₦airaland Forum

am I the only who noticed that our coach does not know how to make subs? to be extremely truthful, Mikel should have been subbed and on time too, sure up your defence! and Musa should have come in earlier, the best form of defence is attack, Musa would have pinned their defence back and prevented them from playing the ball out of defence with ease but we won sha, enough negativity for now.

Omeruo, well I won't bite anyone who said he was poor but I do believe that he was ok, his awareness was okay although his decision making needs more work but playing as our main right back won't be that bad because Ndidi was terrible, for a midfielder to make that clumsy mistake that he made that almost led to a goal shows that he shouldn't displace Onazi for now, I mean, you know they are playing with width, their wing forward is right behind you and you can't even trap any easy ball? and why then are you rushing in? when you lose the ball like that, get into position first don't rush in, we won but either Odubaijo comes in or Omeruo or Leon goes there.

that Zambian goal was not a foul at all. in a million years it won't be a foul either, He was just stronger, even the Nigerians didn't dispute it, it was a goal but at least Omeruo dusted himself and maintained concentration for the remainder if the match.


God bless Ikheme, his wife will give birth to twins.


Iwobi was wasted as a winger today, He plays a lmf or a cmf never as a winger, and the coach instructed him to maintain width in the second half and it badly limited us, in the first half he was coming into the middle and playing slick one two touches, if Iwobi has to play as a wing forward then it has to be a Messi-type wing forward, that's one with a free role that can cut into the middle whenever he wants.


with Victor Moses and Success coming back into the team, I don't Ser where an invitation card for Moses Simon will come from, did he complete a single successful dribble? No! and it wasn't that he didn't get the chance, He had his marker one on one for almost 7 times and each time I would think that he is about to work his magic but he has none. poor poor display.

is there any reason why Echejile is starting ahead of Oshaniwa please? I am like Echejile but today he was okay oooh, but his marking skills have decreased a lot, all he has to his game now is his positional ability, although I might argue that he was playing alone over there so maybe it made him cautious.

finally when is our next game please?

lakesidepapa:
With this Line up, then it shall be 4-2-3-1?

............Nacho
Simon. Iwobi. Ideye

I stand to be corrected

this could work as a diamond formation, with Onazi as the base, Iwobi and Simon at the flanks.and Mikel behind the two strikers, this is what I feel we are going to play with Nacho dropping into midfield when we lose position to make it a 4-5-1. not sure but worth a thought

ChrisKels:
My dear oo...!!

By the way, what would be your line up in Ndola after injuries have forced us to reshuffle? I would want Nacho to be cutting in from the RW, and Moses Simon LW, I would rather Iwobi started behind Ideye as the AMF and Mikel as CMF, would have loved a double pivot ( Ndidi and Onazi) because the Zambians are full of PACE but but due to Mikel's experience and influence both on and off the field, I would play Onazi as the only DMF if he wouldn't be running "upandan" while Ndidi benches. Then Omeruo would partner Ekong while Mohammed and Echiejile start from the right and left respectively. Ikeme man's the post.

I chose Ideye because he is a hustler upfront and can help destabilize the defense of the Zambians, allowing Iwobi and Nacho to pounce. I would like him an unsung hero. While the striking burdens be left on Simon, Iwobi and Nacho. Ideye can do well aerially.

Don't forget Iwobi shoots well, and with precision. Moses shoots well too. I just need all our strikers playing because a win away in the tough turf of Ndola will be a good way to start. Chances might be few.

I don't even know the players left, which other striker do we even have in the team besides Ideye? So for sure, was Aminu Umar invited? I am having doubts about this game but what you brought forward for me should be ok for the Zambians, it has stability in the form of Mikel and Iwobi but pace? well maybe short paces will do, we have scorers too so I maintain that it should be okay for Zambia Alone, but are we even sure that Mikel will play? God#!!!

ChrisKels:
Very boring. Av been avoiding the thread like plague pending when they change the topic of discussion. The argument and bring him down syndrome on our great players and upcoming talents is just annoying.

