₦airaland Forum

Mujtahida:
It is anticipation that makes Nwabali position himself better than Okoye.

You may have good positioning, but poor anticipation.
Anticipation is a trait that comes through attention conditioning, experience and a prior study of a player's preferences (a player's stronger foot, the use of feint shots etc)

Mujtahida:
His major flaw is positioning. This is where Nwabali is better than Okoye. Have you not noticed that for long shots, Nwabali rarely dives cos he's most of the time already well positioned.

Nwabali is a fantastic goalkeeper and I have upheld him on this thread. Nwabali is very good, but the reality is that Nwabali has conceded even cheaper goals, and it is shocking how he was not called out for it.

I really do not think positioning is his problem.
The goals he conceded made it look like he has a problem with positioning.
You should also consider the quality of players he faced and i am also certain that you won't blame the opposition goalkeeper and even Nwabali if they were the ones that conceded those kind of goals

The area he needs to work on is his anticipation
And it is a quality that can be worked on. He is already an elite goalkeeper

Maduka Okoye is very good with the ball at his feet.
His ball distribution is the best that I have seen of any Super Eagles goalkeeper in recent times.

It was his long ball to Akor that led to the development of the first goal.
He read the situation very well and connected Akor with a sweet long pass, and bam! a goal situation.

Kog45:
Oga Meli,the match was a friendly match but big question in a competitive match can you stake it that Nigeria will beat Portugal.

Anything can happen in football.
With good coaching we can beat Portugal.

Portugal has more talents than us, but we have the assortment of players that can beat Portugal.
Ndidi was excellent in duels and ball recoveries, he outperformed all the midfielders in those metrics save Frank Onyeka who had more ball recoveries.

Wilfred Ndidi, Frank Onyeka, Tochukwu Nnadi are rock solid midfielders. The lapses we saw in the midfield against Portugal was down to Eric Chelle for fielding FDB and Alex Iwobi at the same time, their deficits in defensive duels has always been there, a situation that i pointed out in the last AFCON. Contrast FDB and Bruno Fernandes in how they fared in duels, FDB lost all, Fernandes lost only one.

Eric Chelle has his positives, especially in the manner he has improved our passes and composition of play, but he is yet to possess that cutting edge that can give us the foremost advantage to victorious situations.

Sugarboyy:
So you think these Japan and S/Korea that you mentioned won't be scared playing Nigeria?
Yes, Portugal dominated the SE without Osimhen, Lookman and with a debutant and inexperienced right back, why they had their full squad. Did you watched how Portugal totally dominated Chile? Or you think just the presence of a player like Osimhen wouldn't have changed a narrative in the match?

Possession won in the final third per 90 In the turkish super league has Osimhen sitting 3rd in the stats ranking. He is the only Center Forward in the top three.
Osimhen's game is not just about scoring goals, there are lots of things he brings to his game.
Yes, Osimhen's presence would have changed a narrative in the match.

Odunayaw:
Fellow Mexicans
Rejoice

Yes, we rejoice in the hope that they will soon carry their loads back to Joeberg

lbrichman2:
I'm not really sure what his strengths are
I know TheSuperNerd talks about it all the time, but I just don't see what FDB brings to the fold..
I know he's mostly disciplined and positionally aware, can pop up with a few goals, apart from that, I no know again..

But again, Portugal s superior midfield exposed flaws in our system and playing personnel
We should continue scouting for midfielders, proper CMs and AMs, not DMs again abeg..
This is where I would have loved to see Chrisantus

For the midfielders that started the game from both ends, Wilfred Ndidi outperformed all.
Nnadi is also good.

If we had Osimhen and Akor as the front two and Ademola Lookman in FDB's role, the story would have been different, belove me. Our attack wasn't as sharp.
Moses Simon is good, but offensively and defensively Osimhen has an edge.
FDB is good, but offensively and defensively Lookman has an edge.

