₦airaland Forum

forgiveness:
Was the header after regulation time?

Yes, because a bit after he missed the chance Moffi was subbed in for him.

That game was there to be won in 90 mins without the need for ET

forgiveness:
What about if Osimhen scored after his miss? The point is Lookman chance was not the only one that night.

Terem utilized his chance while Osimhen didn't despite the same situation.

It was after he missed that chance I posted here Moffi should replace him and fortunately he was replaced by Moffi.

My key point is the timing of the chance. One was 10 mins from 90, the other was in ET.

Lookman buries that chance and we go home at 90mins vs playing the full 120.

Look at it this way, had SA snatched victory at the dying end when they blazed over the bar, we’d be looking back to Lookman’s missed chance. Osimhen’s header would never have even occurred since it was in ET

Timing is very important in a match.

The way some of una dey pray for the SE’s downfall is amazing. I’d like to hope you all aren’t Nigerians.

forgiveness:
Osimhen header was also clear. He was not marked.

But his chance came AFTER lookman’s. In the order of operations, if Lookman scores the game is dead.

Icon79:
And what happened to Bright Osayi who puts in a yeomans job against South Africa? I hope Osayi starts today, Sanusi Zaidu has been piss poor throughout this tournament.

No, it makes more sense to put in Sanusi. He’s defensively better than Osayi and Sanusi is a natural left footer so he’ll cover the LWB position better than a right footed player.

Not everything is tribalism.

forgiveness:
Most of you only focus on Lookman's change but refused to acknowledge Osimhen missed chances afterwards.

Lookman’s chance was far more clear cut. Osimhen missed headers, yes, but it wasn’t as clear cut a chance.

Marjoribanks:
I will be sincere here.

Winning today's game will be tough or near impossible!

Our first 11 players are obviously fatigued.

So CIV who had 2 KO matches go to 120 mins are not tired?

It will be a tough game because its a final, but both teams have fatigued players.

COOL10:
It's a sad tale for Congo; too many missed chances. This match just showed the importance of scoring your chances.

Gbam! I’ve said it before. SE have created enough chances to win every game by at least 2 comfortable goals but we’ve been profligate.

That SA match should never have gone to PKs. That Lookman chance around the 80’ would have sealed the game easily.

We MUST take our chances.

Abeg, let’s be very very serious. The pressure is on CIV to win tomorrow. End of story.

After the fairy tale run they’ve had AND being the host country, the pressure is on them to deliver. They are riding on a serious high right now and are the favorites for this match, which I think works in Naija’s favor tbh. We’ve done well by flying under the radar and progressing steadily in this tourney.

charlesemeka85:
ATM and Inter Milan interested too

He’d fit Atletico, Juve and Inter, although I think Inter would be the better move for him.

Amedino99:
the man was probably sabotaging us because NFF were late with his salaries.

I honestly believe this to be true. Supposedly all unpaid salaries and bonuses were released prior to the tournament so that might have gingered him to do well.

This is why you should always give people what they are due/owed.

camri:
which born leader? Ekong that almost reduced us to ten men if not for god. Your teammate is in your front, you are pulling an opponent's shorts

Professional foul considering the time in the match (last 3/4 mins before PKs).

Chiellini did something similar to Saka in the Euros. 100% in support of that foul. No gree at all at all.

This will be a difficult match and the boys will have to be fully focused for 90 mins and possibly ET.

I think the keys to victory will be

1. Being clinical in-front of goal. We should ideally score first, and early if possible. Scoring first will silence the crowd and put the onus on CIV to win. We don’t need to create a lot of chances. Create 3 clean chances and convert 2 is all we need.

2. Remain defensively solid. We’ve only conceded one goal from open play this entire tournament, we need to keep that defensive posture moving forward.

3. No cheap FKs late in the game. This was our undoing against Algeria in the 2019 AFCON Sf and was almost our undoing today.

4. Keep fresh legs in the midfield. CIV will try to choke the midfield with Fofana, Kessie and Sangare. Our boys will do a lot of chasing so we need to use ensure the legs are fresh.

