₦airaland Forum

AIG07:
Mikel played his heart out.

Our boys gave up the fight to early

Mikel is the only player that played with confidence others were timid

goldfish80:
Icon4s I hope you're fine.

Haha,icon4s na baba o so i don't expect him to be disturbed with the loss just like you and enomakos.No be today na.

Unlimited22:
I think Ighalo's miss hurts more than Yakubu's against South Korea.

Yes it hurt just like Yekini miss against Italy but Yakubu miss is legendary.

My conclusion Africa teans still have a long way to go in round leather game.

Rockyrascal:
We need alex iwobi early enough in the 2nd half; the coach should also not hesitate to bring in ebuehi to replace an ineffective LWB in idowu.

Ighalo and Ebuehi should come in ASAP

klexycole:
We've been rubbed guys! No VAR for the foul they committed against Iheanacho!

I expected this!

Iheanacho too amateurish with that foul.

Iheanacho should cool down

kellycute:
I notice some people don’t have believe in their own ability, always giving up when face with challenge. Life ain’t gonna give you that which you deserve, you gotta have to earn it, you gotta have to fight to get it, you gotta have to stand tall and face whatever challenges against you and your set goal. Y’all stop giving excuses why yall can’t get what you want. This is the same kind of defeatist mentality most people also exhibit in their daily lives. They don’t have confident and believe in the possibility of what they wanna get out of life, so they like to hide under the mantra of ‘I’m a realist so I gotta say it how I see it’. They are trying to avoid dissapointment when their believing goes south.
What’s dissapointment? It is part of life and it don’t really matter how many time you gt disappointed or get knock down but the important thing is to get up and keep fighting for what you want. I ain’t talking about football but I’m trying to expand it to other sphere of life. Believe in yourself, believe in the possibility of what you want out of life even if all odds are against you. The real battle of life start from the mind. If you can win the battle in the mind, you can win the battle in life. Come on, you can’t defeat a man who refuse to give up!
When I came to Dubai to search for Job, lot of people told me to accept any job at all Cos as a Nigerian you can’t get professional Job here without uae experience but I stood my ground. I went out searching for only Safety professional job despite not having uae experience at all. All odds was against me, so many companies turned me down but my mind remains fixed on my goal. Nobody ever believe in me, nobody ever believe in the possibility of my dream of getting what I want but my mind was fixed and steadfast on my goal despite no way out of it. Thereafter, I got a Safety job ,and I am the only black man occupying top position in my company and I have two assistants (white with uae experience) despite not having uae experience. I ain’t trying to blow my trumpet but I want some people to know the effect of self belief and positive attitude. This virtue send positive energy which can nourish your mind and give you the impetus to thrive forwards and to think outside the box. Stop this defeatist mentality and start believing.

Chief Habab,how is Dubai,Abu Dhabi, Ajman,Sharjah,Ras khamaen,Fujairah and my naija people for Deira park.

Icon79:
Actually, I have been busy plotting the downfall of Argentina. The Argies must fall on Tuesday ... come rain, come shine!!!


O pari

O pari ti soro and he said we are beating Argentina tomorrow.

O pari o

kellycute:
sir, you should know that was an exaggeration but nevertheless I still don’t want him to start any match.

No wahala my man.

Rohr decide who to start and all we want is result.

Sir,tomorrow is knocking and am seeing us beating Argentina.

kellycute:
thats what you makes it look like.

Sir if you think so no wahala but deep thinkers who really understand the game should be able to understand my post.

Mind you i rate Iheanacho than Ighalo and prior to WC am always emphasising the important of Iheanacho in our XI irrespective of any formations due to his goal ratio and conversion,you don't put such player on the bench.

I'm sorry if you don't like Ighalo,no issue cos am agape with your your statement that "you don't want to see Ighalo in the dressing room)

Well is a free world and coming from the same place is not an issue cos nobody accused you of tribalism.It's football talk but we should have a bar by not let emotions override our good and precise analysis.