I thought I was alone, some if the comments are cancerous to a human's health, insulting forest legends to prove their points, am waiting for the Zambia gsme

I have an issue that is bothering me here and I think I should say it. please, can we all reduce the number of images we attach to comments please, it is no longer funny, it seems childish to me, I used to smile at it when it was only the image of GoodJoe's stick,but now even when there is absolutely nothing funny, someone attaches a rather irritating image to it. Not only that, it undermines the sanity of the person of the person who made the initial comment and it isn't cool at all, it serves to portray you as having more knowledge than the other person which isn't always true, because I myself won't include Mikel in my top10 Nigerian players of all time, reason being that in the 80s, some local lads not only won us the nations cup, but also developed our local league massively, endearing the game of football to all our hearts, so great players of that era will come first, then Kanu and Okocha OBVIOUSLY, then you have to add our record goalscorer before anyone else, in fact , Enyeama comes before Mikel for me, by a mile, Enyeama has saved us more than I can imagine, and I can't seem to recall more than 5 games where Mikel has been our saviour at all

Icon4s:
Respect to you man. Not every one here has the boldeness to openly concede to an argument.You are a great guy. At least we are inching closer to knowin Rohr's stlye of play.

Iheanacho is really a great asset to the Super Eagles. With him in the team, you dnt necessarily need to make a substitution to change formation. He can play as a number10, Supporting striker or as a lone striker.

Success has proven to be a deadly weapon from the Right of the attack. Moses has been having a good run of play of late. Iwobi has been fantastic from the wings for Arsenal but has proven super efficient from the middle.

If we adopt the 4-2-3-1 against Zambia i would like the formation to look like this:

..........Iheanacho

Success....Iwobi....Moses.

If this team does not perform with this attack then we need to go beg "that mama we don put Super Eagles inside bottle".

Alternatively, we can make Success a direct replacement for Ighalo and the set up would look like:

..........Success

Iwobi...Iheanacho...Moses.

This formation would effectively utilize the potency of Iheanacho in edge of box shorts and killer final passes.
However, Success would be a debutant for that match. It is not likely he would be made to shoulder the responsibility of the lone striker for a game of this magnitude.

The earlier formation I proposed looks more likely.

I have a few issues with your formation. Why oh why should we still be playing Nacho as a 10?! Some might disagree but he wasn't even among the top 5 players for Nigeria in that Tanzania game, why should we be playing him in a position he last played 2 years ago?! simple, if the coaches trust Ighalo more than him then he should be benched because right about now, Iwobi should have that 10 spot wrapped up, no need pushing him to the wings either. And you really want us to start Success? He can't start a game currently, he has been making sub appearances for almost 3 months so starting him is a bad bet, and with Moses confirming that he has a niggle, being a resident doctor, I know a little about Physiotherapy and I can assure you that he should not play that game in that pitch, that pitch is horrible and once he strikes his boot on the ground which is bound to happen in non-level playing field, then he will be out for six weeks, losing whatever momentum he has already generated at Chelsea. So Musa and Simon might just have to start and they can both be subbed in

safarigirl:
you sound daft, you don't sound sexist

Someone must have repeatedly hit your head against a wall when you were a child for you to conjure such gibberish. If you have nothing sensible to say, keep your idiotic opinion to yourself next time, lest you run the risk of exposing your level of ignorance in public

Now, has anyone here bothered to vote for that Golden Boy scam? Or y'all are waiting for Rashfraud to snatch it? All the Arsenal fans here, una no fit help Iwobi?

Anyway, if you need an update, AC Milan's goalie currently has the most votes, hopefully he takes it and saves us the horror of listening to United fans run their mouth about Rashfraud

And you gave it to him in good measure, pressed down and falling over, I knew he wouldn't go free

forgiveness:
Who will replace Walcott and where will Iheanacho plays?

