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TheSuperNerd:
Iwobi Joins Onazi, Aina, Ekong Uyo, Eagles To Train At 5pm
By Kayode Ogundare in Uyo



The Super Eagles pre-World Cup training camp opened in Uyo on Monday morning and Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi is the latest player to hit the Ibom Meridian Hotel Camp thereby bringing to five the number of players in Camp.

Iwobi joined vice-captain Ogenyi Onazi, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Ola Aina and Bursaspor of Turkey defender William Troost-Ekong as early arrivals.

The Arsenal star touched down at the Ibom International Airport around 12noon aboard a plane from Lagos accompanied by his father Chuka and he was immediately driven off after completing airport formalities.

Meanwhile, the Super Eagles will have their first feel of the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium turf at 5pm after they would have been boosted by the arrival of other players expected in camp.

According to team co-ordinator Patrick Pascal, coach Gernot Rohr and other members of the technical crew are already present in Uyo and itching to get on with the team’s training programme.

The Super Eagles are expected to trade tackles with the Leopards of Congo D R next Monday in Port Harcourt before proceeding to London where they will play the Three Lions of England at the Wembley Stadium on 2 June.


Source: https://www.completesportsnigeria.com/iwobi-joins-onazi-aina-ekong-uyo-eagles-to-train-at-5pm/


Russia 2018 WC Countdown: 23 days 23 hours 17 mins to go

meanwhile seeing pictures of iwobi always coming in with his dad gives me a picture of him lacking maturity and might actually transit to his game.

common this dude is 21 and should act like a man not a daddy boy

TheSuperNerd:
Iwobi Joins Onazi, Aina, Ekong Uyo, Eagles To Train At 5pm
By Kayode Ogundare in Uyo



The Super Eagles pre-World Cup training camp opened in Uyo on Monday morning and Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi is the latest player to hit the Ibom Meridian Hotel Camp thereby bringing to five the number of players in Camp.

Iwobi joined vice-captain Ogenyi Onazi, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Ola Aina and Bursaspor of Turkey defender William Troost-Ekong as early arrivals.

The Arsenal star touched down at the Ibom International Airport around 12noon aboard a plane from Lagos accompanied by his father Chuka and he was immediately driven off after completing airport formalities.

Meanwhile, the Super Eagles will have their first feel of the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium turf at 5pm after they would have been boosted by the arrival of other players expected in camp.

According to team co-ordinator Patrick Pascal, coach Gernot Rohr and other members of the technical crew are already present in Uyo and itching to get on with the team’s training programme.

The Super Eagles are expected to trade tackles with the Leopards of Congo D R next Monday in Port Harcourt before proceeding to London where they will play the Three Lions of England at the Wembley Stadium on 2 June.


Source: https://www.completesportsnigeria.com/iwobi-joins-onazi-aina-ekong-uyo-eagles-to-train-at-5pm/


Russia 2018 WC Countdown: 23 days 23 hours 17 mins to go

dropping Aina won't be fair and won't set a good record ahead

Joebie:
Na wa for u o!!!
I beg go watch Musa of recent in CSKA well well. Watch Musa against Argentina. Watch Musa against Barca (Leicester).. abi na only Suya u think say he fit bring to the dining table?

lol the suya part got me laughing

asha80:
the weather will not be much an issue to players though

the weather might not be an issue but Musa and Idowu won't have any problem with what the weather trow at them

forgiveness:
Agu played more part in our qualification more than Etebor and Ogu.

Ogu played 90 and Etebo played 90 minutes against Algeria, Agu was always coming in late and did not impress

OMANBALA1:
And whoever thinks Rohr will drop Joel Obi need to think again. That guy is very disciplined ,hardly loses any ball,he grows with the game and can be very influential in the game.

so you will rather drop musa thann joel obi with his glass leg.

