Semis is here:

Ghanaian Ref for Nigeria vs Morocco... SA Ref for VAR

aaah? 😂 wetin be our own with west African refs na

yinkeys:
Algeria is not host nation o Smh
Seems you didn’t watch the Tanzania & Cameroon game
Referees can immensely affect games

If Tanzania was clinical especially with the open net chance and other sitters missed what would the ref had done?

yinkeys:
Osimhen & Lookman can play at least 2 more AFCON’s
Could or may be Salah and Mane’s last
Both are 34 this year
Ivory Coast started that game slow
Mind you I’m speaking from a non Nigerian bias angle, CAF, North Africa view maybe

Egypt with what they have played don’t even deserve to be in the semis I think Ivory Coast underrated them. No sentiments in the game the better or hungrier side will win. But this Egypt doesn’t look like it, I will be surprised if they defeat Senegal(though that Senegalese defence is suspect)

yinkeys:
You people are not afraid of referee sha
Don’t be surprised when the magic starts and he gives one useless pen
I hope Morocco don’t have Motsepe’s noods or something lol

All we need to do is to out score Morocco no matter what the refs do Abi how many goals dem wan cancel? 😂 after all the one wey almost pass the goal line ko against Algeria, perhaps goal line technology may have counted that one so no fear let’s just hope the eagles score goals.

We had score 3 against Tunisia before they were given a dubious penalty. We just need to beg players like Akor and osihmen to be more clinical and we are good. Akor especially should learn to be more direct and forget about scoring laliga kind of goals tomorrow cos na make ball enter net be the koko

yinkeys:
I think we beat Senegal
My fear is Egypt, if they get to the final
Sentiments attached, so he can just get it oit the way because he’s almost 34
I doubt CAF won’t do everything possible for Salah to win an Afcon for his legacy sake just like Messi with the World Cup
Every 50/50 duel would be given to Egypt if they get to the final
I mean how would Salah lose 3 finals

If we get to the finals too and lost, players like Lookman and osihmen would have lost two finals so what’s special about Salah? If he really needs it then he and the team should show more workings. They are even lucky CIV was careless cos they won’t even be where they are now

FiveFootNinja:
My gut tells me Senegal might have an antidote for us. I don't know why, but I pray Egypt somehow beats them.

Senegal will find it difficult to beat this eagles they could be vulnerable at the back. And remember their path to the semifinals has been one of the easiest playing Sudan and Mali at the knockout stages to get to where they are.

FiveFootNinja:
Please send a link to the video. I wonder why Ekong would go and do such a foolish thing.

I watched oliseh last night on his podcast even though am one of those wey no too like am you need to see how intelligent he analysed the eagles without giving much away he even said he’s keeping some stuff till after the tournament.

yinkeys:
Troost Ekong went on BBC to reveal in depth all of Nigerias game plan, as well as Osimhen’s positioning while anticipating crosses without talking about the Moroccan game plan
SMH
Onyeka, Adams, Onyedika & the wing backs will have to be extra creative in this game
Dont be surprised if all the supplies are cut off from Iwobi
That trump card could be shut out
If Morocco plays 2 DM’s with big Amrabat on the field we should just be ready for an ultra hard game

Na wa o we are just too loud as a people e get one wey Dey even analyse the weakness of the team for social media! We are just bunch of self sabotaging people!

Good enough Chelle looks dynamic. I just hope we pull through!

JayromWrites:
Why is caf appointing the same referee that officiated Morocco's last game with Cameroon to officiate our match as well??


Is it that there is a drought of referees in the competition that would warrant Dahane Beida to officiate a Moroccan game b2b


Like his last performance was even so bias. God help Us

😂 which other way Morocco wan win before?

Team had to get to Rabat by road o!

Later we go Dey abuse naija o! The same North Africa wey some people see as heavenly

TheSuperNerd:
It is almost like Ndidi came for me personally with that goal. Prior to the Afcon, I always brought up Ndidi's goal drought but against Tunisia, aside the CDM masterclass he dropped, he said,

"Bia Super abi na Nerdie Shut up! I don finally score ooo! So rest that NT goal drought talk!"

I eat sweet humble pie that day.

