₦airaland Forum

Honestly, I think that's our best option upfront but I think Rohr likes Ighalo. He has liked him since the match against Cameroun at Uyo.

Many coaches do that ... once they have faith in you, it would take a really stinker of a game for them to lose that faith. That's the privilege Odion Ighalo has been enjoying. But I hope Rohr could experiment more because everything I know tells me that our best attacking option would include Kelechi Iheanacho in the mix, preferably with Simy Nwankwo.


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chrisooblog:
i wouldn't mind seeing kc pair with simmy again i think that pairing could be fruitful

tbaba, did you really post this or did someone stole your handle? You have 3 good strikers in the team and you deliberately decide to play without any striker at all?

Anyway, I will expect either Simy Nwankwo or Iheanacho to start against Czech.


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tbaba1234:
My line-up for Czech

Uzoho
Ebuehi
Idowu
Balogun
Ekong
Omeruo
Etebo
Ndidi
Mikel
Iwobi
Victor Moses

Oh please! Enough of all these hype, or else, you guys would be greatly disappointed. The Poland, Serbia, and England friendlies have exposed this team. The World Cup is coming about 3-4 months too early for us. This team is NOT ready for prime time yet. To me, Morocco is Africa's best chance to do well in Russia. Senegal might not do badly either, if they can get it together. I don't have too much confidence on any of the other teams.


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goldfish80:
Guinea and Liverpool-bound midfielder Naby Keita has tipped Nigeria to reach the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Africa will be represented by Nigeria, Senegal, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia at the finals, but it is the Super Eagles who Keita believes will “lead by example”. He also added that two of the continent’s teams could reach the semifinals.

“It will be a tough tournament for African teams but the good thing is that they have learnt from past mistakes,” Keita told Goal.

“I know Nigeria will lead by example and we will definitely have at least two teams in the semis of the competition.

“However, it is unfortunate that Guinea will not be part of the African teams at the games in Russia.”

Keita’s Syli National finished behind Tunisia, DR Congo and Libya in their qualifying group to extend their long wait for a debut at the global tournament.

The best performance by an African team at a World Cup is reaching the quarterfinal, a feat achieved by Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010).

https://africanfootball.com//news/750423/Naby-Keita-tips-Nigeria-to-reach-Russia-2018-semifinals

Nne, that dude has issues .... serious ones!

But I don't blame him. I will blame the folks that tend to engage him. Silence, they say, is the best answer ... but I guess some of us has too much time on our hands.


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safarigirl:
So, it is no longer Kayode, it is now Agu.

Wailers keep wailing and causing distractions. World Cup is in less than two weeks and people are still moaning over players that 90% of fans KNEW would not make it to Russia. This same Agu is who has been collecting insult from Naija fans since, same guy who many accused Rohr of favoritism on top his head, now, mans is the best DM since Busquetes? World people sha

I totally agree, bro. Rohr needs to needs to gamble more and make quick decision. If a system/player isn't working then you do what you gotta do. Don't wait to see if the problem can sort itself out, because then it might be too late to remedy the problem. I mean, if England weren't wasteful in front of goal on Saturday, we could've conceded 6 goals or more in the first 45 mins. He's just too conservative for my liking but I definitely won't criticize him because his upside is way more than his downside.

We probably won't have guys like Tyroone Ebuehi, Bryan Idowu, and Francis Uzoho playing for the Super Eagles today, if not for Gernot Rohr.


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gamaliel9:
Good point...however for me...why should he wait at half time to change tactise? If he gets four goals in the first half...he may have to climb a mountain in the second half....why not change personel or change play within the half...even if it means changing a player in the first half..that way pressure in the second half will be minimal

Yup. And the mom is even more beautiful sef. And exceptionally smart too ... I mean, the mom not Zahra tho.


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ClintonEmex:
Forget everything, Zahra is beautiful.

Woe-men!

That's all I gotta say



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Word!

In addition, let hope that all those NFF bigwigs are not there to create more distractions to the team.


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Anigreat:



Instead of training una go de pose for camera.