My post is not about Ighalo vs Iheanacho vs Simy but telling who care to listen that our players deserve little respect and enough of hatred lines in analysing their performance.

Football analysis is different from hate analysis cos you don't want to see him in the dressing room says a lot.

kellycute:
against England, Czech Republic and Croatia, how many minutes nacho played? Ighalo don get straight run of games with more minutes but he nor even know where goal post dey. I’m sure someone gonna do analysis of the number of minutes played between nacho and ighalo. Ighalo can not score, he is always fond of standing close to his marker and backing the goal post. No dynamic movement and goal instinct at all from his play.

Sir,my post is not Iheanacho vs Ighalo.

tbaba1234:
There are 5 Metacarpal bones in each hand that support the fingers. Apparently, he broke one of them. He will be able to play with a cast on his hand.

Thanks.

darkelf:
Mikel fractures metacarpal but will play against Argentina

Colin UdohFootball Editor, KweséESPN

Nigeria captain John Mikel Obi suffered a fractured metacarpal in Friday's 2-0 win over Iceland.

Mikel temporarily left the pitch in pain towards the dying minutes of the game, but had to come back in as Nigeria had used up their three substitutes.

On Saturday, Gernot Rohr told KweséESPN the injury was not serious and that Mikel would play. He updated that information on Sunday afternoon.

"Unfortunately there is one injury. We have the captain who has a fracture of the metacarpal, but I think he can play with a cast.

"Our medical team is working on it," Rohr said in a video posted on the official Super Eagles Twitter handle.

The metacarpal bones form the intermediate part of the skeletal hand located between the phalanges of the fingers and the carpal bones of the wrist which forms the connection to the forearm.

Nigeria departed on Sunday afternoon for Saint Petersburg, where they will face Argentina on Tuesday.

http://kwese.espn.com/football/nigeria/story/3534049/nigeria-world-cup-chicken-story-is-ridiculous-say-supporters

Doctors in the house,pls more explanation needed on fractured metacarpal injury.

CC:Michael2,DRLIKITA,Bengine and all rounder tbaba1234

darkelf:
From Colin Udoh on ESPN

Beyond that, defending those set-pieces cannot be over stressed. Of the six goals Argentina have scored against Nigeria in World Cup encounters, five have been from set-pieces.

I feel the above is very important and cannot be over-emphasized. Set-pieces could make or break us. Second only to conceding penalties or free-kicks in dangerous areas.

Good one from Colin Udoh and nice observation not Ade Ojeikere that wrote epistles just cos we lost against Croatia.

somehow:
Agu wetin? Are we missing him?

Apartment from Simon and maybe Onyekuru, there is no one we are missing.

My post is not about missing players but how I wish young players are on the bench than LB Echiejile who was not even trusted to replaced Idowu cos Rohr preferred makeshift Ebuehi.

If I have my way i will never dropped Aina and Agu for Echiejile and Joel,my opinion.

darkelf:
Let’s get set for Qatar 2022

Posted By: Ade Ojeikere

Over time, our players have escaped being chastised in the review of our participation at major international soccer competitions, such as the World Cup holding in Russia. Our sports administrators get knocks from angry fans, who are not necessarily Nigerians, who have emotional attachment to the Super Eagles.

In the past, the tussle for the control of World Cup funds between the Sports Ministry and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) provided an alibi for our failure at such big tournaments. Nobody remembered how our players prosecuted the matches. They would rather argue that if things had been done on schedule, the team would have done well.

In fact, the war between both bodies would have divided the players sharply, such that we would have been eliminated even before our first game. The crisis would have started during the qualifiers, necessitating the formation of Presidential Task Forces to aggravate the problems in the team. Indeed, the media would have been awash with tales of the unexpected that would have made the EFCC to begin discreet investigations of the allegations bandied.

Of course, the board members would have joined the fray, with some colluding with the PTF members and the sports ministry chieftains, who would have promised them a return ticket to the board to buttress whatever the reforms it was that they were doing. There would have been anarchy in Russia.

