₦airaland Forum

The WC , quarter finalists was close to my prediction ... i didnt expect England ... my pick was was Portugal . now from the beginning . now i want Argentina out of the tournament . but it will be nice to see Mbape win the trophy

there is no way i can bet against France that they will not win Morocco ,

i was initially surprised to see the 0;1 lead ... i know they are not tactical enough to retain the lead ... If it were to be SE , I will feel same way too .. africa is not ready it ... i expect them to lead by 2 goals then let chase the game ..its a pity thay have to come back home as soon as they can

in experience ... England deserves to win despite the wrong call from the ref. to deny England of the penalty

EElopa:
If you watched the South African team this tournament and you think their only issue was lack of a number 9, I don't really know whether you actually understand football. Their decision-making in the final third, technical ability of their players in dangerous positions, and inability of their wingers to beat an opponent in one-on-one scenarios were glaring to see. Should I continue? What about their off-the-ball movements and ball control in dangerous areas of the pitch? Their players in the final third were often miscontrolling the ball, taking too many touches to control the ball, and constantly making bad decisions. Most of their attacking players were lightweight, and the way they were easily being bullied and shrugged off the ball was glaring for all to see.

Sithole and Mokoena in the midfield are just not good enough at this level, and I'm not sure either of these two players can make a match-day squad of any championship team in England.

With regard to their goalkeeper. I agree with you that he is good enough to go to some of the non-top-5 leagues in Europe, and he is also on a decent salary for Sundowns, which is probably better than he will earn playing for mid-table teams outside of the elite European leagues. He is not better than any starting goalkeeper in Serie A or any of the top 5 leagues because if he were, he would not be in the South African league. Football is not like a music or movie career, where you can be active in it for 50-plus years. In football, an average career is less than 10 years long, so every player wants to maximize profits before Father Time comes, and until you can give me a substantial and data-driven reason why Williams would turn down earning millions of dollars more playing in the top 5 leagues in the world as opposed to playing in South Africa, I am not buying any of your argument.

they were smuggled to the World cup .... had all the advantages ...played so many home and away games on their soil .... the real test came , and here they are back to where they belong ... they should continue their Xenophobia ... everything will catch up with them ...

i just wish Haiti wins , their goalkeeper is looking much like Lukaku

SA don carry wetin pass them , they should suffer in US .

Some of the odds were moving up and down before the match, but the bookmakers still gave the Super Eagles odds of 1.28 against Portugal, which basically suggested that we had little or no chance of winning.

Personally, I believe one area the team still needs to improve is its mentality. Showing too much respect to so-called "big teams" is not a good thing. The Super Eagles need more players with the mentality and courage of Bassey and Frederick—players who are fearless and willing to compete regardless of the opponent standing in front of them.

I point this out because I've noticed this attitude in many of our big matches . We cannot become a world-beating team if we continue approaching "elite opponents" with a sense of inferiority.

That said, I have to give credit to Chelle. He has done an excellent job turning the team around. For the first time in a while, the Super Eagles are playing with a clear identity, and the fans have far more confidence in the team than they did before.

Before the match, I told a friend that Portugal would not score three goals against this Super Eagles side. The team has grown beyond that stage, and that's a positive sign. We may still have areas to improve, but the progress is undeniable, and the foundation being built is encouraging.

I wish I could scroll past some of the comments here. Some of you are talking as if we're playing Lesotho or Uganda. We are up against one of the World Cup favourites, and so far, Chelle's team has not done badly at all.

We even have some of our best players missing from this match, yet the team has still managed to put up a solid performance. The Super Eagles have genuinely improved.

Unfortunately, we are not at the World Cup because of the negligence and poor decisions of those who managed our qualification campaign, not because this team lacks quality.