You weren't even paying attention, Nacho will play as the recognized striker while Sanchez moves into Walcott's position

TheGoodJoe:


Arsene Wenger said he has played, not he is the striker I signed for Arsenal like he signed Giroud.

From the World Cup images below, you will see Vargas was top. Sanchez becomes a choice when the attackers are not delivering. Not that it is his natural role.

Thank you my brother

forgiveness:
How will he alter the formation wey Wenger don dey build for Donkey years just to accommodate one player?

Maybe you mean he will alter the starting line-up. Now, for who to sidon for Iheanacho?

Yes, starting line up and Walcott will sit, I mean this shouldn't be a debate, Walcott was meant to be released sef

TheGoodJoe:

That is not a 3-5-2 formation. Mickael2 talked about the 3-5-2 set up with two strikers. When you see Sanchez play up front, know there is a challenge up front. Like an injured striker or a case of the striker not performing.

He is not a Natural striker. He can play up front.

Exactly! I don't know how hard it is to understand sha. He plays as a lone striker for Arsenal now, that requires you being a natural striker which he isn't, he normally plays with someone else upfront and that makes him better because there he can create chances for other people. I won't explain it to them again

TheGoodJoe:

I hope we get it right. I mean City. We have some brilliant creative players like De Bruyne, Silva, Gundogan and Sane. My fear is the DMF. It seems we are over working Fernandinho. I am not sure if Fernando can perform close to that level.

where is Yaya toure? I mean is it really that sour between him and Pep?

TheGoodJoe:


You are right. Apart from quality, the team needs to stay fresh all through the season. So the midfield is key and with the quality on the bench. I see Elneny as a good player too.

I am scared of you guys. The pace us frightening.

I even forgot Elneny ooo, wow! That means a quality backup for every single position. The future is bright

goldfish80:
Where so you guys get these ideas from? Eduardo Vargas plays with Alexis up front when the they play a 3-5-2 formation. If they choose to play with a lone striker, alexis plays up front on his own.

you are using a written formation to judge? Well Messi is registered as a LWF for Barca but where do you see him most of the time? You have to watch this games to understand that Sanchez is the member of the pair who drops to midfield to collect passes straight from the midfielders and feed to Vargas, I wil recommend the Brazil vs Chile game at the world cup and also the Chile vs Argentina games at the two previous Copas, watch them and check Sanchez's position. Sanchez is the SS there, but at arsenal he is the lone CF, that's two extremely different positions and thats the GoodJoe's point, he is adjusting to it

forgiveness:
I hear you but Iheanacho will not still bench Sanchez in that Arsenal set up. Forget it.

Anyway, I no wan argue about this one.

He didn't say he will bench Sanchez, he just said he will alter the formation. De Bruyne is not benching Silva at Man city, the coach just altered the formation to accommodate the two of them which is what will happen with Nacho and Sanchez, thats the point

TheGoodJoe:

Very elaborate and filled with information. I really enjoyed your read. I will like to see what happens with Arsenal as months pass. With Xhaka fighting for a place and Ramsey still to return.

exactly. Actually I enjoy most of your writeups here and most times they are identical to what I have in mind so I end up not talking again, lol, but seriously, Arsenal have a great chance this year, they have 3 players who can power their midfield engine, so I don't think that fatigue and injury will hamper their chances this season, so if they fail, well Wenger has to be seriously questioned

goldfish80:
At colo colo he played as a striker. While at Udinese, he played up top with Di Natalie in a twin attack setup. His 100 caps for Chile all came as a striker. Arsene wenger did not discover the wheel playing him there.

By the way, just to digress. Some of you guys seem to suggest Iwobi has no completion at arsenal that's why he's making the first team. That's a big lie.!
Alex didn't get to be a main stay in the arsenal set up on a platter of gold. The guy got his opportunity and sized it. He basically made himself undroppable by his performances. By this time last season, he was a nobody, he has grabbed his opportunity with both hands and he's not letting go. His being in the first team was never down to lacking competition.
Saying he has no competition at a huge club like arsenal is way off the mark by a mile and frankly it's an insult on what the young man has achieved already in his career.