But the fear of President Muhammadu Buhari is the beginning of wisdom. In fact, those who tried to stoke the usual fire got burnt. They were forced to realign with the faithful, otherwise they would not have been here. They got a foretaste of what to expect when they were sidelined. The usual stunt of making frivolous allegations went up in the air like smoke.

With normalcy restored in the NFF’s operations, everything went well, with Amaju Pinnick showing his full grasp of administration. Pinnick endured the antics of the ministry and dug deep into his connections in the business world to get mind-boggling financial support which made Super Eagles’ campaign smooth. This is not to say there were no problems within the NFF. In fact, we lost a point to Algeria due to some administrative tardiness.

It is heartwarming reading comments on the need for our players to play for the country with the same zeal, commitment and determination they exhibit weekly for their European clubs. The players were paid their entitlements and grilled through quality friendly matches against England, Czech Republic, Serbia, Poland and even against one of their group opponents Argentina, who they beat them without their iconic star, Lionel Messi.

The team prepared very well for the competition. The players promised to bring home the World Cup. But they were disappointing against Croatia. Not a single shot at the opposition’s goalkeeper in the first half. Our players fell like weaklings at the slightest contact, the worst culprit being Victor Moses, who should be excused from future Eagles squad based on his attitude to our matches.

Moses sees himself as bigger than the others. He plays the way he wants and has become a renowned diver at the slightest tackle when he could have easily dribbled his marker to score. Moses ought to be our poster boy in Russia – like Modric, Ronaldo et al. But his attitude is wrong as he couldn’t be bothered if he wasted goal-scoring free-kicks – to the consternation of the fans watching the match against Croatia, for instance. Why Gernot Rohr kept Moses on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes against Croatia is still a mystery.

Moses appears to be disinterested in playing for Nigeria, considering his conduct. The late Stephen Keshi stopped using him Brazil, after he protested his substitution in one of our matches. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that Moses doesn’t think Nigeria adds any value to his game, especially as he has a dual citizenship.

This writer doesn’t know John Mikel Obi’s plans for the national team. I suggest that he should announce his resignation from international matches for Nigeria. He should consider taking coaching courses to prepare for the task of coaching the Eagles. It wouldn’t be out of place if NFF bankrolls his courses. I look forward to seeing Mikel sitting on Nigeria’s bench as the Technical Adviser during the Qatar 2022 World Cup. It should form part of the paradigm shift for the future.

Our awful display against Croatia was a reflection of how we fared in our last three friendly matches. The excuse then was that our players were being cautious and that they were saving their best for the big stage in Russia. What a fallacy. If the coaches had known, they should have invited younger, fitter and more enterprising players other than these sluggish ones at the Mundial. I wouldn’t be surprised if our players improve on their outing against Iceland. But their conduct in the first game has made the last fixture against Argentina a do-or-die affair. I only hope that international politics doesn’t swing the game with the Argentines, if they have a dog chance to qualify.

We have seen instances where players win games that matter with doggedness, irrespective of what the coaches have told them. I was shocked to see the Croatians win all the crunchy tackles, with our players falling like earthworms. Pundits believe that one of our strengths is our physical fitness. We failed to exhibit that trait because our boys were playing without passion.

From what I have seen of the Eagles, the future is bright, with Francis Uzoho confirming his position as our number 1 goalkeeper, that is if Carl Ikeme is unable to recover fully before the qualification series of the Cameroon 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. Tryoone Ebuehi fits in at the right wing back position since Shehu Abdullahi has not been able to defend balls on the counter attack. Abdullahi is a natural midfielder. He should be taken back to struggle for the midfield shirt.Rohr should search properly for Ebuehi’s rival in the domestic league. Otherwise, Ola Aina could function there effectively like he did for Wolves on loan last season. Aina won many Man-of-the-Match awards and scored goals which secured the promotion ticket for Wolves to the elite Barclays English Premier League this new season.