Come on, guys, let's enjoy the game and stop wailing on this platform. If you need to vent, the front page is right there.

zicky:
In other news.

can Madrid now have Mourinho, and Mourinho , can now have Osimhen .... its looking so real now if the Election result were to be the other way , the other guy will not want to work with Mourinho

minfelix:
I think weve met Portugal only once(i may be wrong about this) and that was the disgraceful showing from Jpes and his boys in 2022.
Period when Jpes was starting his job as super eagles coach trying to adopt a play pattern for super eagles which he latter settled for the conservative style he used at the afcon 2023.
Emmanuel Dennis lost a penalty in that match when the score was 2-0…that penalty would have changed the psychology of that game…cos before the penalty chukwu eze was already becoming a terror to the portuguese defense

my bad! , i was thinking we met in the late 80's and late 90's .. but i have checked , it was at the junior level .


thanks for pointing that out

minfelix:
with this our form we suppose drag with portugal…this super eagles currently deserves a world cup spot
Nigeria 1-1 Brazil(first team played)
Nigeria 4-2 Argentina (first team played except Messi)
A serious and well coached super eagles outfit should be winning or drawing portugal in a friendly

Interestingly, we’ve never managed to beat Portugal in all our encounters so far.

I’m hoping the Super Eagles emerge from this game unscathed and, most importantly, that Chelle’s unbeaten record stays intact. Fingers crossed!

FiveFootNinja:
As long as NFF no allow devil use them, we gat this next AFCON and WC qualifiers in the bag.

People wey dey dine with the devil, how e no go use them... they have another plans for the SE ... wait till Chelle's contract expires . na then you go know if Devil done enter them or not .

minfelix:
leggoo guys

Azeez has been seriously warned .... he should play to the Chelle's instructions ... i want to See the Eagles Battles the Portuguese team ... every time we have played Portugal it has always been in favour of Portugal , i wish the boys change the story this time

i want Arsenal to win this match , they have done everything to be the Champion .... they deserve the trophy .

opes:
Osimhen in Madrid will be too sweet..

i saw this coming about 2 months ago , and i posted it here .... Mourinho , likes African " Bulls ." and he has seen that energy in Osimhen ,,,,if the transfer doesnt happen this season , it can't be more than next season ...Osimhen is too good to be ignored . And Madrid needs him more than he needs Madrid , this season .

TheSuperNerd:
Arthur Okonkwo picks his all-time Nigeria XI and I wont lie, it is a killer team that can do wonders on the world stage (think WC Final) and win back to back to back to back to back Afcons.

GK - Vincent Enyeama

LB - Elderson Echiejile
LCB - Calvin Bassey
RCB - William Troost Ekong
RB - Ola Aina

MF - John Obi Mikel
MF - Wilfred Ndidi
MF - JJ Okocha

LW - Ademola Lookman
RW - Victor Moses

CF - Victor Osimhen.


Not a bad "Gen Z" pick Arthur. Solid lineup.

if i were to edit or tweak this squad softly , i will replace Echejile with Taiye Taiwo .... any free kick na goal with either Okocha or Taiye taiwo

I see Arsenal wining the UCL , i predicted this since the early stage of the UCL. i like the way its playing out , its getting interesting . that PSG WILL NOT BEAT Arsenal . Congratulations to the Gunners fans here . you have tried ,

This is what i am thinking in my head ... Jose Mourinho will likely go to Madrid next season , most likely he will be interested in Osimhen , i doubt if Osimhen will not go to Madrid , possible transfer this season .... Mourinho likes black-strong african player

FiveFootNinja:
Germany sef mess up. Why you go allow Ghana score? 🤦🏾

Ghana always score against Germany ... even with their last breath , they will always want to play Germans as if its a do or die encounter

We should be playing the likes of France , Brazil , Mexico , Spain or Sweden . we should play at least one high profile friendly , it's been long we had one .

As e do me reach , i use iptv , thinking that one of this Turkish sport station go show am .... its sad .

ChrisKels:
I can't wait for the world cup to just come and go.

It doesn’t feel like a World Cup that will truly capture the usual excitement. Beyond the FIFA verdict news many of us waited for, the euphoria seems to have faded. It’s not simply because the Super Eagles are not participating; rather, there is a general feeling that something isn’t quite right about this tournament.