Right now Iwobi has zero competition for his spot, Ramsey is the main competition he has and he is out, so right now he is riding his luck but he is doing well though we have to give him that

goldfish80:
Who told you Sanchez is not a striker? A man who has about 100 caps for his country, all played as a striker, most of those caps coming from great coaches like Marcelo Bielsa and Jorge Sampaoli, yet you think he's not a striker. What a joke

Point of Information, Sanchez rarely plays as the striker for Chile, thats why Vagas is there and Vagas has been their main striker since 2013, so that point of yours is invalid.

And I have to go with the GoodJoe here, I mean Barca used to play Messi as their main striker when Ibrahimovic fumbled, and yes, Messi was outstanding there but when Suarez came, he still pushed out wide, Iheanacho will bench Sanchez, Sanchez will bench Walcott, simple. Iwobi is untouchable because if he is removed, the entire Arsenal engine falls to pieces, atleast until Ramsey comes back then we can argue if he can be removed, but now, Walcott will drop for any recognized striker

tbaba1234:
@ bolded, Awaziem was not at the Olympics. Sincere Seth was Ekong's partner.

exactly because I know Ekong wasn't on the left side at all, it was Sincere that played there entirely so am still confused

goldfish80:
This formation could be far fetched. Abit alien to our style but I think a 3-5-2 formation could suit our team.
Something like this..
. . . . . . . . Ikeme. . . . . . .
... Omeruo. . . Leon. . . . Troost

.M.mohamed. . . . Onazi. . . Mikel
. . . . . . . . . . . . .iwobi. . . . . . . . . . . . Musa
. . . . . . . . Iheanacho. . . Ighalo

In this formation, Musa Muhammed would be licensed to push high up the field, just like a winger, when in possession, while the over load in midfield and Omeruo covers for him.
At the last AYC, he almost played like a free winger and got about 5goals. Won the player of the tournament I believe. Lichestiner plays this role for juventus.

In attack, Musa should be cutting in from the left. We all know what he did at the last world cup playing that position. Against South Africa in a friendly, he played from this angle and got a goal. He could be more prolific than moses playing there.

Iheanacho will support Odion and drop to the middle to help control the game,while Iwobi plays a free role which is his most natural position although he was trained at arsenal to play any role in attack even as a striker.

The Zambians will struggle to get out of their own half if we play a prototype like this. As they will be strangled to submission right there in Ndola.

So this means that Troost will be virtually playing as the LB? But he is right footed isn't he? We do not really have the personnel to pursue what you have in mind. When Barca plays a 3 man defence, you usually see Busquets slotting into the central defence when the wing back is away attacking, is it Onazi or Mikel that will cover? So maybe Ndidi comes in handy but still having a right footed CB in the predominant LB position is going to cause a lot of problem. Juventus plays with 2 wing backs which makes it work out well for them, Musa isn't a wing back, we will have issues

chrisooblog:
hi bro yeah i dropped etebo for two main reasons. first i think he's injured secondly etebo is more of an AMF cum striker and for the zambia match i would like someone who can control the tempo of our midfield play. this is where mikel comes in and remember in the olympics he was able to bring some attacking verve into his game. ordinarily if we were playing at home or adopting a more attacking formation then i would drop either of ndidi\onazi for etebo so we would have a midfield three of mikel, etebo and ndidi\onazi. going forward in later matches they could be our default selection but thing is i don't trust onazi to shield the back four on his own since that matuidi challenge in the world cup dude has been off and i haven't seen enough of ndidi to know if he can do the job effectively.

aren't you going to consider Azubuike at all for that game? I understand your point exactly, you want us to play with caution but don't you think that the present condition that they are in can afford us the oppurtunity to not only win but to do so handsomely? I would prefer that Etebo-Mikel-Ndidi combination(with Azubuike replacing Ndidi for me) or we could add a true winger to replace Iwobi on the left and push him into the middle too, with him providing the assist, Iheanacho converting those assists and Mikel setting the tempo of the game, God have mercy on the Zambians

TheGoodJoe:

From the Olympics to the Tanzanian game, it was easy to see that Ekong is a good ball player. I have not seen Omeruo express himself on the ball the way Ekong did or pass the ball like Ekong.

