Mickael2: our main core have been part of the SE for over 5 years na. Mikel, Onazi, Balogun, Ogu, Musa, Omeruo I can go on, they didn't just fly into the team. But let us just assume you are correct.
Nobody is asking for Barca, just have a good, well defined pattern of play, do not confuse what I am saying. Of course we cannot give what we do not have, but when we cannot even coordinate five passes together it is an issue, or because we have academy players they can no longer pass the ball? We cannot be dominant all the time but at least we can play well, our academy players are way better than SA's best players so what was that performance all about. Sha let's not argue this, Rohr still is the manager and I can't change that.
I hope your night was fine Sir
Can you compare this main core with the Old main core that Westerhorf inherited from the 1980s?: Keshi, Okechukwu, Iroha and Eguavoen (which was our regular back 4) then Eziugo, Siasia, Yekini, not forgetting Peter Rufai, . Come to even think of the then post 80 inclusions in: Amokachi, Nwannu, Oliha, Finidi, Amuneke, Oliseh and Okocha. It is largely unfair to make comparisons between Westerhof's and Rohr's Teams. When Westrehof went to Zimbabwe how did he perform? Our U23 team even trashed his team 4-0 in Lagos.
And to my night. Not particularly pleasant as our Girls disgraced us. I woke up this morning and the memory of that lose just spoilt my mood.
Mickael2: Boss, learning curve after three years? At the World Cup your excuse was 'he is still building', now we are getting even worse and you have reversed to 'he is getting results', so after building for the past 3 years all he can manage to do is to 'get results'? By 1993 Westerhof's team was playing brilliant football, I remember asking Sia1 something about that and he told me that by 92 everybody already knew what to do, when you come to camp the coach will just perfect what you had already learnt, if after three years(with a proper tournament in between which affords coaches enough time to train their players) we are still playing without any identity then we haven't built anything. You do know that if Rohr gets sacked that a new coach will have to start from the scratch, because no good coach will adopt this playing method, what then have we built? Klinsman left Germany and Leow came in and continued the same pattern, in that case you can say Klinsman built something, this coach that took Argentina to the final of the 2014 WC left, Martino came in and continued his philosophy and Argentina almost won a Copa, sadly these have been three wasted years, yes we have made it to the WC and the AFCON but what will be the benefit in the long run?
Firstly, A good number of the senior Westerhofs players were carried over form the 1980s. They had been part and parcel of the team and so you wouldn't expect issues when it came to integration.
Secondly, the New inclusions in the team were already high flying professionals that were already delivering at their respective clubs, Both locally and Foreign. Not like now that we have players who have just been newly promoted from the academies. And we hope will deliver.
The bottom line is we do not have the armory that we had then. There is a gulf in Class.
And on Rohr, We have all accepted that he is not much of a good tactician,but again remember The NFA then engaged Bonfere Jo as a tactician to Westerhoff. But as Earthquake2 rightly said, Rohr is a good Team Manager. Now, the question should be what will it cost the NFF to engage a tactician for the team?
And o Rohr learning, oga, every coach dey learn o.
TheSupernerd, I keep asking u if we are in the New dawn yet and you have been shifting that dawn. And have been waiting and waiting to declare that "New Dawn".
Guess what, some of us have been waiting and expecting that New dawn for the past 20years! (1998 to be precise).
We are no longer that dominant force that we used to be. Yes, we have a very rich pedigree but we must also realize that it is no longer business as usual. Nigeria is no longer much better than teams like SA, Congo DR, Mali, Guinea, and the likes. And we arguably can only rub shoulders with likes of CIV, Senegal, Morocco, Egypt.
For those that expected us to have over run SA in Jo' burg you need to have a rethink. The current squad is not even as gifted as the squad we had from 2002 to 2010 era, which to me was our last generation of SUPER Eagles. Just compare position by position including the 3 choice goalies and u will realize. What we have now are a group of mostly young talented players who we hope will with time start delivering the goods.
I do not belong to the group that excessively hype players neither do I belong to the group that Pull down players. The earlier we realize that we are not that dominant force we used to be in the 1990s and 2000s the better for us.