The energy, anticipation, and global unity that normally define a World Cup appear subdued. If things continue this way, this edition could be remembered as one of the least inspiring in recent times. More than football celebrations, the world seems to be longing for peace, stability, and moments that genuinely bring people together again.....maybe na only me dey feel that way . @Elyte @Supernerd @ other great minds in the house ... HOW DO YOU GUYS FEEL ?

jihday:
if CAF can’t decide who to give the trophy maybe they should give the team that came 3rd 👀 🏃🏿

you want Nigeria to have two trophies , we cant give the 3rd place trophy to Egypt ...

lbrichman2:
We are killing Liverpool today!
@BankyGee
How we dey run am?

Liverpool at home ? i no divide emotion today , i want Gala out of the way . we need to avenge PSG last season defeat

elyte89:
I want to ask a question Does the Court of Arbitration for Sport have an expedited procedure that allows it to decide cases within a single day, similar to the fast-tracked appeal decisions sometimes issued by the Confederation of African Football just like the Morocco 🇲🇦 and Senegal 🇸🇳 case ….dts the only way out to get something out of Nigeria petition

@Coachy ,Jokes apart, I truly admire your never-say-die spirit. That’s the kind of energy every young person should have — the courage to keep pushing until every barrier is broken. But honestly, it feels like this DRC barrier is being backed by FIFA itself.

elyte89:
Na lie …any response will be on fifa site ,simple

Whatever response it is we are going to the WC . i want to see you there Coachy Lala

TheSuperNerd:
Hi Great Thread of Nigerian Football, it is indeed a good day to be alive and be excited for what 2026 still promises.

Today is My Birthday and I want to remind everyone out there not to give up on whatever their dreams, aims, aspirations, project pursuits, goals, etc are.
Victor Osimhen did not and look at him today and his story is still not done. John Mikel Obi did not and now he is a bonafide Nigerian legend. Rashidi "Rasheed" Yekini did not and he remains the one of the pinnacles among African Strikers today.


Lastly, on a flip note, Elyte89 is still not giving up on his Super Eagles job dream despite we all knowing how impossible it is and he is also not giving up on Nigeria heading to USCAMEX 2026 World Cup, so honestly what excuse you get?

Cheers to me and Cheers to us all.... God Bless You.

Happy birthday bro , wish you many more beautiful years ahead . more life wins for you more wins for the Super Eagles ...ENJOY YOUR DAY !

elyte89:
Come to think of it ,if truly the petition has no substance,FIFA WOULD HAVE REJECTED IT ever since and not waiting till now ..this is a good sign though

I know FIFA very well when it comes to petitions ..once it lacks substance ,they throw it out within one month max

COACHITO I DEY FEEL YOU .

elyte89:
Me and u wey go enter Swiss 🇨🇭 with placards 🪧 to protest soon ,if we no c d verdict by d end of the week ,no retreat no surrender 🙄

this coach get winner's mentality , even if they dey lead am 3:0for 75mins , he still believed that he can win ... stay positive bro , i gat you

elyte89:
If I c anybody talk about this okoye fine boy matter again when we have a pending verdict with FIFA , u will be in trouble 😏😏😏

Coachito , e come dey be as if you want use WC JAPA ... but i still believe in this course .

zicky:
if I be gay, do you have a problem with that? 🙄
Maduka is the first choice of Udinese, a club in the top league.
He has mount the post against top team, even after his suspension, he still came to reclaim his 1st position and you want me to believe he's a mediocre goalkeeper.
Me bringing up his looks was because of comments I saw online after the 2021 Afcon. So his looks was never an issue to me, but guys can see whatever you choose to.

Jokes apart, if Maduka Okoye had consistently impressed in the Super Eagles jersey, the performances, statistics, and results would naturally speak in his favour. The evidence would be there for everyone to see.
What we need is for our players to be at their very best when representing the national team. In goal, I want a true shot-stopper — a goalkeeper whose primary responsibility is preventing goals, not one judged by appearance or popularity.
Okoye has shown quality with Udinese, and that deserves recognition. However, what fans want to see is that same confidence, authority, and reliability translated into the Super Eagles jersey.