I feel strongly that Brian Idowu is the perfect fix for the left wing back position, if only Rohr can get midfielders who can fall back quickly when they lose the ball. Eagles midfield has been problematic, largely because a lot of the players just walk on the pitch when not with ball. We must look for younger boys who can run tirelessly for 90 minutes to keep pace with the opposition.

Until we fix our midfield, Eagles will continue to totter against more balanced teams with talented players, such as Croatia. Football is contact sport. Our players must be prepared to tackle the ball off the opposition to win possession and dictate the pace of the game.

We have a galaxy of young and enterprising boys to assemble a good midfield at the next World Cup in Qatar, such Kelechi Nwakali and his elder brother Chiedu. Both of them will complement Simon Moses, who unfortunately is out of the Mundial in Russia, another recovering star, Onyekuru, Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho, although coaches tend to field him as a striker.

As for attack, the Eagles have none. We rely on individual brilliance when we don’t have world class players, such as Cristiano Ronaldo.



No Odemwingie, no



Osaze Odemwingie’s comment that African football is declining is quite interesting. What Osaze didn’t say is that African players don’t know how to manage success. African players lie about their ages; this affects their staying power in the game.

Once an African kid emerges on the international scene, he becomes heady. His disciplinary records decline. He becomes disrespectful. He sees himself as being better than his mates. He craves for special treatment in camp. He is quick to anger when tackled in training. He wants to dictate what should happen and what shouldn’t.

This untouchable syndrome of the African star rubs off on his training, which invariably affects his form.

Osaze was taken to the World Cup as an alternate player in 2002. He played his first World Cup in 2010. He was only lucky to be part of Nigeria’s 2014 World Cup squad because of pressure on the late Stephen Keshi by the media and Nigerians. Keshi didn’t want Osaze in camp because of his conduct.

Osaze’s unruly acts got to a head when he wanted to force a transfer in Europe. He was stopped from entering the preferred club’s premises because the gateman knew the rules which Osaze wanted to violate with ignominy.

Ordinarily, with Osaze’s age, having been born in Russia, he should be playing for Nigeria in 2018, like Mikel Obi.

A 25-year-old, who is ‘discovered’ as an U-17, with age 12 on his visa, cannot play for another 12 years, which is the lifespan of three World Cups.

Lastly, lack of education makes it impossible for the African player to build on his career. Whereas his European counterpart employs experts to manage his affairs, the African star is the hippy on the highway, driving the most expensive cars, living in choice areas, frolicking with women and spending his earnings on ‘things of the world’, like the Christian faithful would say.

Little wonder they are a wreck after their short career.

Pls what is this for God sake and not really surprised cos i know Adetokunbo Ojeikere very well.

He wrote this after Croatia match.No wonder Amaju didn't give this set of people a chance at glass house.

Imagine Ojeikere as eagles media officer and spilling this trash.

I think we should wait till our elimination or winning WC before Qatar 2022 and not Ade Ojeikere that i know very well who always write with sentiments.

Old warhorse journalist who should know better.

Humility017:
to come do what....
we need goals in this match.... at least to escape France...in the round of 16...

the goal should be strictly counter attack and players who release balls fast should be deployed and not one selfish dude on goal.drought.
we have played him in the last 7 matches with no goals....so why keep playing him?
let's try others....like simmy and see what he has to offer.... matches of these kind are not alien to him..having played against some of these argentina stars in Italy.

Humility baba pls calm down on Ighalo issue.

Truly he hasn't live up to expectations but let's take it cool on this players.

We are playing Argentina tomorrow let's hope for the best and rally round the team irrespective of players picked by Rohr.

Some don't expect anything good from Musa in this WC but see Musa now,a saviour.

I will not deceive you we don't have any talisman when it comes to goalscoring and it will take a well convincing performance from Simy to start ahead of Iheanacho and Ighalo.

Simy coming into the team was to provide cover for Ighalo and Iheanacho and he has not done anything extra ordinary to bench this guys even in training.

Remember I told you Simy is not a high profile striker but you said NO which i agreed,different opinions must be respected.