Yes, we are on a building or rebuilding process, just like have been since 1998, and so we need to be patient with the team.
And on Rohr, we all know he is not much gifted tactically. Such is for so many coaches. The NFF had to employ Bonfere Jo as a personal tactician to Westerhoff. So many here call Rohr ''White Onigbinde'' but I see him more as ''white Amodu''. The simple philosophy that guides such a coach is ''if you cannot win do not lose''. Just like Amodu, Rohr took over the coaching position and unlike most other coaches, he started with the already existing squad and started getting results while the gradual injection of New blood with time. Some call it conservatism but I call it building with stability . Some here even once called Rohr a white version of Icon4s . And I have adviced a couple of smart analysts here before to go for Basic coaching certificates and that will make them see things not only as critics but also as coaches. They used to call me a conservatist until they met Rohr TheGoodJoe and TheSuperNerd how far?
To be candid this is one of Rohr's thinnest squads he has ever paraded. We were so unlucky with the wrong calls by the officials especially that 2nd goal which could have been the decider. What I will say is lets be patient with Rohr, he looks like someone still on the learning curve. He has managed to give us the AFCON ticket with a game to spare even after losing our first game. Those that have criticized him have every Right to do so just like those who have hailed him. We know Rohr is not an excellent tactician but he has continued to deliver which is the ultimate yardstick to judge a coach.
Meanwhile Amuneke's Tanzania are still playing 0-0 against Lesotho. They need to win to greatly boost their chances as Uganda had done them a big favor by beating Cape Verde yesterday.
I wish Emma Luck. Hope to see him and his team in Cameroon. Then I will be having two teams I am supporting.
TheGoodJoe: More like Rohr was scared to his boxers and decided no adventurous play or he lacks the capability of building a strong setup to tear up tough oppositions. Either way, our display yesterday was close to atrocious.
Just like how Siasia needed just a 2-1 win to qualify. We were already leading 2-1 but he kept on pushing forward to get a 3rd so as to secure a comprehensive win while toping the group and Bam! Guinea hit us on the counter and eqaulized and we crashed out.
Rohr is conservative yes but he has continued to achieve results. He is a very cautious coach.
If it is left to some of u here we will be parading different 11 players for each game. Imagine people proposing Success, Chukwueze and Onyekuru on starting line up for a game of this magnitude.
I was only disappointed in the officiating otherwise the boys got the job done.
I wonder if u people would have been saying these things u are saying if that Musa's goal had stood.
TheSuperNerd: No more Qualifiers Calculators palava; Team Quality pool evolution
No more If Team Z loses to Team B by X number of goals and if Team B draws us 1-1 at least, we move on to Ghana 2081... Lol... Those days are over.
Twice now in major competition qualifiers with a game in hand, Rohr has delivered even in the midst of some flaws in his somewhat conservative approach and certain decision makings. But on the overall, he is getting the job done alongside his continual blooding in of more young quality talents which I expect to continue even in the new year ahead of the Summer's Afcon.
There was no Moses Simon on the official matchday squad while Aina missed out due to Injury picked up before the game while in camp. Chukwueze made the bench but Osimhen did not. Remember this is a team that was without regulars in Uzoho, Ighalo, Mike Obi, Shehu Abdullahi, Ndidi and even Onazi. Our best choice RB/RWB, Tyronne Ebuehi of Benfica is still waiting in the wings to make his comeback once his injury period has elapsed. This should tell you that some players who made the bench against SA would also not have made it at all in some of the above listed players' presence. Such is the growing depth of this young squad and we hope it continues and lead us to better times as a football nation.
Honestly, with the way this team is going, we could have some major omissions in the final 23 for the Afcon in Cameroun. The team is getting even more competitive as time goes on. In all like I love to say, "Time will tell.."..
So is it Dawn yet or we are still awaiting the dawn.?
TheSuperNerd: No more Qualifiers Calculations palava, Team Quality pool evolution
Twice now in major competition qualifiers with a game in hand, Rohr has delivered even in the midst of some flaws in his somewhat conservative approach and certain decision makings. But on the overall, he is getting the job done alongside his continual blooding in of more young quality talents which I expect to continue even in the new year ahead of the Summer's Afcon.
