₦airaland Forum

DrYa:
Even when he scored and assisted, he was still taken off..
I don't think it's an issue actually

Lookman has to improve his defensive contributions, especially if he’s playing on the wing. Lookman got beat by Yamal for the first goal.

Gio Simeone is the blueprint for how Cholo wants his wingers to play although Gio had a poor game.

This should 100% be Osimhen’s last season in Turkey.

He should be pushing for the Prem or La Liga for his next move.

Lookman’s defensive qualities are lacking, this is known.

He should be playing in a two-man strike force not as a LM as he did today.

He should play next to Alvarez, Grizzou or Sorloth.

Time for Onyedika and Iwobi to get their big moves.

Onyedika to the Prem, Iwobi to a club that plays regular EL football at minimum

nedu666:
Industrial policy without electricity and purchasing power is mere words

GBAM!

We aren't focusing on getting the foundation built first.

Electricity, heavy infrastructure and security are needed first.

Osi played a good game today even though he didn’t score. He pressed very well from the front and his pressing had a hand in 3 goals.

TheLoneCitizen:
They've gotten complacent. How you backheel in your own half?

They may regret not winning this 5 or 6

These are the type of matches Osi should be playing in.

If he can, he should leave Turkey. Cash out this year and move elsewhere.

But ultimately, as far as he performs for us in the SE, I’m fine where he plays.

yinkeys:
If it ends 3 or 4 nil
I see ATM winning the trophy

Atletico needs to win this first leg at least 5 or 6 nil at this point. The tie must be buried in the first half.

Barca will surely score at least 2-0 in the Camp Nou.

The winner of this SF tie will win the trophy in my opinion.

TheLoneCitizen:
Ademola day. His biggest night since Leverkusen.

At club level, yes, his biggest night since the UEL final.

But his biggest night was in the final against CIV.

Country > Club

It's very likely the 2027 AFCON will just get pushed to 2028 when the new four year cycle begins..

This news of Chelle going to OM are terrible. He’s done a good job for us and the NFF should keep him on. Let’s build for the next AFCON and WC

https://x.com/om_officiel/status/2019669845550477713?s=46

I don’t know if this was posted yet but Nnadi to OM

Very good move for him. I’m glad to see our MFs get very solid moves.

AFCON27 is ours!

Copa Del Rey SFs set

Atletico vs Barca
Athletic Club vs Real Sociedad

Omo, Lookman could bag a trophy in his first season with Atletico. Winner of the Atletico vs Barca SF will be my favorite to lift the whole thing.

And the SFs will be over two legs so out boy will get his opportunity to shine.

ATM is a very good move for Ademola. Constant UCL football and with a squad capable of winning the league in good years.

Much bigger profile. So happy for him. Playing in La Liga will improve his technical profile.

TheSuperNerd:
Like the 90s generation that touched the final in 1990 and lost to the host, taking bronze in 1992 before finally hitting Gold in 1994 and making it to the World Cup, I reckon the present generation are on same path (final loss to host in 2023, Bronze in 2025, heading for Gold in 2027) and the only difference is the WC ticket.

Low key, and I repeat, Low key ooo... I believe this is actually another Golden Generation but most won't call this era golden because of the back to back world cup miss.
This generation has 2 APOTYs and a fine pool of defenders and midfielders rising really strong. In attack, we are also not short of options as new blood is being pumped already.

I believe folks are waiting for this current generation to win something (Especially the Afcon title) before the term "Golden" can be added to this era's name. That seems fair but time will prove how good this present generation really are (in years to come). So, my people, appreciate them now.

Hindsight, down the years, will hit even harder.

This generation is very talented but they need to break new ground before we consider them a golden generation. Win an AFCON title (or two, because to be honest, we are good enough for 27 and 28) and perhaps get to the QF/SF in WC and then it'll be our greatest set, yet.

IMPARTIAL:
I hope you are not thinking of inviting him to the Super Eagles. He is not good enough now to displace anyone. Do not kill his career. Tella of Leverkusen, for example, should have known. I doubt if he'll ever be invited again.

When his club form picks up he'll be re-invited. Being called up to the NT doesn't kill your career, if anything, it elevates your profile.

Tella's case is one of having never truly established himself at Bayer. At best, he was a super-sub or rotational player you'd start in the Pokal or against weaker clubs in the league.

Some players rotate in and out of the NT.

Lookman to Atletico is a better move than Fene. We want our boys playing in the best leagues with the best exposure. Atletico is guaranteed UCL ball and at least 4 games a season against Barca and Real Madrid.