5. Most important thing, keep focused and fighting until the very end.

I think CIV being the host nation works in our favor. The pressure is on them to win in front of their home support. Hence I say if we can score first and relatively early, CIV will have to come out and we can hit them on the counter.

IronGalaxy:
The same could be said of South Africa guy

This is true…but the gilt edged chance for SA was at the dying end of the game, the chance they blazed over the bar. This chance was AFTER Lookman missed a chance to put the game at 2-0 at about 80 mins.

All in all, SA played very well, but Nigeria was just more streetwise. Delivered when it mattered most

Princezibk:
Everyone’s sleeping 🛌 on Ekong dying minute pull on the SA guy ,,, no gree for anybody syndrome 🤣🤣

Super proud of that moment,,, most especially scoring against the so called legendary penalty world class keeper twice 🤓🤓

Na guy na boss man

You be sharp guy. I see that moment as well. Reminded me of Chiellini’s foul on Saka in the Euros final.

It seems we’ve found our keeper for WCQ.

Let’s win this Afcon and then focus on getting maximum points in our remaining WCQ matches of 2024.

Again, we have to take our chances. Had Lookman scored to put us up 2-0, that late penalty scare from SA would have been null and void.

But it was good for us to win on PKs. We now have confidence in Nwabali

Goke7:
Congrats to the Eagles, but we have been exposed! Fact

Disagree. SA huffed and puffed but didn’t actually create much.

Lookman finishes his clear chance and boys for don dey hotel room dey change tey tey.

If anything, this result was good for us. Now we are confident we have a keeper that can make saves if the final goes to a shootout.

Lol, where is Gustav lmao

I hope he still dey wait

Moffi should have played in Chukwueze quicker. He was in clear

Chukwueze over dribbles my goodness.

Clear PK. If Lookman buried that chance, we’d be getting ready to rest for the final.

You must take your chances!

jihday:
Lookman should have scored 🤦🏿

AS IN!!!! He scores that and the Yusuf PK never comes into play

gustav25:
Are you done crying ? Will it stop SA from causing you to cry more today ? 😂😂

Lol, mans a joker

codemaniacs:
If you remove Simon then who will create assists

Push Iwobi higher. Our midfield is getting massacred.

This SA team has 8/11 playing for the same team. Their chemistry is there. Similar to when Egypt won in 06,08,10. Most of the players played for Al Ahly or Zamalek.

gustav25:
I'm no clown to amuse you .....cry

It’s not even crying, I’m just looking at your posts like

“Isn’t this man jobless, does’t he have something better to do?”

People always running up and down for attention is always odd to me sha. But do you, if this is what gives you pleasure, then so be it.

I just think it makes you look childish

gustav25:
I am waiting patiently

Guy, your act is very boring

I hope everyone can see why Bassey can’t play LWB.

I think we should take off Simon for Yusuf. We need the ball to do the work. If you can’t hold ball, you’ll always be chasing the game and will tire quickly.

We really need to score first and ideally score two. This SA team has serious team chemistry.

Need to modify the midfield. Boys aren’t holding the ball well

Osimhen is not fully fit. We should sub him out

Ppogbae:
Players that are one Yellow away from suspension:

Bassey
Mosses Simon
Ola Aina

Why do they still have yellows in the SFs? Rubbish rule

cunny88:
Cameroon with 9appearance have more trophies than us

9 SFs, 5 titles. 3 on top our head seff.

That is underperformance. We should be on at least 4 if not 5 titles.

Sha, we have the chance to write those wrongs today and hopefully Sunday

Moniter0:
this notion is now getting stale and irritating. Person that has played RB does not have the lungs? Has Aina that was also born abroad not play in the same role on the other side?
.

When I say lungs, I mean stamina. The WB position requires a lot of running up and down the flank. Bassey will get tired as a result and leave our defense lacking.

Bassey is a bigger player than Aina and Sansui so those sprints will tire him quickly.

I agree with you he does a very good job getting forward but solidity at the back is paramount.