Even under Keshi, I never saw Omeruo as a defender who loves to hold the ball instead of clearing out from the back.

correct me if an wrong but isn't Leon a ball playing CB too? having two ball playing CBs in the same team isn't always good because they two if them will want to hold the ball for longer in defence. so my simple point is that since Leon can play as a RB let him move there, he is tall and fast, reminds me of Smalling when he was still a full back

TheGoodJoe:

Just like we are seeing Ighalo at Watford. We need our forward players to show invention and not waiting for pass.

That is where Nacho does well. Same with Aguero, Tevez and Suarez.

Any up front that stays there is easily marked.

The long story ends with can Iheanacho play upfront? Yes he can. He shows this when he plays there for City.

the simple point is that we need to adopt a formation that will bring out the best in him, not just forcing him to adapt to our normal formation.

chrisooblog:
i haven't seen much of iwobi in the CMF role but if push comes to shove i reckon he could do a decent job in that position. however i agree he looks very effective playing from the left side of midfield.

iheanacho for me works best with a strike partner like an ideye or etebo.

against zambia being an away match i feel we should go conservative. a double pivot of ndidi/onazi or azubuike to shield the defence with mikel playing an advanced attacking role joining the likes of iwobi and victor moses to assist iheanacho in the forward role. mikel, iwobi and victor moses can then rotate from time to time to join iheanacho in our attacking forays.

my preliminary line-up for the zambia match

ikeme

m. mohammed l. balogun t. ekong e.echejiele


onazi w. ndidi


victor moses mikel iwobi


iheanacho



we will have to be extra cautious on the left side of defence because when i watched bits of zambia's home match against kenya in the AFCON qualifiers i noticed they usually attacked down the left channel. they don't concede much so we will have to be patient to break them down. plus if we see a chance to put them to the sword we should do it because those zambians never give up they will keep coming even if we are a goal ahead.

You are the boss, you have the perfect formation in mind, although Mikel in that position.....don't you think Etebo could be better? I mean Etebo paired with Sadiq yet he scored goals and Sadiq is well Sadiq, so with Nacho more goals will be guaranteed. so I might be thinking about bringing in Etebo and taking Mikel back the the dmf role or he can just be the actual10, that's the borderline between the dmf and the amf. apart from that your formation is great considering the resources we have

safarigirl:
bro, I'll have to disagree with you on 2 counts

1 Iwobi can play as a 10, in fact he's supposed to be Mikel's replacement at his retirement...he's the most stable 10 we can come up with for now. He's great at penetrating passes

2 Kelechi can play as a lone striker, albeit not as effective as the normal lone striker, but he'll certainly do better than Ighalo and Ideye, we've tried with them, it doesn't work. At least Kelechi can track back for the ball if the service is poor, but Ighalo just stands around and waits for it

he is supposed to be Mikel's replacement because Mikel has always played as an attacking midfielder for us anyways. the ability to create defence splitting passes does not equate to a great number 10.

I love your second point, of course he would be better than both but why not go for the best? put someone up there and we will be guaranteed at least 5 good chances in that game and he must score 3 at least instead of pushing him up where he won't fulfil his best potentials. So he can perform better than them as a line striker but like you said not as well as he would do when paired with someone, so why not just pair him with someone up there?

TheGoodJoe:
The number 8 role, is a Support Striking Role. It is different from a ten role. Also, the ten role is not a CMF role but an attack midfield role.

I disagree with you and agree with Napoleon55. Iwobi can play the ten role. He played there against Egypt in Alexandria.