One thing Gernot Rohr still doesn't get enough credit for is his ability to switch tactics at will and change the game completely. Argentina didn't knew what hit them at the second half of our friendly. It was like they were playing a totally different team. The same thing happened in the second half against England although we were not able to get over the line this time. It's actually refreshing to see a coach who knows what to do to change the complexion of the game. It's been a while since I saw such a coach in the Super Eagles set up.

Unfortunately, the World Cup might just be coming a few months too early for Gernot Rohr and his team. I wish that we had an AFCON in March of this year, that would've given Rohr a chance to tweak and refine this team for the World Cup. All in all, let's see what he can do in the next 10 days because this team is NOT yet ready for Russia.

In addition, Rohr needs to have a serious conversation with these FOUR crucial players:
John Obi Mikel - No big man football
Victor Moses - No selfish and aimless dribbling
Alex Iwobi - No childish dilly dallying and more effort at the defensive end
Joel Obi - Quit trying to do too much. Let the game to come to you

If he could get those messages across, then be assured that we'll be fine in Russia.


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Haha!! Don't worry, I am ready for them. I will kill 'em with facts, if they dare


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Lucasbalo:
The Pootin a*s lickers will be coming after you. They worship that semi despotic Pootin.

Woe-men!

That's all I gotta say


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Haha. This car is most likely a junk pile of aluminum and steel. Russia can't even manufacture a good refrigerator talk less of making a good car. Nnewi can build a better car than Russia, believe it or not.

The only thing Russia knows how to build are arms. They can build the best of them, but other than that they can't build nada.


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That wouldn't surprise me one bit because Onazi is definitely NOT the same player I knew pre and post 2014 World Cup.

But either way, his football age is 26. We all have those in Nigeria. I had one myself, back in the day ... so been there, done that


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elyte89:
Onazi is nothing less Dan 34/35years so certain


U c,I don't knw y we like to sugarcoat d truth on dis thread,when we c glaring truth


When I worked at airport in 2015,precisely MM1, in Ikeja,I do c onazi younger brother whenever he wants to travel and we do rapport very well...looking at his brother face alone,u will knw dis guy can't b less Dan 28years,back den in 2015..onazi don old o

Even DT Joel can't b less Dan 35years

Haha!! Trouble maker


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asha80:
:oenugu rangers?

What way was Aina treated exactly? So because he agreed to switch allegiance to Nigeria means that we should automatically hand him a world cup slot without him earning it? Ol' boy, are you on druggzz gosh, some of you guys are supa annoying. I mean, seriously annoying.
Even Aina himself knew that he didn't do enough to earn a slot this time around and he would come back after the world cup to earn his spot. Aina wouldn't have made the England squad either so he didn't really lose anything, especially considering that he would have a much better chance of making the Super Eagles in the future than making the 3 Lions.

And by the way, anyone who looks 'at the way we treated Aina' should also look at the way we've treated Tyroone Ebuehi, Bryan Idowu, Troost Ekong, Leon Balogun, Alex Iwobi, etc.


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komekn:
How many minutes and how many games did Aina play for the SE.

Aina primarily is a RB to have a level playing field he should be tried in his preferred position. However, that not withstanding did he get a fair chance

How many minutes of SE playing time did he actually get.

Finally, how on earth can we be taking a player who has started to decline so badly that he failed in lowly Turkey went to Belguim and started playing 2nd division in Belgium and not even first choice. Finally this player has lost pace he is now a liability. That player was taken ahead of Aina.

THAT'S A TRAVESTY.

I really don't see how we can justify taking Onazi even Joel Obi has been disappointing.

[color=#000000]The way Aina has been treated will be great boost for other players considering playing for Nigeria[/color].

Nna, you definitely gotta text me your addy because I owe you a drink whenever we jam. Reading your opinions here, most of the time, is like a breath of fresh air.


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Icon4s:
Aina didn't do enough to displace Echiejile. Simple and short.

On Shehu and Ebuehi, who starts has lot to do with which strategy Rohr chooses to adopt. Very obviously Ebuehi is a better modern RB considering his ability to join in the attack from the wings. Rohr has the final say on this.