See let me tell you something, tournerment like worldcup is not friendly match were you will get injured and get replaced, why take a -1 when we have other players

*Musa plays for a club in russia so his comfortable with the weather and pitch even the fans know him, just imagine us playing in CSKA stadium

* Musa is in form and score goals which what we need in super eagle now

* joel was injured and is injury prone and might even get injured after announcing the squad

* we have 5 key and fit midfielders that executed the quantifying matches, Mikel, Onazi, Ndidi, ogu and Etebo

oga if they keep Musa and obi i will pick Musa

OMANBALA1:
Biko, why cant we drop Ahmed Musa, or is it one of those federal character thing? Do we really need Ahmed Musa ?

hmmm

M7even:
I was 7 years old at the 98' World Cup. That was about my class as well. I was a precocious chap. Followed Nigeria match all through the World Cup. I stumbled upon Brazil playing one day in the group stage. Beautiful football I was attracted to. I immediately sat down that to enjoy a high scoring side, free flowing football that mesmerized my bubbling heart. I'd watch delima Ronaldo display his skills and run on to the Sandy field at oshodi to display my skills with my age groups. Sadly I was 7 no one around me at that point like an age mate to discuss this with. All I did was yearn to listen to adults talk football. At Korea Japan I was in kings college Lagos then. I'd leave the class room to the house masters window to peep and watch the beautiful game. At that point I was a master of the game amongst my colleagues. Wider football knowledge and was barely matched in football and sports by any colleague. My academics performance dwindled, my mum was so worried she needed take drastic actions, hence, she would beat me if I played football let alone watch football. I struggled with this as I just loved the game. This really killed my intense interest in the game.

This reminds me of me

Bolowolowo:
Morata out...no surprise

Spain and Germany = fAvourite

Kog45:
One of Akpeyi/Ajiboye,Echiejile/Aina and Eze,Agbo,Agu,Nwankwo,Lokosa likely to be dropped.

just maybe joel might not make it, if we are true to our self, joel is a risk in worldcup and we actually need a striker than another CDM

andrew444:
Simmy Nwankwo will not make it,Moses simon will make it.

As for Echiejile i dont want him to make it but i am scared rohr will take him

simmy might just knock joel off

Caspian22:
Guys I wrote this piece on my blog:

Who Will Make The Super Eagles 23-Man List For The World Cup?

Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has released the 30-man provisional list for the FIFA 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The list had very few surprises with inform forwards, Junior Lokosa and Simmy Nwankwo making the list. The squad is expected to resume camp on the 21st of May in Uyo. However, the final squad of just 23 players will be released on or before the deadline on June 4.

Today, we look at the possible 23 players who could make the Super Eagles squad going to Russia.


Possible 23 Man Squad Of The Super Eagles For The 2018 FIFA World Cup

Goalkeepers:
Gernot Rohr named four goalkeepers in his provisional list, with Dele Alampasu missing out on the list. Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Francis Uzoho, Daniel Akpeyi, and Plateau United shot-stopper Dele Ajiboye. Three goalkeepers are expected to make the list of 23.
I expect all, except Delete Ajiboye to make the final squad. The starting spot will be a battle between Uzoho and Ezenwa.


Defenders:
10 very good defenders were called up in the provisional list. Gernot Rohr will obviously name eight defenders in the final squad. Two players for each position, one as a backup. We already know the coach’s preferred back four of Shehu Abdullahi, Ekong, Balogun and Echiejile. Four more players will be added to this current ones, and two will be dropped. Players who are versatile will have an edge. I’m expecting Ebuehi, Omeruo, Awaziem, and Idowu to make the final list. Stephen Eze and Ola Aina might miss out.


Midfielders:
Nigeria’s midfielder position is up for grabs for only inform players. The friendly matches against Congo and England will play a part in deciding who makes the final 23 man list. 8 players were named in the 30-man provisional list, but 6 are likely to make the final cut. Mikel, Onazi and Ndidi already have their place in the squad after their strong showings in the qualifications. Uche Agbo and Mikel Agu the likely players to miss out on the final list, they have not done anything to cement their place in the National team



Forwards:
This is where the real competition lies. There so many in-form attacking options at the disposal of Gernot Rohr. The recent form of Simmy Nwankwo, Junior Lokosa and Kelechi Iheanacho will give the coach a serious selection headache. The versatility of the forwards and their performance in the friendly games will determine who makes the squad. The real competition will be between Moses Simon, Junior Lokosa and Simeon Nwankwo. Although I’m expecting the competition to be stiff, I expect Simeon Nwankwo to edge out Moses Simon and Lokosa, if he performs well in the friendlies.