There was no Moses Simon on the official matchday squad while Aina missed out due to Injury picked up before the game while in camp. Chukwueze made the bench but Osimhen did not. Remember this is a team that was without regulars in Uzoho, Ighalo, Mike Obi, Shehu Abdullahi, Ndidi and even Onazi. Our best choice RB/RWB, Tyronne Ebuehi of Benfica is still waiting in the wings to make his comeback once his injury period has elapsed. This should tell you that some players who made the bench against SA would also not have made it at all in some of the above listed players' presence. Such is the growing depth of this young squad and we hope it continues and lead us to better times as a football nation.
Honestly, with the way this team is going, we could have some major omissions in the final 23 for the Afcon in Cameroun. The team is getting even more competitive as time goes on. In all like I love to say, "Time will tell.."..
So is it Dawn yet or we are still awaiting the dawn.?
TheSuperNerd: No more Qualifiers Calculations palava, Team Quality pool evolution
Twice now in major competition qualifiers with a game in hand, Rohr has delivered even in the midst of some flaws in his somewhat conservative approach and certain decision makings. But on the overall, he is getting the job done alongside his continual blooding in of more young quality talents which I expect to continue even in the new year ahead of the Summer's Afcon.
There was no Moses Simon on the official matchday squad while Aina missed out due to Injury picked up before the game while in camp. Chukwueze made the bench but Osimhen did not. Remember this is a team that was without regulars in Uzoho, Ighalo, Mike Obi, Shehu Abdullahi, Ndidi and even Onazi. Our best choice RB/RWB, Tyronne Ebuehi of Benfica is still waiting in the wings to make his comeback once his injury period has elapsed. This should tell you that some players who made the bench against SA would also not have made it at all in some of the above listed players' presence. Such is the growing depth of this young squad and we hope it continues and lead us to better times as a football nation.
Honestly, with the way this team is going, we could have some major omissions in the final 23 for the Afcon in Cameroun. The team is getting even more competitive as time goes on. In all like I love to say, "Time will tell.."..
So is it Dawn yet or we are still awaiting the dawn.?
wayodude: You missed o. I watched every single minute of every game. That was my introduction to watching us play qualifiers, and hence my high expectations of any team in gwg.
No not me. I was asking TheGoodJoe.
SE were fun to watch in the early 90s because they were almost sure to deliver and were so dominant on the continent.
Goal breaks down the tactical battle that was, between two giants of African football as they played out to a 1-1 draw on Saturday
This game was a crucial clash in the race for African Cup of Nations 2019 qualification, with the home side needing a win to secure their path to the showpiece with a game to spare. Away side, Nigeria, needed just a draw to progress by virtue of their head-to-head record against Libya, having beaten the North Africans 4-0 and 3-2, the latter a mightily impressive victory away from home. A draw or a defeat for South Africa would make little difference if Libya won away in the Seychelles – which they did by an incredible 8-1 margin in the end – as both results would mean that Stuart Baxter’s men would need a draw away to Libya in March to make it to Cameroon 2019.
Bafana Bafana came into this game with some serious question marks over their engine room, with all of Dean Furman, Bongani Zungu and Kamohelo Mokotjo out injured, as well as Keagan Dolly. Baxter decided to go with his safest and most experienced available pairing in front of the back four, selecting the Mamelodi Sundowns duo of Hlompho Kekana and Tiyani Mabunda. A riskier selection would have been to plump for Fortune Makaringe, whose extra athleticism and ability to drive forward from deep areas, due to his early days as a winger, would have tested a weakened Super Eagles midfield. The other major calls from Baxter were to go for Thamsanqa Mkhize over Ramahlwe Mphahlele at right back, and to start Thulani Serero, whose return to the squad has come after some strong form for Vitesse as a deep-lying playmaker. Percy Tau and Lebo Mothiba were both selected, but a genuine front two is rarely favoured by the current coach, so Tau’s position was a question mark pre-game.
