₦airaland Forum

EElopa:
Ejuke is one unique player I can never explain. He does the most complicated thing with easy but he complicate simple things. I have always maintained that he is the kind of a player I will just keep on the squad for special situational football needs. His all around game is frustrating but he is player that is capable of doing Messi kind of magic on occasions for you. He can break down a structured defense with his masterful dribbling ability and tricks. You can not really depend on him but he is one player that can be a master key to a difficult well structured team.

he has never done these things for the Super Eagles, we don’t need him

EElopa:
I was highly impressed with Nnadi yesterday. He was very good yesterday. We need to start producing technical quality midfielders. I am tired of the Onyeka/Ndidi midfielders who are simply destroyers and runners. Tochukwu Nnadi, Mubarak Suleman, Francis Onyeka, Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, Alex Iwobi, Dele Bashiru, Tim Iroegbunam and Rafael Onyedika should be our 8 main midfielders for now. 6 or 7 should be picked based on form. Some young talents are coming up but these 8 should be fighting it out for the 6 or 7 spots. Frank Onyeka and Wilfred Ndidi should just concentrate on thier club football.

You still need tacklers, you aren’t beating any serious team with these guys

TheSuperNerd:
Tochukwu Nnadi Highlights

One thing that sets Nnadi apart from our midfielders is his long-range shooting. If he masters it, it could really take him to the next level. He also doesn’t shy away his duel strength.
The boy is technical also pic.twitter.com/WFkngbn7HC

— Ade (@addeolar) October 19, 2026

that long pass, is it some thing he has in his tool box or just a one off? We need to replace Onyeka with this guy

SymphonyRad:
Well, maybe I just have a whole different expectation and standard for my ideal DM, cause my modern profile of a complete DM (as opposed to the old and limited role of just simply breaking up play) is the DM who aside from being a destroyer can also initiate attacks (which Ndidi struggled badly at), can pass well and build up play from the back during any phase of possession (which Ndidi definitely can't do), can shoot ( Ndidi used to be good at that but is abysmal now), and also contributes fairly to goals.

Ndidi is far from any of those qualities I mentioned, and even the destroyer role we are trying to manage sef, he now struggles at doing that (age factor).

name a Nigerian midfielder that can do this thing wey you mention

oloriooko:
Stop this garbage talk
Is NFF run by northerner? It's not about where you are from rather it's about sincere and a leadership that has a plan. What we've got is basically civil service type of leadership, passive and clueless

I don’t understand? Were you not here when people said any Nigerian team with northerners can’t do well or what exactly are you saying?

jihday:
or maybe northerners were hardly scouted in the past due to lack of interest in football, all they wanted to do was learn Arabic and take a walk with their cows while the learned ones want to join any of the armed forces or pick up a govt job, things have changed recently and they are beginning to grow a little bit of interest in football. For better understanding Niger republic who share close cultural similarities with them have greatly improved in football, in the last Afcon qualifying they took 4 points off Ghana even beating them at home and in the World Cup qualifying they came second in the group behind Morocco with 15 points, 10-15 years ago that would have been impossible.

see what I said about Niger republic few weeks ago, that thing you people say about northerners not being talented is utter garbage and borderline bigotry. Shey you can see your favorite southerners abi

elyte89:
Simon, Ndidi, Chukwueze and Onyedika should no longer receive automatic call-ups to the Super Eagles. Honestly, what have they consistently offered this team over the past seven years? We keep recycling the same players while expecting different results.

Our team seriously lacks fighting spirit, urgency and the hunger to win. I am 1,000% convinced that if it had been our first team playing against Russia, we would have lost that game after going 3–1 down instead of fighting back to draw. That comeback showed the importance of determination and character, qualities that should be non-negotiable when representing Nigeria.

The national team needs players who can deliver, make a real impact and take responsibility when it matters most. Call-ups should be based on current form, consistency, commitment and performance, not reputation or sentiment. Nigerian football needs fresh ideas, fresh energy and genuine competition for places in the team

you just need a shining new toy, these are the best we have at the moment, maybe Ndidi can’t play twice in 3-4 days any more but on a very good day we don’t have a better DM

lbrichman2:
Yeah, something like that
Chelle has to be brave to try it

so you think this should be tried in a crucial qualifying game?