The possible Nigerian 23 Man List For The World Cup

Goalkeepers:

Ikechukwu Ezenwa
Francis Uzoho
Daniel Akpeyi

Defenders:

Abdullahi Shehu
Tyronne Ebuehi
Elderson Echiejile
Brian Idowu
Chidozie Awaziem
William Ekong
Leon Balogun
Kenneth Omeruo

Midfielders:

Mikel John Obi
Ogenyi Onazi
Wilfred Ndidi
Oghenekaro Etebo
John Ogu
Joel Obi

Forwards:

Ahmed Musa
Kelechi Iheanacho
Victor Moses
Odion Ighalo
Alex Iwobi
Nwankwo Simeon

There could be a few surprises, so we might never know. But baring dips in form and injuries, this is the most likely 23 man squad. We hope the best players make the list and do Nigerians proud in Russia, come June

cc: TheSuperNerd safarigirl forgiveness andrew444


SOURCE: https://www.yoursoccerblog.com/super-eagles-23-man-list/

moses simon is gonna make the team and we play a big role in russia

andrew444:
The thing just dey vex me like say na super eagles player,this is partial,the guy also miss the 2014 world cup we can understand that but common not this,Nianggolan is a world class player and his position should be cemented there

him missing 2014 and now under 2 different manager that play different football should tell you there is something about him that is not good

andrew444:
Martins is a donkey,even the chinese based players made the list,i dont know why he is against nianggolan

many factors determine team selection, attitudes is very key when it comes to national team tournerment. A player can disrupt the team spirit, i actually don't know his attitude but he seem to be a hot head

Icon79:
Omo, what other specifics do you need when we already have a confession from an insider?

Listen, soccer is now business - and we're talking about multi trillion dollar business. Hence, it's in FIFA's best interest that certain countries perform well to keep the money coming. And they would do everything within their powers to make that happen. Do you think that FIFA would be happy to see a World Cup final involving Nigeria and Panama? Or Senegal and Iran??

Why do you think that Real Madrid almost always get the easiest draw in the knockout stages Champions League? Do you think that it's merely by luck of the draw? Yea rite! It's a rigged system, bro


O pari

any intelligent person that follow your argument very well will notice your sentiment, you are a hardcore Barcelona fan and you are trying to convince your self that madrid has been favoured hence they are doing well

But bros a team that drew Tottenham,Dortmund in group stage never got an easy draw, played psg in second round then juventus, Bayern follows, abeg how are this matches easy and fixed.

if really UEFA wanted to fix the fixture, they will favour an el classico final, but i remember few seasons ago they draw Barcelona and Madrid in semifinal instead of "fixing" it to enable them play the final

The reason why you can't have panama and senegal final is because panama and senegal are not better team and better prepared to teams like Spain and Germany.

Joebie:
Ok well from what I remember Okocha was not full of dribbles in Atlanta. You know the typical Okocha showmanship.

Okocha was thesame, i remember him always ballooning the balls up high even when there is alternative players to pass to, the point is we had other stars sharing the spot light with him

elyte89:
Kids of today yes,not den bro

even then, I'm an example, not just football, i remember things that happen when i was below 8 very well, i think it varies from people

Joebie:
Did u watch Atlanta 96?

yes i did, but i was expecting you to explain what you meant rather than reply with another question

safarigirl:
the job gives one more opportunities to cheat.

That is like saying pesin wey go die, go die, but between an office clerk and a police officer, who is more likely to get killed on the job?

so you are saying you will reject Mikel because his a footballer lol

Interesting

Joebie:
Kai bonfere na revolutionist oh. Today na inverted wingers dey reign.

Who notices how bonfere made Okocha play differently at Atlanta 96?

what do you mean by differently?

elyte89:
All dis guys claiming to watch and comprehend what's going on in a match baffles me

I was in primary 4 when Brazil and France played in 98 world cup ,na small remain make we c ,I was 9month old when amokachi scored a beautiful goal against greece ,trying to clinch on d oldies

I no sabi as una dey understand dis games o,at Dt tender age...I bet most of u at DT age bracket watched replay and not d real match ,make una no dey whine us for here


Aw primary 4 piking of DT time comprehend each persons name, position, style of play as at den ,me I no believe o ,kids I.Q den where not as high as today's kid,a kid of 3years can operate i-pad conveniently .