Iheanacho played as a lone striker also. He was not paired with De Bruyne. De Bruyne made his moves from the midfield to attack.

Iheanacho played as a lone striker many times last season and he was the lone striker against Manchester United in the derby.

a number 10 is the main tempo. more like Xavi so if you ask me Xavi was more of a cmf than an amf so yes, a number 10 is more of a cmf.

you can try to play football without a 10 which was what we did in Egypt and we failed, so Iwobi was supposed to play as a 10 but that's just not his.natural wing so he drifted into an attacking midfielder predominantly and we lost control.

Iheanacho in that game did not spend up to ten seconds alone with the opposing defenders, Dr bruyne was always open for a pass relieving much pressure off him and giving him time to.drift and either play a through pass or create a scoring opportunity for himself so if we decide to push him up and leave him there like Chelsea used to do to Drogba then we have a problem because he can't handle it. do you now understand my point?

Napoleon55:
Pls don't stop laughing.
Anyways, I just listed 15 players which I think r our best for now, Musa Muhamed was the only exclusion from my list ,it was a mistake,so Musa takes the place of Shehu in my list. Musa Muhamed just happens to skip my mind.
No formation, I did not adapt any formations,the coach will sort it out. The list above is just my best players on each positions,nothing else.

And u think u knows football,that an attacking midfielder cannot play the 10 role,and Iwobi cannot play as a number 10? U r wrong.
And Iheanacho cannot lead our attack,watch out 4 our next match.
U believe Ighalo and Ideye is the only lone strikers we have,haw far have they fared?
Of course If Enyeama agrees to come back,he is undisputed.

a perfect example of a number 10 is Rakitix, so after watching Iwobi's games you think he can do what Rakitic does? I am sorry I was laughing but no, Iwobi can't, an attacking midfielder is.not a 10, Xavier was a 10, Iniesta tried to replace him and it didn't work although he is a great attacking midfielder so Iwobi can't do that. I said he cannot lead the line ALONE, obviously if someone is bringing the ball to him and making himself available then of course he can do it with someone

Napoleon55:
How Super Eagles first team should look like at the moment.

I- Ikeme

2 Shehu(the olympic guy)

3 Echejile/Amuzie

4 Mikel/Onazi/Ndidi

5 L. Balogun

6 Ekon

7 Simon/Musa

8 Etebo

9 Iheanacho/Ighalo

10 Iwobi/Mikel

11 Moses/Simon

If Iheanacho can lead Man City's attack as a lone striker, I don't see reason why he can't do the same for us.
That derby game was really a statement especially for nigerian coaches.
Ighalo is good but Iheanacho is better.

I also believe Etebo can do well for us as a supporting striker since we have better options in midfield -Iwobi,Mikel.
If I'm SE coach,I will play Nacho upfront n Etebo behind him n see what happens.

I can't stop laughing at this.

Which formation is this? When did Iwobi start playing as a number 10?! There is a big difference between an Amf and a Cmf, a 10 is always a Cmf, an Amf is not called a 10, rather you can even call him a number 8, so Iwobi CANNOT play as a 10 but as a number 8.

If Enyeama comes back, Ikeme should go straight to the stands, sorry I mean bench. Although both will be thesame because Enyeama won't be rested.

So you honestly watched that Man City game and you believe Iheanacho can play as a lone striker? The only two Nigerians now who can play as a lone striker are Ighalo and Ideye, Adi might be able to do it. Iheanacho was literally playing up front with De Bruyne, he never had to play without the ball, there are many types of lone strikers, the lone striker in a 4-3-3 formation is different from that of a 4-5-1 and being able to play one does not equate to being able to play the other. If Nigeria plays a 4-5-1 then Ighalo/Ideye/Adi has to start, Iheanacho can't play that at all, Iheanacho always pulls out to bring his teammates into the game but if he is the only person forward, who is he pulling out for?