Moniter0:
Iheanacho should be the only player that should be starting with Victor Osimhen in a two man attack. There's no denying that Iheanacho is in form, and he scores and create chances as well. He can offer creativity in the final third while Iwobi focuses on creativity in the midfield.

from Turkey division 2? A league that probably can’t compete with the English 3rd tier

Kog45:
All I know Iwobi,Ndidi and Oyenka in the midfield we go nowhere

who do you prefer?

TheSuperNerd:
17y/o winger, Boluwatife Shofowoke Assist🅰️

Bolu ⚡️ Leonard 🎯#pufc pic.twitter.com/0nioGAlxSg

— Peterborough United (@theposh) October 10, 2026

we should be bringing him in for the U-20 Afcon

mrwilliams9:
Lookman needs to step it up at Atletico. I know Cholo isn’t playing him in his best position but he’s had a poor to start this season.

Today was a bad showing.

0/4 dribbles
Dispossessed twice
Dribbled past once
Two fouls and 1 YC.

Hooked at HT

ATM fans are dragging him on twitter

TheSuperNerd:
As in ehn My Good man. We all know where the football superpowers of Africa reside.

Wafu B is the strongest sub region and boasts,
Nigeria
CIV
Ghana
Burkina faso
Benin
Togo
Niger

UNAF is the next strongest with Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

Wafu A is 3rd strongest and have Senegal, Mali, Gambia, Guinea, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mauritania.



The rest of the 3 are in this order:

4th strongest: Central Zone (UNIFFAC) - Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe.


5th strongest/2nd Weakest: South Zone (COSAFA) - South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The Weakest: Central-East Zone (CECAFA) - Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.


Make CAF dey whine themselves.

No wonder Uganda have suddenly looked good at recent youth tournament

Odunayaw:
Exactly what I wasn't sold on. West Africa and UNAF would feel cheated because quality teams won't make it.

while I battle Ivory Coast, Ghana and burkinafaso, Southafrica will battle Malawi and Lesotho

TheSuperNerd:
Messi - CAF Player of the Year. 😁

African Union President 😃

TheSuperNerd:
This happened in the Cape Verde vs Rwanda AfconQs game. Lol

Africa My Africa... 😂

what? Is this a real picture? saw it earlier on X but thought its fake/AI

charlesemeka85:
Direct and explosive forward, I don’t mind if Chelle gives him a chance in the U23 team

don’t think he’s eligible

SolaFide:
🚨🇳🇬 A remarkable chapter has been added to Nigerian football history! Umar Abubakar and Umar Abdullahi have become the first set of biological brothers to make their senior Super Eagles debuts in the same match and on the same day. 👏🔥

Both brothers came off the bench in Nigeria’s thrilling 3-3 draw against Russia:

🔹 Umar Abubakar of FC Famalicão came on for Moses Simon.

🔹 Umar Abdullahi of FC Hradec Králové also entered in the second half and made an instant impact, delivering the assist for Akor Adams’ dramatic stoppage-time equaliser. ⚽️🔥

Their historic achievement places the Umar brothers in an exclusive group of siblings who have represented Nigeria at senior international level, alongside legendary brother combinations such as the Okochas, Olisehs, Kanus and Uches.

A debut to remember. A family moment for the history books. 🇳🇬❤️

@highlight

are they actually brothers? Thought they only share same first name

Blueelf:
He is but he is tok stubborn tactically
That diamond formation won't always work. We need to have a plan B

does every formation work all the time? When the top coaches formation fails do you tell them to look for plan B or you just see it as a bad day at the office?

mostob:
Super eagles issue is not just about skills or coaching, it's more about desire to win and hunger.
Once this set of players are ready to fight for the badge, we will all see changes. For now, make all of us dey catch cruise.

Time for Chelle to make drastic changes. Some players are past their prime. They're feeling too comfortable.

like who?

TheSuperNerd:
22y/o 🇨🇵🇳🇬 CM/CDM, Lesley Ugochukwu starts for France U21s vs Luxembourg U21s in their Uefa Euro U21 Qualifiers.

I really really wish we’ll never bring this guy in

Meliforme:
Mention the players that should have featured, let's analyse them piece by piece.