I knew what was football during Atlanta 96,though I can't really comprehend d rules and regulation @ age 7

I didn't watch most games,because I was too naive to understand d rules,d game time wereearly part in d morning,games where played around 11pm,12am,1am,2am.d rules den for kids generally was to sleep after dinner,Max by 9pm,I dey bed
Only my my siblings who re older would go out in d middle of d night to watch games at a popular joint where dey own a generator set...generator set den was very expensive and not to popular among d masses

So abeg in a nutshell,if u re not up to age 13-15years during 94 world cup and 96 Atlanta tourney,stop analysing matches for us

totally wrong, you can be 8 and comprehend matches

safarigirl:
I don't think you're getting the point.

Every game is for two hours. If your husband is away for 12 hours, you can only account for two-four hours tops (they use flight), what about the other 8-10 hours?


Your popular, rich husband is not with you half a day and not visible to you for 8 hours? That is different from if you were married to a civil servant. It is not the same level of panic at all. A civil servant isn't popular and is mostly not assumed to be richer than a footballer


I would rather marry a civil servant or someone who works in a multinational company, but basically, a man who isn't in the spotlight where everyone can see him

Marrying a footballer can be mental torture at some point. You see pictures of him with some girls at a club after an away game (cuz he must party with his boys), do you know how that feels?


Jobs are different and some are simply safer than others in a marriage. Work is not work

A cheating husband don't need to be out to cheat, a civil servant can do it with his colleague and even a business man having his shop just around home can do it with his client. blame it on the man not the job

Mujtahida:
As a child I never liked watching football. I recall that NTA used to show football on Saturdays. I never was quite interested. Na USA Champions (wrestling with people like Mike O'hayes, the Mangoes, Kamala the Ugandan Giant, Sergeant slaughter, Roddy Piper Andrew the Giant, Mighty Igor, Jimmy Superfly before it became WWF) na im dey interest me.

Only thing that struck me then in football and was a wonder to my childish mind was how footballers could give long passes and locate the others on the pitch. The thing was a mystery to me.

My interest began to pick up during the miracle of Daman. Then I remembered watching our Afcon qualifying against Angola in 1989 in which Okwaraji slumped and we later heard he died. I still remember say na for dem Ogbonna house I watch that match.

Then my interest died again. Wrestling with all them Hulk Hogan, Warrior, Undertaker, Briefcase etc continued to hold me spellbound.

Japan 93 I picked up again. Then Tunisia 94 I started following the SE as a matter of passion. I watched only the final for one black and white TV and it wasn't clear. I no send. USA 94 I didn't watch any of the matches cos we had moved out of the Airforce Base and there was no power supply where we were. But I was following proceedings. After that tournament I became so intensely passionate about football ehn, my appetite was huge(but I didn't like our local league and still don't). I started watching the premiership then sponsored by Rothmans of Pall mall. Overmars, Bergkamp, Seaman were in Arsenal, Andy Cole, Paul Scholes, Peter Schiemechel were in Man U, Paul Ince and Robbie Fowler were in Liverpool, Andre Flo and Vialli were in Chelsea, zola was in Aston villa and Ginola was in Tottenham.

By France 98 I was already so deep and I watched almost all the matches, often going far away from home to watch matches so that in school one will not be left out of the gist. I will never forget Bergkamp's divine control bringing the ball down from a De Boers' long pass, turning the on rushing Ayala aside and twisting the ball over the head of a hapless Roa who stood transfixed. It was in extra time. Holland won 1-0.and then Kluivert's killer header to equalise against Brazil.

Korea/Japan wasn't that sweet sha but I still enjoyed it. It was from 2005 that my fervour for football began to wane gradually.

I al

2002 worldcup for me didn't meet up to expection

Mujtahida:
In France 98 after the match against Denmark we heard it in school that FIFA had cancelled the match because Eber Sand was obviously on drugs. Omo we believed ooo. The defeat was hard to accept.