Nigeria were also missing several of their usual starters, with goalkeeper Francis Uzoho out with a rib injury, Wilfred Ndidi missing through suspension, John Obi Mikel not selected and Odion Ighalo, with six goals in the last three qualifiers, withdrawing through injury. This added to the question marks over the side’s formation, at fullback, and over the position of Alex Iwobi. In the end, coach Gernot Rohr switched to a 3-5-2 formation, using Kenneth Omeruo on the left of the back three and winger Samuel Kalu as a right wingback. This change allowed both a three-man central midfield, with Iwobi in a central role again, as he was for the last two qualifiers, and two strikers. Ahmed Musa was able to play as a wide forward, where he could focus on attacking and not tracking the opposition right back, with Kelechi Iheanacho as Ighalo’s replacement. Israel-based, John Ogu was Ndidi’s replacement as defensive midfielder, and in goal, Chippa United’s Daniel Akpeyi was expected to start. But Rohr made a big call by selecting Ikechukwu Ezenwa ahead of both Akpeyi and club teammate Theophilus Afelokhai, who is Enyimba’s usual first choice.
Nigeria looked the better of the two sides in the game, not only taking the lead in the 9th minute, but having another clear opportunity as Iheanacho played Musa through on goal, but an offside flag had been erroneously raised. Bafana were clearly confused by Nigeria’s shape – the fullbacks, Hlanti and Mkhize were reluctant to close down the wingbacks, for fear of leaving their centre backs two vs. two against Nigeria’s pacey strike pairing. Additionally, Kekana and Mabunda were both sitting deep against Iwobi, which gave Etebo and Ogu plenty of space to build play against just Serero, especially with the away side also having three central defenders against a lone striker in Mothiba. The latter problem was a result of Tau’s usage as a wide player, often finding himself in very deep positions to help Hlanti, including one example was when he was shoved off the ball by Iheanacho 15-yards into his own half. Tau has played mostly on the left at club level this season, but it is far from his most effective position. When the goal did come, it was as a result of Hlanti being left isolated against the pacey Kalu. With neither of Bafana’s defensive midfielders comfortable in shifting over to help as they were aware of Iwobi’s threat, as well as the possibility of Iheanacho dropping into deep areas (as he had done in creating Musa’s “offside” chance), it meant Kalu could blaze past Hlanti and force Buhle Mkhwanazi into an own goal.
The major change by Baxter around the 15-minute mark was to switch Tau over to the right side where he was on the side of Jamilu Collins, a less threatening wingback than Kalu. Tau immediately started to get on the ball, and on the right flank, he could carry the ball inside on the furthest foot from the defenders and protect it from pressure with his right arm. With Mhkize and Hlanti now instructed to bomb forward, Nigeria had real issues in wide areas as Omeruo looked uneasy having to move wide to face Tau on that flank, and with Balogun forced to stay narrow to help Ekong, Kalu was stationed much deeper. Brilliant play from Tau created the equaliser as he showed his class coming inside to link with Themba Zwane. With those two players now able to cut inside with the full-backs offering width, their chemistry from Sundowns came to the fore. Nigeria were still massive threats as twice Khune had to race off his line to beat speed merchant Musa to the ball, and with Nigeria’s front two, plus Iwobi, stopping Khune from playing short from goalkicks, the goalkeeper had to try risky dinked passes into midfield and one such delivery saw a turnover and The Super Eagles had a clear open opportunity wasted by a heavy Iheanacho touch with just Khune to beat. The rest of the half petered out somewhat as the 32-degree heat took its toll. Despite long delays over throw-ins and several fouls, the referee played no additional time and the sides went in level. Nigeria had been the bigger threat, but Tau’s growing influence and impressive assist had pulled Bafana back into the game. Baxter’s move after 15 minutes had worked well.
Second half – tempo drops, Tau supply cut
At the start of the second half, Tau was initially back on the left, but was later moved into a role just off Mothiba as Thembinkosi Lorch replaced Thulani Serero after an hour, and moved out onto the right flank. Nigeria had made a crucial switch in dropping Iwobi deeper to a role in a flatter three-man central midfield, where he could shore up the left flank and give some protection to Omeruo and Collins. This meant that Kekana and Mabunda began to get more chances to receive the ball and face forward, but neither generally played the driven, floor passes into Tau that he needed, but rather longer diagonals out to the full-backs or over the top. This led to numerous attacks breaking down.