I have asked this question, who’s the better player that want to replace Ndidi?

AndSunGorilla:
My brother, when you are well panel beaten, sense must come by force. I hope he learns from this humbling. Truth is, some peeps are not happy with his new revised salary. So he had better not lose guard.

nothing much to overthink, it’s just a bad day at the office, things like this happen in football

You people that want Ndidi gone please who do you want to replace him with? Someone mentioned Alhassan I know the person isn’t serious tho. Please you people should mention someone who can realistically replace Ndidi

Diavolo:
I understand you not being tactically knowledgeable,no biggie. But people on this thread have been pointing out the flaws in his system and there have been multiple instances where teams have figured it out as well

you that is tactically great don’t you think it’s better for you to go into coaching instead of wasting your time on the internet?

TheSuperNerd:
Keeping Akor till min 76 before unleashing this lad was criminal.

Chelle. You messed up on several tactical decisions but we move. Learn from it.

I guess fitness issues

EElopa:
Eric Chelle i beg you in jesus name can you please move away from Ndidi and Onyeka. There is nothing of any substantial we can achieve on the global stage with Ndidi and Onyeka playing midfield for Nigeria. Emotions are high today but like i said earlier this could actually be a disguise in the sky. Going forard

Goalkeepers
Maduka Okoye
Author Okoronkwo
Stanley Nwabili
First choice should be a fight between Okoye and Maduka. If a good prospect emerges or become available, drop Nwabali. Staley Nwabali is old and is not really getting any better.

Defenders

Right Backs
Starter - Ola Aina
Back up - He will need to get a backup for Ola Aina.
Candidates Bewene Abdullahi, Christian Akpan and Ryan Alebiosu

Left Backs
Starter - Bruno Onyemachi: I don't really rate him highly, but he is the best we currently have.
Back up - Zaidu Sanusi: If he is on form, I don't really mind him starting.
- I will watch the new left back Issac James to see what he brings to the table. I am completely open for him to become a starter if he impresses.

Center backs
Starters : Benjamin Fedricks and Calvin Bassey
Back ups Emmanuel Fernandez Chibuike Nwaiwu and Victory Akpe

Midfielders
Eric Chelle needs to fix this midfield: Alex Iwobi, Dele Bashiru, Tochukwu Nnadi, Ebenezer Akinsamiro, Alhassan Yusuf, Rafael Onyedika. If we can get Francis Onyeka and Lesley Ugochukwu then I will drop Rafael Onyedika and Yusuf.

Wingers
Ademola Lookman, Samuel Chukwueze, Yohanna Zadok, and Femi Aziz

Strikers
Victor Oshimhen
George Illenikhena
Gift Orban

So who’s supposed to replace Ndidi here since all of you want him out of the team

charlesemeka85:
Shebi when I dey tell una that Okoye is better than Nwabali hate and jealousy becloud una sense of analysing a good player

You good as a keeper and no top club in Africa was willing to take you in when you terminated your contract with Chippa, to top it all you come go back to your vomit after overrating yaself 🤣🤣🤣🤣

not even Sundowns and Orlando pirate who have had a closer look at him tried to sign him, na there I know say be like this guy no good like that

People here told me that Nwabali will save the goal Okoye conceded against Poland, God will judge you people

Diavolo:
I just hope today is the day Chelle dumps this diamond formation. Based on the players we have a 352 is a far better fit. He still gets his 2 strikers up front. Iwobi is supported by 2 box to box midfielders that provide the legs. The wingbacks provide the width and crosses. Lookman can be played in his best position which is a SS just like in Atlanta under Giasperini alongside Osimhen rather than using his on the wings or as an AM. Then bassey , Nwaiwu and Fredrick's with Nwaiwu in the middle.

coachee lala

Kog45:
I thought George passed late fitness test

so I thought, maybe he’ll come in later

Kog45:
Yes very difficult profession but to we fans it's simple, imagine Christian Metu now jogging ball for fans to watch.He was in Uyo to jog and Super eagles players were surprised that under 17 WC winner is jogging for fees,his mate Taiwo Awoniyi still playing... Awoniyi can't take it he just did the needful for his mate and promised more....

really sad, big ups to Taiwo