₦airaland Forum

MetalJigsaw:
I feel his step down on club may cause a decline in his quality.

MetalJigsaw:
This one wey competition don choke for team

MetalJigsaw:
Bro, I'm more disappointed than you. This is a step down naa Venezia ke?? What happened to the mid table teams like Udineze, Torino, Fiorentina?? This move fit affect him performance oo

Sugarboyy:
You remember how Moffi choose Nice over Marseille? How did it end?

Napoleon55:
Would it still be terrible move if another better serie A club like Atalanta,Lazio,Roma or Inter sign him from Venezia?

Akor was one of the reasons why Sevilla survived relegation,
who is to say he wouldn't put up a better performance for other serie a clubs to notice.

Rockyrascal:
Good move for Akor or not?

Napoleon55:
He can still move to another bigger serie club within 2 years.

9JAMac10:
Count Ivory Coast gone already. Poor finishing always costs African teams

Sugarboyy:
Nwaiwu is good, I love his passionate way of defending but I must say, Fulham already have Bassey and this Moroccan Issa Diop is also a Fulham player. Can Nwaiwu bench Diop? Because I personally don't want him to go to Fulham and be staying on the bench

JohnBullMySon:
Morocco outplaying the dutch is so ironic given that half the squad are dutch 'rejects'

Like how does an African National team that relies on poaching talents from her diaspora get so good to the point that she plays better than the country where the squad members came from.

charlesemeka85:
⚫⚪#Fulham have submitted an improved bid for Trabzonspor defender Chibuike Nwaiwu after their initial €20 million offer was rejected.

#Trabzonspor are reportedly holding out for around €30 million before agreeing to sell the 22-year-old centre-back.

According to Turkish outlet @Taka61, the Premier League side have now returned with a €25 million proposal for the #Nigeria international as they look to strengthen their defence. Everton and Westham rumored to be interested too

Odunayaw:
Very frustrating that those people can be balling and unruly as well.

Highly disappointed with Senegal's financial predicament.

minfelix:
Asin eehnn the quality in their depth no b here…very solid side.
Lowkey im happy at what chelle is doing, Nigeria will be one of the African Nations to rival Morocco hugely…
I see the Nigeria/Cameroon rival of the 90’s coming to play again in this era as Morocco/Nigeria.

Our F up was missing this world cup, 3rd in Africa would have also played beautifully to the r16 under Chelle

elyte89:
The next World Cup qualifiers will be among the toughest Nigeria has ever faced. Teams like Burkina Faso 🇧🇫, Angola 🇦🇴, Libya 🇱🇾 and Gabon 🇬🇦 will be inspired by the progress of Cape Verde 🇨🇻 and DR Congo 🇨🇩. Across African football, the belief is growing: if they can do it, so can we.

That is why the NFF cannot afford to keep making the same mistakes. African football has evolved, and if Nigeria fails to plan properly, make the right decisions and take the qualifiers seriously, qualifying for the World Cup could become even more difficult.

Seunfretty:
Brazil was there to be taken...I could practically see holes behind them but Japan fidgeted and sat back

I am beginning to learn one thing from this ongoing world cup..."never seat back for anyone" every team is vulnerable...all u need is the "COURAGE" to make the kill...

Kog45:
JHmm,Okoye is better than Nwabali?cuz he is in Seria A😄Oga Rowen William would be number one in some clubs in seria A

JohnBullMySon:
Hate watch SA at your emotional risk.

Dem fit win oh.

FiveFootNinja:
Strong disagree @bold. Eric Chelle actually solved DR Congo and quite easily too. What failed us against DRC was fitness + Osimhen injury. Watch the first 15-20 mins of that game against DRC. We wan kee them. We scored in the first 3 minutes. 3 minutes!! Remember, prior to our game that day, DRC had not conceded any goal that early. One of the most common talking point in previews that time was how difficult it was to score against DRC. In fact, DRC usually scored first against their opponents in the qualifiers. Even the game that Senegal beat them 3-2, it was DRC that was winning 2-0 before the game turned on its head. So we were basically the first team to put DRC one goal behind at that point in time.

And like someone else here said, that Ndidi + Chukwueze miscommunication was going to be our second goal, clean. If that second goal had entered, we would have ran away with that game just like we did with Benin and Gabon.

When we lost footing was towards the end of the second half. The 120 mins we played against Gabon prior started working against us and we started making elementary school mistakes that we don't usually make. Mistimed passes, poor positioning etc. Then Osimhen's injury happened and we completely lost the plot. Confidence plummeted to zero and DRC smelt blood, so they pounced. The only players who bothered to put up a fight that day were Benjamin, Bassey and Nwabali. Every one else was checked out mentally and physically.

Let me not even get started on Arokodare and how he flopped that header that would have effectively changed the game if he had buried it.

Or the penalties that Nwabali basically won for us with two abi even three saves (can't remember how many) but we failed to capitalize.

Woh- we threw the game away at every turn. We had so many chances to finish that game off but we couldn't. Because physically and mentally, the boys weren't there.

Till this day, I don't say DRC won. I say we lost. We had that game in our hands and threw it away.

TheSuperNerd:
Drogba was me when C.Ronaldo missed that first big chance yesterday...

Ronaldo and Drogba had very different reactions to this chance... 😅#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/ZK5llh9Bdr

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 10, 2026

Amedino99:
What if this is his limit? Maybe he was never meant to grow more than this.

FiveFootNinja:
Wetin be compose? E no long like that abeg calm down. 😂😂

charlesemeka85:
EXCL: Rangers are preparing a formal offer for Blackburn’s Ryan Alebiosu.➡️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

🔎West Ham and Genoa are also monitoring.