I want you to see Simy as our hidden weapon that Rohr can unleashed anytime to cause havoc,pls let's wait for that moment.

Ighalo,Iheanacho and Simy are in the team to compliment not as rivals and this was the reason you saw Ighalo on the bench after Croatia and Iheanacho in XI against Iceland.

Pls don't be surprised to see Ighalo or Simy starting against Argentina.

It's team work and players understand this better than we fans.

Ighalo scored last against Cameroon in Uyo but unable to score against

1.Cameroon in Yaoundé
2.Zambia
3.Poland
4.Serbia
5.England
6.Czech
7.Croatia
8.Iceland

Iheanacho scored last against Argentina but unable to score against

1.Poland
2.Congo
3.England
4.Czech
5.Croatia
6.Iceland

Simy not yet there but i see him as our hidden weapon

Sir with this I if i have my way i will pair Musa and Iwobi upfront but no coach will do that with two strikers available who have done it before and normal for goal drought in football.

I think we are still good with Musa/Iheanacho or Ighalo.

My guy tomorrow is knocking and by the grace of God we are beating Argentina.

isan:
What is Echiejile doing at the world cup? He can't displaced Idowu Ebuehi is also ahead of him

We should be happy that Ebuehi made it.

Glaring Echiejile made the team based on loyalty,nothing more.Also we are having Joel too who was below par during friendlies.

It's a pity that young Aina and Agu missed it

Hope to see them returning after WC.

BascoVanVeli:
Some of these reports are comical but what is troubling to me is how people just run with them without even thinking.

I tire o

Goke7:
only in Nigeria, we beg palyers to play, what nonsense. Where croatia sends a player home for refusing to play and still walloped Argentina 3-0.

Rohr did not begged Moses but called him and Mikel into his room and explained his tactics which they agreed to and we all saw workaholic Moses against Iceland.

Normal for a coach to explain to a player that you are not playing in your familiar role for tactical reason.

kellycute:
if he doesn’t wanna play as wing back, he should sit on the bench.

Fake news because i saw a clip of
FIFA President Infatino,NFF President Amaju Pinnick,his vice Akinwunmi and Shehu Dikko and other dignitaries in eagles dressing room and saying well done boys.

The boys were damn too happy and you see it in their faces with Ezenwa taking personal pics with Fifa President and others embraced him inclusive highly elated Victor Moses.

princfred:
You talked badly about Mikel as if Nigeria had better options.

Oh chairman, his post was to open Mikel debates but we are above that here.

According to Sunday Oliseh the best performers are Ahmed Musa,Leon Balogun, MIKEL OBI,Oghenekaro Etebo,Francis Uzoho and Tryonne Ebuehi.

But someone(not that moniker) waa trying to tell us Mikel was below par and Ogu would have done better,well his opinion.

MetalJigsaw:
An Iwobi-Musa pairing upfront is the best against Argentina. Forget Nacho.. that guy is struggling just like ighhalo.

Iwobi playing behind Musa will surely torment the Argentine defense.

I'm seeing Musa-Iheanacho paring tomorrow and i wish Iwobi start but with Rohr i doubt it.

Iheanacho not really convincing against Iceland and funny enough if Ighalo started against Iceland in place of Iheanacho and put the same performance he would still be criticised.

Ighalo bashing here is simple to decode.Remeber Musa was a federal character player before Iceland.

Icon4s:
See, let me tell you, I know that Argentina are favorite to win that game.But I try not to dwell on that. I look at the positives.

This is not my first WC so I am not even scared of a group exit. I just want to have a positive mindset.

The way you are sounding it is as if you actually wish Argentina should win so you can come here and say "I told you". You are free to condition your mind for a defeat. But some of us here have conditioned our mind that we will make it to the next round.
But if we do not make it, so? Then you can come around with your "I told you, I told you" and receive your medal for it.

Chief,"I TOLD YOU" is now the main thing here.

Tomorrow we are going into the round of 16 in a majestically way.