Again when Nigeria failed to qualify for Germany 2006 a colleague (Ola that's his name, one year my senior in the University) came with a story that CAF ordered a replay and we still believed him.

Cameroon vs Nigeria finals too, we heard CAF cancelled the final because of the wrong call

somehow:
Nothing new, Arsene Wenger said/did worse to Ibrahimovic

very good response to that, so many good players were once rejected

Mujtahida:
Aghawonder. Cameroun cheated us. We deserved that Afcon. Our first Afcon since 94.if not for Abacha and Mandela political battles we would most likely have retained out title in 96 and 98

Cameroon heard a great team too, i think that afcon was one of the best i watched

Mujtahida:
I was in my final year of secondary school during Afcon 2000.I can't recall why I stayed in school till almost close to the kick off between Nig and Senegal. Omo I couldn't find a vehicle to get home, everywhere was silent and it was just around 6pm or so. By the time I got home (I can't remember how now) Senegal was leading one nil

.

TheGoodJoe:

If I was to pick the best World Cup, it would be France 98. It was action packed with lots of great games and star studded teams. From Raul, Hierro, Enrique, Alfonso, Zubizarreta, Campo of Spain, to Okocha, Oliseh, Finidi George, Oruma, Ikpeba, Taribo, Uche of Nigeria, Laudrup Brothers, Sand of Denmark, Baggio, Del Piero, Albertini, Vieri of Italy, Thuram, Zidane, Djorkaeff, Lizarazu, Dugarry, Deschamps, Desailly, Barthez of France, Klinsmann, Bierhoff, Jeremies of Germany, Seedorf, Kluivert, Edgar Davids, Bergkamp, Zenden, De Boer twins, Reizeiger, Hoijdonk, Cocu of Holland, Ronaldo, Carlos, Sampaio, Dunga, Bebeto, Leonardo, Denilson, Cafu, Rivaldo of Brazil, Davor Suker, Bilic, Boban of Croatia, Beckham, Scholes, Shearer, Owen of England, Batistuta, Ortega, Diego Simeone of Argentina and a host of other stars in the competition.

With cracking games like Nigeria vs Spain, Spanish demolition of Bulgaria 6-1, Nigeria vs Denmark another demolition course, Argentina vs England had the best first half in the competition 2-2 first half with the game getting ruined after Beckham kicked Diego Simeone and got sent off. Croatia vs France, Denmark vs Brazil, Brazil vs Holland one of the best star studded World Cup games, France vs Italy and lots of other great games, climaxing with the 3-0 demolition of Brazil by France in the final. A Brazilian team that had the best two players in the World, Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos.

To me, France 98 ranks the best when it comes to onfield display. Can't talk about followership and support.

i share the same view

Luckyroro:
Sir, If you don't mind pls share your experience too. I would really love to picture it from your own perspective. As old as that World cup tournament is, the footages are still evergreen. It might not be in ultra HD but watching the clips will make you see something more unique than the recent ones. To me, another tournament close to that one in terms of followership was Korea/Japan 2002 (To me oh!). Unfortunately other editions haven't lived up to my expectations. They are just so ordinary and random. Pls don't forget to share like I earlier requested Sir. Thanks

For me i think france 98 was the best, very good football on display

safarigirl:
it is still the same thing.

Work is different for every man. It is not about coming back, it is about what goes on before he comes back.

Same risk applies to marrying a pilot, a doctor or an actor. All high risk jobs for married men

a husband is not meant to be with you 24 hours a day, you won't even like it. for a footballer is even better and easier for the wife because you get to see and confirm on TV when he tells you his travelling for a game

safarigirl:
so, Iwobi lives in Arsenal. The day he has a game against Manchester United, won't he leave London for Manchester?

He will, but he will come back just like every man that go to work, london to manchester is about 4 hours by road.

lexyman:
THE MOST DANGEROUS AMONG THEM ACCORDING TO STAT. JUNIOR LOKOSA FOLLOWED BY Odion Ighalo . what if Lokosa makes it to the world cup ?

Junior might make it, he should play huge part in the Congo friendly