Regarding his midfield selections, Eric Chelle could have done better.
Featuring FDB and Iwobi at the same time, is a bad recipe especially during phases that involves breaking up opposition play through making and winning tackles, defensive duels, and loose ball situations.

I cannot recall a single defensive duel that Iwobi and FDB won in the match against Portugal. They were always beaten.
This poor mix of players is not new. I pointed it out during the AFCON.

Why not include an extra midfielder who can help break up play and win possession. FDB does not help defensively. Ademola Lookman in FDB's position contributes far more defensively, the same as Samuel Chukwueze.

lbrichman2:
We even still need like 3-4 more midfielders

.

Yes, we need midfielders who can not only win the ball, but can create chances.

TheSuperNerd:
Thank you. Someone who reallly watched Alhassan in Belgium especially will find those assertions untrue.

Thank you TheSuperNerd.

lbrichman2:
Bruno even played CB for around 15-20 minutes today and was flawless
Intercepted balls to Ronaldo I think twice ..

Dude is an elite defender..
No one is benching him in that LB position

Bruno is good.
If he can work more on his crosses.

EElopa:
I like Alhassan, but he is not a ball carrier, he does not have the passing range, and he is not a tempo-dictating midfielder. That is the profile that we desperately need.

All these facts about Alhassan Yusuf are not true, especially his passing range.
His passes are good both in the short and long range.

elyte89:
Dt Akpan guy is decent defensively but Abdullahs better offensively

Actually Bewene is better in both departments.

Tinneh:
As much as we are well stacked in the right back position, I hope Eric Chelle sees the need to scout for quality players at left back position....
Zaidu and Onyemachi have not really been convincing at all,,

If Bruno were to play the RB, only Aina has what it takes to sideline him.
As far as the defensive phases of football in the Super Eagles is concerned, He has outperformed every fullback including Aina.

COOL10:
Maduka Okoye has been my Man of the match so far 💪😎

His long pass was crucial to the first goal.

Wilfred Ndidi is yet to misplace a single pass in this game.

minfelix:
na Belgium wey Egypt wan beat b this?🤣🤣🤣 Pray for Egypt next week

I am not praying for anybody.
Whenever these countries face the Super Eagles they flex their muscles, but when they move outside the continent they become spineless.

If they will be beaten, let them be beaten well.

FiveFootNinja:
Bruh...

Well, I am not saying they should withdraw from the world cup competition.

Meliforme:
It is now 4:0.

The persecution of the Tunisian players on the field of play is not something i can wish for anybody.

It is now 5:0.

It is now 4:0.

The persecution of the Tunisian players on the field of play is not something i can wish for anybody.

Subzero047:
Nwabali beats De Gea in what? Like I said earlier Nwabali was the biggest beneficiary of that game you guys now have a bloated sense of his value

I am very sorry for you.
Nwabali beats the De Gea in anticipation and aerial claims. That is the undiluted truth. Your contracted estimation of him will not change it.
Nwabali also beats Okoye in the same category, but my preference is with Okoye for other goalkeeping reasons.

I have known De Gea even before Nwabali.

Nwabali's club situation is not a true testament of his abilities.

jihday:
it was Schmicheal not Degea, a very similar goal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q37w_Da4dPA?si=-R0Uz3bWnZ1DbLB5

Nwabali beats De Gea in anticipation and aerial claims even when De Gea was in his prime.
Nwabali is that good.

Nwabali's ball distribution is one of his let downs and his balance is not as fluid.

I believe i am one of the occupants of the front seats when it comes to singing praises of Nwabali.
When many were clamouring for Arthur Okonkwo as a competition to Nwabali i rubbished the clamour because Nwabali is clearlly ahead in almost everything.

When concerns are on modern goalkeeping, Okoye's attributes makes him the better pick. Okoye's balance is more fluid, making him a better candidate for secondary saves, meaning that the saves Okoye made yesterday Nwabali might struggle to make due to having a more static balance.
(Fluid and Static balance have both their pros and cons).