With the tempo of the game now much lower, and the ball spending lots of time out for throw-ins, Nigeria looked settled defensively, but also less of a threat on the break with South Africa playing deeper to protect themselves against Musa. Once Isaac Success came on for Iheanacho, Nigeria had more of a route one option and his ability to hold the ball up and draw fouls, allowed the sting to be taken out of the game even further. By the 75-minute mark, Bafana had run out of ideas and energy, and desperately needed some inspiration from the bench by Baxter. Instead, the game drifted away and possible match-winners like Vincent Pule and Dino Ndlovu were left to watch from the sidelines.
Nigeria easily saw out the game, dealing well with South Africa’s constant long passes to try to find Tau or Mothiba. Omeruo, who had struggled against Tau in the first half, barely had to deal with him in the second period and was able to rather fight in the aerial duels instead of being exposed on the ground. Nigeria saw themselves incorrectly flagged offside again in the latter stages when Musa finished past Khune, which was a goal that should have stood.
Summary
This draw for Bafana had the same effect that a defeat would have had – Baxter’s men now need to draw against Libya in the final game. For this reason, the conservative second half was a massive disappointment.
Any supporter watching the game would not have known from the home side’s attitude that they needed to win. South Africa’s coach admitted his side’s lack of ideas in his post-match interview saying: “in the second half, we started going really long”, but it begs the question why he didn’t risk bringing on Teboho Mokoena for Mabunda to improve passing in deeper areas, or give Pule – a high-risk, high-reward player who shoots and crosses constantly – at least 15 minutes to try to force a winner. Nigeria had a tough period from the 15th to 45th minute, but still created clear chances during that time, and when the two blatantly wrong offside calls are factored in, the away side were far more worthy of winning the game than Bafana Bafana. Rohr did a good job of reorganising his side in the second period by asking more defensively of Iwobi, and his side showed excellent game management by slowing proceedings down and breaking any momentum for the home side by making fouls and drawing fouls.
Source: Goal
Excellent game management. That was it. We created more of the chances and deserved a win. But the result is what it is. We move on.
Chukwuemeka007: I never thought that this game will make me come out of my ghost mode after nearly two years of ardent followership.
First of, I think the stern attacks on Rohr's person, intellect and coaching tactics is way out of proportion though I'm not absolving him of any wrongdoings.
We played a team who had their backs against the wall (a loss would put them on a bad position) in front of their home crowd. It's expected they do the initial gra-gra stuff.
If not for poor officiating, we were 3-1 winners. We also tend to forget the altitude issues over there resulting to a thin layer of oxygen. "overdoing" yourself will lead to early gassing out. I think it was Ecuador that thrashed Argentina 6 nil in a world cup qualifier played in Quito (a place of high altitude and low atmospheric pressure. A few Argentine players even fainted on that day)
We have taken to commonizing qualifying for the AFCON because Rohr qualified us forgetting that we failed to qualify on two occasions back-to-back even as defending champions in 2015. Our African Guardiola and our Special One couldn't.
For the first I'm seeing the Super Eagles qualify for the World Cup and AFCON without needing calculators nor praying for the downfall of another team though we faced though oppositions. PS I'm in my early 20s can't say about the 90s.
Even if we go ahead to win the AFCON some of us will still come here to say:
"forget he won the AFCON, Rohr can't take us anywhere. He's inept and by the way what's AFCON for a whole Nigeria?" forgeting that a "whole" Ghana last won a trophy in 1982 (pls correct me if I'm wrong) and not even an Avram Grant could get them another.
We exalt the way SA played saying they had "free-flowing and sexy game". But I'm 100% sure that if the SE played same yesterday we would still come here to say
"the team played rubbish, all runnings and not bite, no shots and no final balls just headless chicken runs and long irrelevant balls"
All I'm saying is this: Yes, coach Rohr isn't 100% of what we desire in a coach but he's giving us results! results! he's doing his job. so these over-blown criticisms and insults are funny to me. Asides the unfortunate loss to SA, we're unbeaten against African oppositions.
On a final note, to those prophets of doom who drop doomsday prophecies before our matches just so they can come back after the match to say "didn't I say it?" una weldone, more grease to your keypads.