I'd prefer Onyedika move to a proper mid-table squad in the EPL than Wolfsburg in Germany. Bournemouth, Fulham, Everton, or Brighton.

Bossoflife25:
My bro! You can read the last two sentences. I put the conditions there! I did not add the 2027 and 2028 AFCON because I believe we will win both!

I think we will definitely win 2027 or at least make the final.

2028 I don’t think will hold. I think CAF will merge 20027 and 2028

lovewins:
CAF DISCIPLINARY BOARD DECISIONS ON THE #AFCON2025Final ….

To be honest, Senegal got off very lightly. $600K can easily be paid by the players themselves.

5 game ban for Thiaw? That’s just 5 of 6 games in the next AFCONQ, he’ll still be at the next WC and AFCON.

I even thought CAF would ban them from the next AFCON

FiveFootNinja:
Omo but forget o, Nigeria really did wonders at this last AFCON. Played against all 4 major North African powerhouses and didn't lose a single game. And it was only Morocco that gave us problem but even they couldn't get anything tangible from us. We bullied the other three.

NFF needs to give Chelle all the help he needs abeg. In 2-3 years, as long as there's no funny business, this Super Eagles team may become too big for Africa.

We have an identity again. My hope is we improve our scouting, recruiting and development of talent from youth to senior team. I want to see more consistency in our player call-ups in the future.

Bossoflife25:
Which AFCON have we missed in the 2020s? The World Cup self we no pass round 2. The only AFCON the 90s won, they were fortunate to beat Ivory Coast on penalties in the semis and were mediocre against a Zambia 2nd string in the final! So what the hype about?
In the 2020s we lost the final to a very good host, and we lost the semis to a World Cup semi finalist on penalties. Lost the 2022 World Cup qualification to an away goal rule, a goalkeeping error, and lot of injuries. So what are you guys on about? Even if we lose this present case and made the 2030 World Cup. This generation will be the greatest Nigerian team in history!

My bro, you make excuses for this generation but downplay the success of other generations that actually won trophies and qualified for world cups. This crop of players from the 2019 AFCON cycle to now have underachieved and cannot be considered the greatest. No AFCON win and no WC appearance. No showing at the olympics seff

The coming crop from AFCON2027 is still to be determined where they’ll fare.

Bossoflife25:
We only qualified for 1994 and 1998 World Cups in the 90s, and missed the 1996 and 1998 Nations Cup. We played the AFCON final twice.
So what criteria are you using to judge the present? We are in the 2020s not 2010s!
In the 2020s, we missed 1 world cup and played one AFCON finals. We are on track!

The bolded misses a lot of nuance. 96 AFCON we withdrew under Abacha's wahala and were subsequently sanctioned by CAF in the 98 AFCON. We didn't "miss" those AFCONs due to lack of qualification.

darkelf:
Awoniyi has nothing to offer the eagles

It's not even about the stats. Bros style is play is yuck

There no match awonoyi is playing and you expect a goal....it's that bad

Let's not deceive ourselves by holding onto sentiments

Awo would not be my first pick but if he hits a vein of form during the right window, why not call him up?

Tournament football is different from league football.

forgiveness:
Nigeria don't scout for 21, 22, 23 and 24 years old players because they never blow. They start chasing arround for them when dem start to dey blow which I think it is wrong.

Players like Nwanari, Kayode, Koleosho, Carney, Azeez, Ilenikhena, Justin Njinmah, Okoli, Lesly, Kazeem Olaigbe, Anjorin etc. are within this age range and they are very promising players. Afolayan, Jacob Murphy etc

Unfortunately, Nigeria dey wait make dem blow before attracting them.

That is poor on our part. We should be approaching them at 18,19,20 and inviting them to our youth and Olympic set-up. That way they get to know the African game and build a bond with other players.

Bossoflife25:
Apart from Papa Gueye how many of them made any impact at this AFCON? They played: Benin, Sudan, Egypt, and a tired Morocco. The only good team they faced was DRC and they almost lost. The same DRC Algeria took to the cleaners. The same Algeria with no single shot on target against us.

Chukwueze you do this one.
We would not be having this convo if that porous defense had faced Akor, Lookman and Osimhen with proper officiating.
No qualms we go jam soon!

This has been a spirited debate and I love it! Kudos Bossoflife25.

In football, you can only play who's in front of you. Senegal did what they had to do. Yes, even with bad officiating, we made it to the PKs against Morocco and didn't convert when needed. That's on us.