💰Blackburn value him at £3–5m.

#RangersFC #WHUFC #Rovers

Samueltemi337:
And that's why people didn't really come for him because most of Nwabali errors didn't really cost us any game

Samueltemi337:
Na lie
Ronaldo really wanted to score

Samueltemi337:
And that's why people didn't really come for him because most of Nwabali errors didn't really cost us any game

Mujtahida:
Midfield needs personnel in the mould of a CM. We have too many DMs.

Zaidu either sits up or he'd be out of the team. Chuks has been disappointing. Simon - that one, you can never know when he'd get into the groove.

Our defense looks solid except the LB where we have just Bruno.

Bewene will quickly grow into that position - boy is strong, fast and confident. If he continues along this line, he will own that position few years from now.

mostob:
Play the ball forward and run across the defender. It's either the defender foul him or Moffi get a free run.

Chukwueze is just not serious

chrisooblog:
My brother I weak.

Osimhen's pass to Akor against Algeria just came to mind.

chrisooblog:
Good workout yesterday for the SE.

No shame losing to one of the best teams in the world and WC favorites.

I personally think the game was a great way to gauge the team's current level. For Africa in the short term we're good but for long term competitiveness and success at global level there's load of work to be done.

For immediate and long term success emphasis should be placed on scouting and grooming highly technical and creative type midfielders. Whether in the diaspora or local level we should prioritize looking for midfielders who will give are midfield that creative spark missing at the moment. Energy is covered we need more flair and ball retention skill set.

More LB options required as cover and competition for Bruno.

These are my humble thoughts, now player ratings from yesterday's match.

Okoye - 6: Good solid performance. Made a few nice saves. Couldn't do much in preventing the goals he conceded. Needs to be more vocal and commanding in control his box area so his defenders will try harder in preventing shots on goal.

Akpan - 5: Decent debut. Struggled in phases of the game but wasn't atrocious. Not easy facing that high level of competition on your first international bow but he will improve.

Bruno - 6: Very solid performance. Often snuffed out danger. Couldn't contribute as much offensively which is understandable considering the caliber of the opposition.

Ajayi - 5.5: Was caught out a few times but generally solid. Was calm in possession. Gave the ball away a couple of times but was firm when needed.

Bassey - 6.5: One of our better performers on the night. Energetic, robust, and unyielding. Knew when to commit a technical foul especially when we were under pressure. Though his ball distribution became porous especially in the latter stages of the second half.

Ndidi - 6: Best midfield performance for me for the team on the night. Calm in possession and tried as much as possible to progress the play especially during transitions. Tired out as the game wore on.

Nnadi - 5.5: Ran his sucks off and battled bravely against his more established opponents which wasn't an easy feat. Struggled to impose his game reflected in his mixed passes. All told very creditable performance. Did well too in the forward press.

Iwobi - 4: Not the best of games for the Centurion. Gave the ball away a couple of times and seemed off the pace. Worked hard in the press but couldn't keep up with the Portuguese midfielders who breezed past him on occasion. His trademark incisive passing in the final third was missing yesterday.

Fisayo - 5: Energetic and full of running. Apart from his assist for the goal didn't much worthy of note from an attacking standpoint. Was effective in the press.

Simon - 5: Showed flashes especially in the first half but didn't really trouble the Portuguese backline that much.

Akor - 7.5: One man battalion. Troubled the Portuguese defense and didn't give them a moments peace throughout the 1st half. His pressing was spot on and was our main attacking threat. Almost single handedly fashioned his goal out of nothing. Impressed with how he badgered Dias off the ball before collecting FDB's pass to calmly slot in. Wasn't as effective in the second half due to lack of adequate supply.

Subs:

Zaidu - 3: Poor performance bordering on diabolical. His energetic and robust play is no longer covering his lack of tactical and technical nous. We definitely need an upgrade in that LB position like yesterday.

Moffi - 4.5: Worked hard in pressing but couldn't do much also due to lack of supply.

Bekene - 5: Came in and settled the RB better. Did very well to intercept a few Portuguese counters. Wasn't able to contribute offensively due to pressure from the Portuguese.

Onyedika - 4.5: His inclusion initially looked to have settled the midfield and brought more stability but his lack of bravery and attacking intent turned me off. I expect better for someone of his technical abilities.

Onyeka - 4.5: Worked hard but struggled to match the more technically adept Portuguese midfielders.

Onuachu - 4: Works hard and puts himself about but struggles to fit in with the teams general tactical setup. Not an attack on him as a player but just the brutal truth of what he brings to the team currently.

Chukwueze - 3.5: Deviod of the instant impact of the bench he was expected to bring. Spoilt a very promising counter.

Full makes to Eric Chelle and the technical crew for setting up the team well. Different personnel in different positions and the outcome could have been better.

FiveFootNinja:
At the 2026 USCAMEX FIFA World Cup,

Countries I'm rooting hard for:
Brazil, England, Japan

Countries I have a soft spot for (but won't hurt me if they lose):
Korea Republic, Mexico, USA, Canada, Turkiye, Australia, Senegal, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq

Countries I simply don't care about:
Czech Republic, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Switzerland, Qatar, Scotland, Haiti, Paraguay, Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Germany, Curacao, Netherlands, Sweden, Tunisia, Belgium, Iran, New Zealand, Spain, Cape Verde, Uruguay, France, Algeria, Jordan, Austria, Portugal, Norway, Uzbekistan, Croatia, Panama

Countries I hate and I'm actively rooting against to fail:
South Africa, Morocco

Countries I like but I'm rooting against anyway for the banter:
Ghana, Argentina, DR Congo

I think that about covers it.