Some are already predicting a Quarter final last bus stop for the SE for a competition that will commence in 7 months' time. SMH
Same way some started singing before the World cup that "Nigeria will not win or draw Argentina" and they came here to say the "didn't I tell you?"
Some say: with the array of talents at Rohr's disposal, we shouldn't be struggling at all so at that Rohr should be shown the exit door. I wonder what'd have happened to the coaches of Germany, Portugal and Spain following their early exit from the WC despite their "sexy and sleek football" plus huge arsenal of talents if they were Nigerians or employees of the NFF.
Remember this was an away game. SA was the home team so as expected they had a lot of possession. They needed a win while we needed a draw, so it was expected that as the game progressed they become more determined and we would rather protect the result we had rather than pushing too much forward and concede in the process. But I believe we would have gotten the winner if we needed a win.
We lacked Enterprise at the middle. Rohr should settle whatever he had with Onazi. Etebor is an off and on player.
The attacking combination worked just fine we would have easily won 3:1 but for illiterate officials who cannot read and interprete simple offside rules. CAF should please investigate that game. And Nigerian players and officials should learn to complain immediately when match officials Robs them. That useless lines man wouldn't have had the effrontery to disallow that second goal if the first error was greeted with angry reactions.
Thank God the draw was enough or we didn't end up losing the game.
Against Uganda we need to rest someone like Musa, he has done enough for Nigeria this year to deserve some accolades. Let Rohr play a more experimental squad. Let him start Success and Onyekuru. Chukwueze too should get some playing time.
CONGRATULATIONS NIGERIA! We are back to the AFCON.
TheSuperNerd: I remember I used to call Komekn, Moussa Dembele's Uncle back then... The lad is now at Lyon as Mariano's replacement. He was at Celtic then. The lad never see French call up yet ooo... And instead of Komekn to focus on seeing that his nephew gets his first NT call up he is here still trying to certify his wasteman theories and even play down on the rising star of Samu "Robben" Chukwueze. He brings in Sancho and Reiss Nelson but I wan ask... These guys have played more matches than Chuks naa and Chukwueze is in the BEST Technically proficient league in the world for Santa Claus' sake and doing it so good. Yet he says he is yet to see enough to adjudge Chukwueze a top quality young talent on the fast rise...
But when his nephew Moussa Dembele dey ball for Lowly Scotland, him no let us hear word for here oooo... Is that not chameleonish?
Anyway, Dad, yes ooooo... I'm looking forward to the cracker in Johannesburg. Would be busy by that period but will try to not miss the game. Things have been going very well but been so engaged Sir... Just say make I check in small before I ball out again. Greetings to you and your whole family... Greet Icon4s' Jnr especially for me...
This weekend... Despite the absence of several First XI stars like Ighalo, Ndidi, Shehu, and Mikel... And even missing Onazi due to personal issues Rohr has with him (about time we bring in Billing now), I think we are in for a very tough but interesting game tomorrow.
We should watch out for SA's Percy Tau and Lebo Mothiba. MOTHIBA IS CLINICAL and is strong... Tau is fast and skilful... Serero, if he plays, is slippery and sleek and should not be left out of sight. It would be a good game but if Musa and Iwobi bring their A- Game and if Chukwueze plays a part... And if either of Success or Nacho can fire from all cylinders, then we would edge it in the end.
I wish us the best tomorrow and hopefully that will provide a fine prelude for our Super Falcons taking on SA's WNT the following day in the AWCON....
Would be a fantastic weekend to remember eternally if we can beat both SA NTs.... Hehehehehehehehehe....
Well, then. But hope u will be back in time to work with the awards committee?
komekn: You are blind by negative prejudice you are unable to have a discussion without presuming hatred and deep seated dislike.
As a man thinketh so he is.
This discussion waa never about Isaac Success but the entire subject of age corroboration and the efficacy of the MRI in determining age.
But of course you can not see that.
Yes, continue seeing with your own positive prejudice .And please Like I said take your paper to FIFA.com, go there and share your positive prejudice about the MRI.