You're saying outside Pape Gueye but ultimately, football is a team sport. Everyone had their part to play. Defenders, midfielders etc. Let's not downplay their achievement.

My overarching point is this...the NFF is not managing our talent pool well enough and that is leading to underachievement with the NT. I'm using Senegal as an example of what good FA administration looks like.

Of the last 7 AFCONs, we have won once. Of the last 3 WCs we have qualified once.
Of the last 7 AFCONS, Senegal has won twice. Of the last 3 WCs Senegal has qualified 3 times.

We have dual nationals that have no chance of playing for England or France, who would still not come play for the SE. Senegal doesn't have this problem.

As the Giant of Africa, this is not OK, and we should not expect it as a standard.

We should be the example other African FAs point to when it comes to footballing success. We should be seeing success across all levels of our footballing pyramid. U-17, U-20, Olympics etc. There should be a pathway of success from youth to senior team.

Our success isn't a result of careful planning but chance and individual brilliance. That isn't sustainable.

Take our youth football for example. We haven't won the U17 WC since 2015 and we haven't even placed in the top 4 of U17 AFCON since 2019.

U-20 AFCON, we haven't been to the final since 2015 although we got 3rd in 2023 and 2025 so there's a bit of a revival.

Morocco's FA is acting up and they've started seeing more recent success at the youth level and are funneling it into the senior team...

Success to me, for Nigeria means:

1 consistent WCQ and consistent top finishes at AFCON.

We've been doing better on the AFCON part but have been failing on the WCQ front...

Bossoflife25:
Did the Egyptians qualify for the World Cup when they won those AFCONs?
Show me a country with better run since 2013?
Like I said, we are different in ways we observe situations.
By your logic, all African teams are failures.
Also you just emphasize my point, the Senegalese were nothing in the 2010s before Mane and would also go into Oblivion after him!
Their success is simply on Mane, luck, and maybe Mendy and they do not have a replacement yet!
So what is your point?

The Egyptians failed to qualify for the WC so their success overall wasn't consistent. There is WC qualification and performance at AFCON that you use to judge a nation's success.

About Senegal...

To say Senegal will go into oblivion when Gueye, Mane and Mendy retire is laughable.

There were only 5 players from their 2021 AFCON win that played in the 2025 final: Pape Gueye (26) E Mendy (33) S Mane (33) Gana (36) Ismaila Sarr (27). There is nothing to suggest when Mane, Gana, and E. Mendy retire that Senegal will fall away.

Much of the squad that won 2025 AFCON is under 28 and they have more on the way.

Bossoflife25:
lol! This guy! I tried not to do this. Okay let's go!

Benjamin- Brentford
Akinsanmiro- Pisa (Intermilan)
Chukwueze- Fulham (Ac milan)
Bashiru- Lazio
Akor- Sevilla
Rafiu- Pisa
Okoye- Udinese
Tolu- Wolves
Uche- Crystal palace
Onyedika- Brugge to Aston Villa
Bassey- Fulham to Inter milan
Nnadi- Zulte to West ham soon
Suleiman- Leipzig
Orban- Verona
Ryan- Rover to Wolfburg soon
Moffi- Nice
Boniface- Bayern Leverkusen

Special mention
Anthony Dennis- Goztepe to Bundesliga soon
Vince Osuji- Brugge
David Moses- Sparta prague
Nwaiwu- Trabzonspor
Shola Ogundana, and many more.

Rest Oga!
If you have good players coming up you do not need to convince mediocre players to play for you.
We saw how our foreign born performed to that of the Senegalese that flopped.

With Mane, Gueye, and Mendy they hardly blow team away. Without them they will go into oblivion pretty soon.
Nigeria core in the future will be our home grown who understands the terrain perfectly well with our foreign born who are committed to play for us.
Senegal lacks those type of talents from home reason they are pursuing average foreign born players. Simple!

I'm actually glad you brought this up. Let's go player by player

Benjamin- Brentford - Yes, very good player. Already in our setup
Akinsanmiro- Pisa (Intermilan) - Called up but has not played, but good inclusion.
Chukwueze- Fulham (Ac milan) - Been in the setup for a while
Bashiru- Lazio - Been in the setup for a while
Akor- Sevilla - Good addition
Rafiu- Pisa - Yet to play for SE
Okoye- Udinese - Been in the set up for a while
Tolu- Wolves - Decent, very similar to Onuachu
Uche- Crystal palace - Good addition
Onyedika- Brugge to Aston Villa - Been in the setup for a while
Bassey- Fulham to Inter milan - Been in the setup for a while
Nnadi- Zulte to West ham soon - Called up but limited minutes
Suleiman- Leipzig - Hasn't been integrated into the squad
Orban- Verona - Hasn't been integrated into the squad
Ryan- Rover to Wolfburg soon - Called up but still needs to integrated
Moffi- Nice - Been in the squad for a while
Boniface- Bayern Leverkusen - Been in the squad for a while

This list is a mix of recent call-ups, established players, and new blood. But I don't see our list of young, "upcoming" players as strong as what is in the Senegalese have.