Same day, that Chelle 4312/442 Christmas/Diamond was born and finally clicked. I instantly changed my mind on Chelle despite the Tunisia near comeback.

Dude is like assistant coach now. I now understand what chelle was saying in that interview with Segun Odegbami about Ndidi understanding and interpreting what he wanted for the team. That’s magical!

chrisooblog:
Ndidi's transformation under Eric Chelle has been a beauty to watch.

Someone that was all tackle and energetic running now retaining possession and distributing balls with confidence.

Pity this evolution in his game didn't happen 3-4 years earlier.

If we win Afcon, Ndidi is the unsung hero! Dude got something right in this Afcon even scored his first ever goal for us.

semid4lyfe:
I prefer Chelle switch the personnel. Onyeka should play Ndidi's role. Onyedika should play Onyeka's former role.

I agree we may need Onyeka more to screen our defence line!

AndSunGorilla:
The penalty shout is their major grouse. And as shown multiple times, it wasn't. It touched Ajayi's thigh first before his arm. They were lucky they didn't get a red card. Ndidi got an unfair yellow card etc.

It’s the yeye referees before now that have been giving the North Africans soft penalties we should blame! It has become like their entitled right now. Rubbish!

lexyman:
truth be told told , all the team s in the semi final are worthy to lift the trophy .... this should be one of the toughest semifinal pairing in recent times ..... SUPER EAGLES all the way

It’s the toughest Afcon in decades, both the minnows and mid level teams had no chance! It has been a Men’s game

TheSuperNerd:
That is relatively my point.

We have missed Aina at this Afcon. Osayi didnt convince some in the 1st 2 games. Yes, I noticed Osayi's improvement vs Tunisia but some still doubted. So Aina has been missed.
We have also missed Benjamin Frederick. Some argue that we would keep more cleansheets if Benjy was around. I cannot argue much against that too.

So yes, we have missed them. But we have also adapted very strongly without them.


Now, we will miss Ndidi's experience and command in the middle of the park. He is one of the players making up the team's spine but even in surgery, we have cases where a damaged spinal disc is replaced by a prosthetic one to restore function and enable life to move on effectively. It gets the job done even for several athletes in that some who have engaged in such procedure still returned to Sports.

The case is same here with Ndidi. He has a capable replacement. One not with Ndidi's vast experience, yes, but with the confidence and elite game experience already garnered at this Afcon and previously in the UCL. This replacement has been MOTM in this same AFCON.

Onyedika is like the prosthetic disc in this case. One who will plug in and execute the same functions Ndidi dished out in all games he featured prior to the Morocco game.

Onyedika may not be as aggressively defensively assertive as Ndidi but he is assertive enough to plug in and brings far more technical skillsets than Ndidi possesses. Dont forget that Onyedika has balled repeatedly alongside Frank Onyeka in the NT with good synergy and even came into the Rwanda WCQs game away from home (Chelle's first game in charge) and slotted in seamlessly alongside Iwobi and Ndidi.

So we will miss Ndidi but we will also adapt strongly without him. It would almost look like he never left.

Nothing more to add!

😂 boss your medical certificate no be AI na confirm!

TheSuperNerd:
Aina and Benjamin Frederick are not at this Afcon. Have we not missed them? Or have we?

You know our defence is still our weakest but thanks to Ndidi, Onyeka, bright and Bruno for the work so far. Especially to our full backs for stepping up!

chrisooblog:
JP had Onyedika so why did he decide to go hyper defensive?

Fisayo too he didn't invite.

The major difference in this squad is that Eric called more midfielders and is using them adequately.

Imagine how Aina would have been cooking with this setup at the AFCON.

JP overused the Haram approach. I understand for Ivory Coast and maybe Cameroon but haba Angola and SA!?

Angola with mabululu and SA were smoking hot in the last Afcon but for Lookman and osihmen we won’t have trumped over those teams o!

Make this team win Afcon first before we crucify paseiro finally! I still think paseiro did best with the materials at his disposal.

Danielnino00:
You and I know too well that Ndidi's absence wasn't felt at the last AFCON... Onyeka did his job perfectly well .. In fact, it was around that period that there was a clamour for Ndidi to be benched from the team....
Peseiro even preferred to bring in Aribo instead of Onyedika in certain games.... He played Osimhen until he picked a knock.... I'm sure he was aware that Aina was carrying a knock prior to the final but still went ahead to start him...