On Joel, I don't agree that his making the team is based on Sentiment. Could Agu and Agbo, who were dropped, have performed any better?

Also on Onazi, he obviously had a very bad game. You may say he is not good enough for a starter. But I don't agree he is not good enough for the WC. He deserved his place in the 23 man list

Haha!!! comodo, I sure like your slangs, yo. It don tay since I hear persin yarn pidgin the way you just yarn am for hia

Weh don, sah


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comodo:
Haba self. Onazi & Aina dey drag Jersey. Since when did Aina become a MF. No be him and Echiejile & Idowu dey drag Jersey.
I tire oh.
Drop MF put Defender. We for comot all DM's carry defenders go.

Nna, I couldn't have said it any better myself.


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Icon4s:
It was as though I was reading my own post.

I have not seem VicMo play LWB for Chelsea, even when Marcos Alonso was serving suspension. But I might be wrong.


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LieDetector:
he's been tried at LWB a coupla times when Chelsea are chasing a game.

Moses only plays RWB for Chelsea tho.


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AIG07:
YES! MOSES CAN PLAY IT. The problem is getting him to play and to put on a tactical discipline just the way he does it for Chelsea.

Omo, did you watch Rohr's post match press conference? He knew what Joel Obi can do, but the young man is just coming off an injury so he's a bit rusty and heavy. He can only improve. Aina has NOT demonstrate that be brings ANYTHING substantially better than the guys who made the team (the keyword being substantially).


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realpoacher:
I am so sad right now coming back from church only to read that Joel Obi and Onazi made the cut.


I swear those two will be the downfall of Rohr... Those two arw a shame to Nigeria midfield... With them in the middle, you can never see Cohesion, team play, stability, and possession play in our midfield ever.

I am even suspecting Joel Obi to be an antagonist dropped in our team to stifle our play by our enemies.


He is so pathetic and a shadow of his former self... SMH!!

Four matches now with him in the 'fox hole' in the middle yet no creativity, no assist, no commanding performance from him.

Rohr and Mikel's post-match press briefing:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGeBRtTmSk4

The good news is, he saw everything most of us saw. So they should get down to work in the next two weeks.


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Asha, that's exactly what I said. The best way to break them down would be to catch them with a fast counter attack. Hopefully, the team can show the same speed they showed in the second half of the Argentine friendly.


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asha80:
yeah they are playing much better one still gets the feeling that their central defense is quite slow

Bros, take it easy. Mikel Agu and Ola Aina were bound to be the two players dropped. I predicted the same after the DR Congo friendly. Ola Aina may be a good player but, for some reasons, he hasn't really taken the opportunities he's been given to show that he's a big upgrade over Echiejile. I don't like Echijile either but Aina certainly didn't help his cause. Under that circumstance, it would be silly for Rohr to drop Elderson who played in all the qualifiers for the inexperienced Aina.

Echiejile has been criticized for years in Super Eagles, yet he has never let the team down at major tournaments. His experience would be vital in a team with a 19year old keeper, plus none of the other defenders has ever played at the World Cup level. Listen guys, I am actually very glad that most of you are not making these decisions for the Super Eagles.


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ChrisKels:
This is too hard for them to understand. Bunch of ingrates. Aina's treatment was nothing but sheer wickedness and deceit.

We all know the truth but trynna eschew it, one of the baits used to lure Aina was the worldcup, now he wasn't given a better judgement. How do you want the poor boy to feel about the system now?


God!! Southgate will have a field day

What football lesson are you talking about exactly? Are we watching the same game?

Brazil is dominating play as expected but Croatia is holding their own with their organization and discipline. That's what we lacked in the first half of the game yesterday.


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komekn:
Sitting in Anfield watching Brazil give Croatia a football lesson. Up close and personal.

From what I can see WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR from Croatia they have no pace.

Our weapon of destruction will be PACE.

Getting in behind them will not be problematic.