To say Senegal will go into oblivion when Gueye, Mane and Mendy retire is laughable.

There were only 5 players from their 2021 AFCON win that played in the 2025 final: Pape Gueye (26) E Mendy (33) S Mane (33) Gana (36) Ismaila Sarr (27). There is nothing to suggest when Mane, Gana, and E. Mendy retire that Senegal will fall away.

Much of the squad that won 2025 AFCON is under 28 and they have more on the way.

Bossoflife25:
What is the meaning of consistent? If Nigeria is not consistent then which African team is consistent? Guy, you need panadol tbh! lol! Ghana self has 4 AFCONs. The last one they won was 1982 which makes them more consistent, abi? See brain!

What does more consistent mean?

It means the same level of performance across competitions with a similar style of play.

Nigeria in the past 12 years.

AFCON 13 - Champs
AFCON 15 - DNQ
AFCON 17 - DNQ
AFCON 19 - 3rd
AFCON 21 - RO16
AFCON 23 - 2nd
AFCON 25 - 3rd

WC 18 - Group Stage
WC 22 - DNQ
WC 26 - DNQ

Does that look like consistent success to you? After winning 2013, we should have been galvanized to go on a similar run to Egypt in 06, 08 and 10. Winning B2B or multiple AFCONs in a short window of time. From AFCON 19 onwards, we have been more consistent in AFCON, but our WCQ isn't there.

This is what I'm talking about.

The same Senegal in that period of time

AFCON 13 - DNQ
AFCON 15 - GS
AFCON 17 - QFs
AFCON 19 - 2nd
AFCON 21 - Champs
AFCON 23 - RO16
AFCON 25 - Champs

WC 18 - GS
WC 22 - RO16
WC 26 - TBD

From 2015 you can see there's an uptick and level of consistency in their football. If we don't get our act together, other nations will overtake us.

We've qualified for the WC 6 times and won AFCON 3 times. Senegal have qualified for the WC 4 times and have won AFCON 2 times.

They are closing the gap on us and that is in part to how their FA is managing the NT. We MUST WAKE UP and do better.

Bossoflife25:
Senegal won 2 AFCONs (one by penalties, the other by luck). Nigeria won 3 AFCONs (no luck nor penalties), lost 5 AFCON finals (cheated twice). Lost 12 AFCON semis. Yet it is Senegal that is doing the right thing. I hope you are good bro!

And for all of Naija's prowess Senegal is 1 AFCON from leveling us!!....I hope you seff dey ok!

2nd and 3rd places are nice in total medal counts, sure, but gold is what matters the most.

We can bury our head in the sand or ask "how can we get better at managing our talent and resources so we have more consistent performance in our football?"

Bossoflife25:
Tosin did not but Bassey did, Iwobi did, Aina did, Ajayi did, Ryan did, Lookman did, Osayi did, Ebuehi did, Okoye did, Ekong did, Balogun did, etc. and many more will still do. But Tosin not doing is telling to you! Continue! lol! While our foreign born born are making significant stride the Senegalese core is still the 30 year old Senegal born (Mane, Gueye, Koulibally, Diatta, Mendy), so what are you on about?

You missed what I said about the timing of when they did.

Senegal is getting these men to commit at 22, 23, 24. And those guys are playing at a higher level than the likes of the dual nationals you mentioned.

Senegal's core is aging but they have the next gen ready and primed!!! Like you keep missing that fact. What I have been saying is Sengal's FA is managing their potential talent pool well. They have their current core but already have a pipeline of dual nationals that will be playing for them in the future.

10/11 are playing in the top 5 Euro leagues and are all 25 or under.

Where is that similar pipeline of talent for Nigeria?? Our current team is good to win now but what about in the future This is what I'm talking about in terms of managing resources and talent.

You're saying the Senegal core is old but the two starting CBs in the final were Sarr and Niakate. 20 and 29. Camarra was their starting RCM, and he's 22 at Monaco. Ndiaye is 25 and plays RW for them. Sarr and Mbaye are 27 and 17...