Argentina stopping us?No way.

Hope Rohr get it right tactically.

Super eagles no tension

We are winning in the name of God

We are winning We are winning

Soar Soar o

SUPER EAGLES.

krattoss:
why the hate naa??
U been complain of job, I understand the country can frustrate one to wishing her bad. we can help u with one.. Just be nice here u will see wonders..

We re one big family here.. No underate us oo..
If u were following us from the qualifiers, u would notice a moniker that gave tastimony of how icon or so sent his son a package without strings attached..

Just be nice OK?? I go find something for u

not icon but tbaba1234.

PDPGuy:
Simeon Nwankwo, who has better movement than Ighalo, should start on Tuesday.
Nwankwo can also hold up the ball well, and will be a handful to Otamendi

Sir i have a question,pls did you watched Simy closely this season cos you are so confident that he has better movement than Ighalo.

I watched him very well in just concluded season and i will still pick Odion Ighalo but for now i want to see Musa/Iheanacho and possibly Iwobi against Argentina

Sir to beat Argentina is simple and is all about taking ball to them, check out their friendlies against Nigeria and Spain and rate their performance so far at WC.

If not for Lionel Messi ordinary Haiti would have draw Argentina during pre WC friendly.

somehow:
He was called to the Nigerian camp because of the LB role he played at hull nothing else.

No Sir,Aina was called to camp cos we are having issue with RB position.

The build up to our WC and Afcon qualifiers should tell you that, remember against Tanzania Musa Mohammed played as RB but Rohr wasn't satisfied and deployed Ndidi as RB against Zambia in Ndola.Also Omeruo played the position against Algeria and Shehu played it against South Africa.

This was what prompted Rohr to search for quality RB in Aina and Ebuehi.Prior to Cameroon match,Aina was to start but his late paper clearance from FIFA denied him and Shehu performance against Cameroon gave him an edge later run.

Aina introduction as LB in eagles was due to Echiejile injury against Zambia, remember he came in for Echiejile and he continued the role against Algeria and Argentina.

Aina's eagles invitation was to solve our initial RB problem but circumstances pushed him to LB but failed to seized the opportunity.

Humility017:
it depends on what you call a high profile striker...
to me for a striker to have scored 7 goals for an average team in a league like seria A where you have some tough defenders...and even against juventus scored a CR7 kind of goal...tells alot about his abilities...

I rate him highly compare to Ighalo...

My point is not Ighalo and Simy comparison

Humility017:
you even wanna see Ighalo...me don't wanna see him at all...let rohr give other players the opportunity to impress..... especially simmy...he is a high profile striker in Italy
let's see what he has to offer

Sir,Simy Nwankwo is not a high profile striker in Italy,not only in Italy even when he was in Portugal,his invitation was due to his performance in the latter end of the league.

7 goals striker in a season is not a high profile striker though i wish to see more of him cos of that moment against Congo.

Humility017:
thank you...I was expecting only iwobi to be introduced prior the end of that match....
if need be for the introduction of a striker...simmy should be introduced instead...I still believe lokosa would have even fare better in this tactics of rohr than ighalo...that dude against Congo was hungry....

Humility baba, Lokosa would have been better in this tactics than Ighalo?

In icon79 voice O pari.

diadem10:
Contrary to opinions on here, I dont think Mikel was impressive yesterday.
He was sluggish, made a lot of back passes, and as a matter of fact, Etebo had to drop deep into the midfield. He also failed to release our wingbacks with long passes on many occasion. Ogu would have done better than Mikel in the same role but we know he's untouchable.

That said, it's better Mikel was deployed as a DM than as a AM.

Also, save for Ighalo's indecisive moment on some occasion, he had more presence and took up better position on the pitch than Nacho. He just has to be quick with his decision. His finishing is another talk for another day.

Mikel is untouchable? Mikel is sluggish?Mikel made a lot of back passes?and Ogu would have done better?

Sir,pls can you explain better cos with your opinion it seemed i watched different match.