We just have to playing game with focus pace skill and good finishing

Cool. Croatians are playing much better than they did against Peru and Mexico. It looks like their team has vastly improved, unlike the Super Eagles


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asha80:
Brazil vs Croatia is in SS3N

KPOM! Truer words have never been spoken!!

Going forward, I think Onazi should be a super sub, not a starter.


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CaptainStephen:
Onazi and Joel are not bad players, although Onazi was terrible yesterday. Every team must have a blend, the lesson here is both Onazi and Joel are not compatible playing together.

CLASSIC! Oh boy, do I love this forum or what


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princfred:
That white small boy (Thyrod or something) should replace Ebuehi. Are you guys not seeing how good he is? The boy ran Ashley Young down.

And by the way, Opposition Watch:

Brazil versus Croatia is on right now on Bein sports USA. Check your local channel, if you live outside the US. This game would give us a better assessment of this fully loaded Croatia team. Are they really a team or just a collection of good players?


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I actually think that this is a very good formation, bro. If (and that's a big IF) Rohr can get VicMo to play with the same discipline he plays at Chelsea; this would definitely be the most effective formation we can try starting with our last friendly match. I mean, in Ebuehi, we already have a solid wingback ... the only thing missing is the LWB.

But the other big question is, can VicMo play LWB?


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AIG07:
I think it's hi-time Rohr sits V. Moses down and let him understand the Mission of the team in Russia. Moses needs to see and put the team first ahead of any personal glory.

If Moses can assure him(ROHR) and the team to be discipline in any role given to him, I don't see a reason why he can't be played as a WB most especially a LWB(though have been against this all this while). Going forward, we need to have all hands on deck.

We can then Line-up this way. Still 3-5-2

UZOHO

EKONG(RCB)-BALOGUN(CB)-OMUERO(LCB)

EBUEHI(RWB)-NDIDI(DMF)-IWOBI(AMF)-MIKEL(CMF)-MOSES(LWB)

IHEANACHO(CF)-IGHALO(CF).

With this kind of set up, we should be able to stand our own ground against anyside. IDOWU can always deputise for both WBs.

Cc: TheGoodJoe, Kog45, Zuchyblinks, Mickael02, Joebie, Mujtahida, ChrisKels, Tbaba1234, Icon79, Mikron etc...

KPOM. And by the way, could some of you guys go to twitter and help me retweet this tweet.

https://twitter.com/TalmudicSage/status/1003001470894116865

Here's the suggestion I am giving to the Super Eagles technical crew:


@TalmudicSage
More
Replying to @NGSuperEagles @thenff and 4 others
And by the way, has Rohr ever considered pulling Obi Mikel down to DM (in a double pivot with Ndidi) and use Alex in the creative midfield role? Just thoughts, but that might be our joker in Russia.

And here's the second one:

@TalmudicSage
9m9 minutes ago
More
Somebody needs to convince Mikel. We can use him as the deep lying playmaker (the Pirlo role. We need his experience and calm under pressure against the likes of Raktic and Modric. We can't let the Croats run the midfield or else they would hurt us.

Both tweets have received a few likes and retweets but I need more. Something tells me that the technical crew could pay attention if the suggestion receives enough retweets.


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edi287:
Gbam!! Ighalo today surprising lacked mobility. His movement was disappointing.
Mikel playing deep helped big time. It goes back to what i, Icon79, Oasis007, etc have been saying - PLAY MIKEL A BIT DEEPER. Ogu playing as a CB helped too as he's better than all our CBs on the ball.

Actually, if you check my posts, you'll see that I spoke up for Ezenwa after the Cameroun game. While many folks here were trying to crucify him for conceding the penalty, I reminded everyone who cared to listed that the man also saved our brushes on several occasions in that same game.

What made me lost confidence in Ezenwa was all the howlers he made in the return match against Algeria. In that match, he flapped so many crosses and made a few elementary school errors that I didn't expect at this level. That's when I totally wrote him off


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Odunayaw:
Would you have said so if it was Ezenwa? I remember he saved something of this sort against Cameroon @ uyo