And in case u don't know, Isaac Success' age started the discussion. So next time do well to go through previous comments before jumping in. Ok?
TheSuperNerd: Don't mind Southgate. I have that article by Dina Fine Maron he is throwing about and I can tell you that it lacks sound scientific credibility. 'Have gone through it twice before and I can tell you that I will pick the works of Jiri Dvorak, John George, Astrid Junge, and Juerg Hodler in NCBI over whatever goobledygook Dina poured out in Scientific American. It is not every writer one should take seriously. In Science, we know that fact.
U think say me get him time? All these na just to discredit the reliability of the MRI with the sole aim of discrediting the ages of our ex-youth internationals that went through the MRI.
He is so persistent with his aims and objectives.
So how far na? How the go dey go? Shey u are getting ready for tomorrow's show down?
Joebie: Nigeria approaching under-pressure South Africa with relaxed mind', says team coordinator Patrick Pascal Kolade Oni 16:21 15/11/2018
The top official of the Super Eagles has stressed that they won’t be playing under pressure against Bafana Bafana
Nigeria are going to approach South Africa game with a 'relaxed mind', according to team coordinator Patrick Pascal.
Despite both sides being a win away from the 2019 African Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon, Pascal believes the onus is on Stuart Baxter's men to perform at the FNB Stadium, Johannesburg on Saturday. Gernot Rohr's men overcame a poor start to the qualifying campaign after losing their opener to Bafana Bafana in Uyo.
Afcon 2019 Group E permutations: What South Africa, Nigeria and Libya need to do And a combination of South Africa's slip and Nigeria's superb form since their group stage exit at the 2018 World Cup put them in pole position in Group E.
“I want to tell you that we are going to South Africa with a relaxed mind because we know that our hosts are the ones under pressure,” Pascal told Goal.
“We are going to Johannesburg to play our normal game and try to secure a positive result so that we do not lose to them twice in the same qualifiers. We have corrected what made it easier for them to beat us in Uyo last year. We are assuring Nigerians that we are not going to disappoint them.
“They were fortunate to beat us when the Eagles were still in the formative stage and after then we have adapted and have performed creditably well including playing at the World Cup finals and also winning some important games. South Africans won’t have it easy this time around because we are ready for them.”
Also, Pascal confirmed the arrival of Bordeaux winger Samuel Kalu who encountered visa-related problem and was unable to join the rest of the team early. “Kalu is with us and we have a full house now. We are fully focused on the Saturday game,” he added.
—goal
....but no complacency please. I will like them to approach the game like our qualification depends on it. Qualifying with this game will really help our football development as we are likely to field an experimental squad against Seychelles which may also include capping of some available foreign borns.
AIG07: With Etebo's injury, Agu and Ogu will likely start.
This is what our Midfield is reduced to. Who do we bring on to replace this guys if the need arises?
Well, what do I know. I just hope our Midfield is not over run by the Southies.
What do you think Mikael2?
There is no where in the News that it is carried that Etebo is injured. But even if he is injured, we don't pray for that, we have a very dynamic squad. Iwobi goes to CM while Iheanacho plays the number 10 role. There is no cause for any alarm.
Kvngmickey: I'm also studying quantity surveying, please I need advice on how to go about it
Since you are still a student the only way to go about it for now is to get those good grades and graduate with an excellent result. Then other things can follow.
MetalJigsaw: South Africa vs Nigeria: Ahmed Musa to start as false ninePublished on November 16, 2018 By Ifreke Inyang
Super Eagles head coach, Gernot Rohr, is seriously considering playing Ahmed Musa in a false nine position, when they face South Africa in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Saturday.
Rohr will be without top scorer Odion Ighalo, who is ruled out with injury.
And although he has Victor Osimhen and Isaac Success available, the German is keen on using Musa’s pace in running behind the Bafana Bafana’s defence.
The Al Nassr winger has impressed in training playing in the position and looks set to start upfront.
The option of playing Success upfront is still being mooted but for now, Rohr is pinning on using the pace of his forwards in Samuel Kalu, Ahmed Musa and Alex Iwobi in a 4-3-3 formation against South Africa on Saturday.
Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by Icon4s(m): 12:11pm On Nov 19, 2018