ChrisKels:
I still dey watch this Fernandez sha. In my eyes, Nwaiwu is better than both Fernandez and Ogbu

Yes, he should be starting our games.

Okoye made brilliant saves that kept us in the game.

Yes, Nwabali has an edge over Okoye when concerns are on anticipation and aerial claims, and therefore has the greater potential of saving that thunderbolt of a strike that flew to the goalpost meters outside the 18 yard box, but it doesn't make Nwabali the better goalkeeper.

Between the two, whoever starts in a match, depends on the coach, and many modern coaches will prefer Okoye. Okoye is better at ball distribution, and can pull saves of the ball that will have Nwabali struggling because he has a more dynamic balance.

It appears like the two goalkeepers are built differently for the kind of saves they can make, but I think Okoye edges Nwabali in the overall.

Odunayaw:
This Bewene guy did well. Not great offensively but this one will see out Awaziem coming to that role

Please leave Awaziem out of this.
He is one of the Nigerians shining brightly in the football leagues they play in.

In the French Ligue 1, and according to Fotmob:
Accurate long balls made by any player per 90 has Chidozie Awaziem seating third in the stats ranking.
And he seats first in clearances of the ball made by any player per 90.

AndSunGorilla:
two Bashiru's were listed on the bench.

Ok

AndSunGorilla:
OO9
2 Bashiru's on the bench? Na mistake?

What is unique about him?

Subzero047:
Adingra was comfortably cooking Aina at the Nations cup when he made the move they are not on similar levels

Cooking injured and tired Aina.

Goke7:
So the players too don’t get injured when they play for their clubs? We will say the clubs are not managing them well too? Is it not injury playing for club that made osihmen miss some of our World Cup qualifiers?

This your point no enter as injury can occur playing for country or club. As the clubs protect their interests we too as a country has our interests to protect too. Atletico bought Lookman following a spectacular performance at the last Afcon.

I don't think you read my points well.

So you justify playing Ademola Lookman back to back in two consecutive games (a 4-day gap) for 90 minutes plus.

It is well

realpoacher:
As it stands, we may have to start a campaign on Twitter to force Gala and Athletico to release Osimehen and Lookman.


I can't stand not watching our full squared against some of the best teams in the world

Bad move.

Those players won't even get invitation to the National team if they are clubless.

Goke7:
We can’t win major tournaments this way if they are injury prone or their clubs will always have their way then it’s time perhaps to move on without them.

It also means this is the true strength of our football and we have been living fake life.

Featuring a player for a combined 180 minutes in matches that are not that competitive is a schoolboy error.
Many may look past this, but i won't.

Just look at Ola Aina, until a player comes down with injury, you won't bother a substitution. You won't factor in variables that may cause injuries such as number of minutes, pitch surface, temperature and altitude, and physical signs of exhaustion. I could recall a game where Bright Osayi Samuel was exhausted, they still kept him without taking into consideration that physical exhaustion can make a player more prone to injuries.

These players are not managed well. This is both on the NFF and on the coach.

In the last AFCON, if Wilfred Ndidi was managed well, his injury situation couldn't have made made him miss matches.

Ademola Lookman played a combined 180 minutes in the friendly matches against Iran and Jordan.
If this is not poor management of a player, then what is it. Friendly matches are not that competitive.
I will not blame Athletico Madrid for deciding against releasing him.

Victor Osimhen is injury prone. I am not even sure if he has recovered from his arm injury.
Exposing himself to a system were players are poorly managed with a coach that is not discerning enough is risky.

I won't blame some of these players when they make decisions like this. Many of these players honour their call ups with unresolved injury cases, and are still not managed well by coaches that are desperate to get results.

Some player risk their club careers and still not get minutes to play, only to get back to their clubs and find themselves at odds with their club managers.