Anyways u adopted a 4-4-2 formation which does not require a lone striker or maybe you meant Iheanacho can lead the line, then ofcourse, the only headache is who we are going to play behind him, Iwobi or Etebo. If only Mikel could still play as our Dmf, then we can play both at thesame time with a modified 4-1-3-2, infact we can't play both, so it's a question of who amongs them will play. Iheanacho is a sure goalscoring machine, so if he plays then scoring shouldn't be the problem so what you need is to maintain balance, Iwobi maintains balance more than Etebo but if we want to hammer Zambia for example, then Etebo is the right man.

Besides these, I kinda agree with everything else you said EXCEPT shehu, granted that Musa Mohammed wasn't the best but Shehu? While you are at it why not just bring back Efe Ambrose? For me o, I would shift Leon to that spot and play either Omeruo/Ndidi/Awaziem there. Not to mention that for me, Azubuike already has that Dmf spot reserved for him, so Onazi and Ndidi should look for other positions. Ndidi can play as our backup CB,Onazi can go to RB and be the back-up I don't care

Absolutely fantastic. I am quite happy about this but just one question, do we have any age restrictions for the players we can discuss here?

Anyways, does anyone have any info on....#scratching my head, whats the name of that Nigerian that was playing for Barcelona....Ekphoma or so?

BascoVanVeli:
The question is who's youth product is he? Liverpool or QPR?

Liverpool, he started playing for then at 18 going to 19 and he just moved to Manchester last season, so that's 3 years, all boxes ticked

Lordabas:
Apart from Kelechi's goal i was genuinely disappointed in his play. Boy needs to work on his first touch and improve on using his right foot. His one footedness is sickening. If he doesn't improve i'm afraid he will be chopping bench when Gabriel Jesus arrives in January.

I was about to start bashing you, but then I read your signature below your post and then I found out that you are still a very young lad with little understanding of the game. I wouldn't have answered but...

We look at his pace, originally Nacho isn't really a pacy guy but in this game he was mandated to use his pace and guess what? He was absolutely phenomenal at that. I am not his fan, but come on, he did that well, his zonal marking(something that I complained about in Sadiq Umar's game) was perfect, his positioning was great. Do you know that he literally played as a midfielder in that game? I said it here not too long ago that Nacho is absolutely versatile and his versatility makes him a better fit than Aguero for me any time and any day and yesterday we saw that in all it's glory. Nacho's positioning and versatility brought out the best in De Bruyne and Silva yesterday, De Bruyne was practically the main striker, he entered that position whenever he wanted and Nacho would intelligently switch to midfield almost immediately. He was subbed because like I said, using his pace isn't really his best mode of football so he was looking gassed out and because Pep wanted to use a false 9 totally because if you remember well Mourinho said Pep would use a false 9 before the game, so Manu's formation was created to counter that, so after going behind and immediately they made those two subs, it created more room for a good false 9 and Silva took care of that role perfectly well, so it was a tactical sub, not out of anger or disappointment

zoboizee:
I wholly agree with you. Nigeria parade lots of average players in the NT at the moment. whose reading of the game & movements on the pitch leaves nothing to be desired. Look at our game against Tanzania for example, our substitutes in person of simon & ndidi played their role better than the guys initially in the position. Once the coach starts picking players on merits, players with tactical awareness & technical abilities, then we will do better. We need defensive midfielder who can block/break play or intercept the ball & quickly turn it into attack & is equally better in aerial duels & can move with the ball or give short or long pass with precision & with an eagle eye for goal. And we also need wingers that understand their strikers and will be ready to play with him. Someone releasing the ball on time and not foot dragging like moses all the time.

I am sorry bro but you mean Ndidi played his role better than Mikel?! Or that Moses Simon played better than Victor Moses?! Please, sentiments aside, Mikel was the main guy when he was on the pitch, easily the best player before he left and Moses, his misses aside was absolutely destroying his marker, I didn't even know when Simon entered the match