Nididi absence contributed to players like Onyeka and Iwobi (including defenders like Aina) being overworked in the last Afcon who have become the major darlings of fans now. So saying Ndidi absence was not felt in the last Afcon because we got to the final is wrong sir! No matter how unfit osihmen is you don’t have a replacement. I hope onyedika comes really good on Wednesday, thank God players like Fisayo are still available which still shows the depth of this squad over the last one. Enough said!

Danielnino00:
I don't agree with the no squad depth thing..
We went to the last AFCON with 25 players...
In the absence of Ndidi, he had Onyedika and Alhassan ...No Akor, but he had Moffi, Onuachu and Iheanacho... You might say neither of the trio are as good as Akor, but we may never have known how good Akor was if Chelle hadn't given him the chance...
We don't have Aina and Frederick in this tournament, but their absence hasn't been felt..


Peseiro did a good job taking us far, but his undoing was over dependence on his regular starters.... remember, it took him long to discard Uzoho who was stinking all over the place... He barely have players like Bruno a chance

So what are you saying then? And for Ndidi he offers so much defensively and offensively at the same time, not sure onyedika can do both that well like him. Akor is like the Boniface we missed at the last Afcon. Lookman and osihmen are doing much better because of him. This current team has more quality than the previous Afcon team

So many foreign pundits I have seen are tipping the eagles over Morocco but warning we might miss Ndidi.

Danielnino00:
Peseiro really fumbled his own hard work by not resting key players appropriately...

That ultra defensive system has more disadvantage than advantages for sure...

But let’s cut paseiro some slack this present team has more squad depth. We had no Ndidi in the last Afcon. It was even the absence of Ndidi that completely changed our formation in the last Afcon. I hope we don’t truly miss Ndidi against Morocco. Akor is another player that has added to the depth of this squad. No Akor last Afcon too.

TheGoodJoe:
Can you make some instances where you felt Finidi's man management of a situation was poor?

Remember, Finidi's tenure as head coach was brief. It was what was leaked out to the media that caused the spat between him and Osihmen. For a coach who was with the same team in the last AFCON, it was so glaring that he didn't bond properly with the players. I guess this was why one of us was saying here that the assistant coach slot given to our local coaches is beginning to look like a waste. Personality differences, I know exist, but that's why a good working relationship needs to be cultivated. Our local coaches can and should do better when it comes to the national team. We can't continue to use the support of the NFF as an excuse, we know the NFF will never change.

TheGoodJoe:

I have no DB Finidi would have excelled with the Super Eagles if given time and authority. At the end it takes time for tactical philosophies to soak in.

Regarding handling of egos, I think Finidi showed his class with the way he handled Osimhen's burst up. Many coaches would have blown the lid but he handled it behind the scene.

If you observe Chelle, you will never see him say anything about his players atitude or performance anywhere, or what he said in private being leaked out to the press, even when they falter, mentioning names or not, so it's difficult for him to be misunderstood by anyone regarding his players. I mean, for all Nwabali's behaviour and play, Chelle said nothing. Finidi didn't do well in that area, let's be honest.

TheGoodJoe:
REPOST
Finidi is 100% right in that statement. Tuchel repeated the same thing. I watched a recent interview of Oliver Glasner, coach of Crystal Palace and he said the same thing.

You can't try Finidi's exposure working with Coach Monday Sinclair, Van Gaal, Louis Aragounes. Sometimes people should learn.

I think the problem with most of our ex-players is their ability to manage the best of our players in the squad. Imagine the spat between Osihmen and Lookman, I tell you, most of our ex players as coaches would have taken sides. This was also Findi's problem, as well as Oliseh and others. I think this is where Siasia was the best of them all. Only Keshi got away and delivered results after freezing quality players like Ike Uche, Martins, and Osaze out of his Afcon-winning team, and that was because he still had quality in the likes of Victor Moses and Mikel Obi.

Another interesting stat! The Francophone and North African countries are relying heavily on foreign born talent

TheGoodJoe:
Finidi soaketh what he knoweth.

oga mi this your quote na King James bible version o