₦airaland Forum

Okon seems to be reading this thread. Yesterday, the team only had 15 minutes light training all day. The girls were fully rested afterwards.
I expect them to be very very fresh and agile for 90 minutes against USA. If the defence does not mess up, Nigeria will win.
I predict a shock for USA.

Afam4eva:
Okokobioko

We must avoid meeting the host team.

We will beat Canada. But lets beat USA tonight first.

Oshoala: I want us to play like Real Madrid
Asisat Oshoala has had a pretty spectacular 12 months by anyone’s standards. The Ikorodu native took home both the adidas Golden Ball and the Golden Boot at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014 en route to a second-place finish with the Super Falconets in August of last year; while just last week she scored in her senior Women’s World Cup debut.

In between those feats, ‘Superzee’, as she is known by her team-mates, signed for Liverpool and earned the BBC’s Women’s Footballer of the Year Award, while also picking up the CAF young and senior player prizes. Add in becoming a Member of the Order of the Niger, an honour bestowed upon the 20-year-old by her nation’s president and it would be safe to assume that Oshoala is content with how things are going at the moment!

And you would be wrong. Despite all of the accolades she has recently earned and the attention she has received from all corners of the planet, Nigeria’s No8 has been finding it difficult to enjoy herself during her first Women’s World Cup so far. That is not to say Canada 2015 has yet to be a worthwhile experience for the young starlet, though.

“I have learned a lot of things about myself as a player,” Oshoala told FIFA.com after her team’s 2-0 loss to Australia. At times during the U-20 Women’s World Cup last summer it seemed almost impossibly easy for Oshoala to find the back of the net. But as the young starlet quickly pointed out, that is simply not the case at Canada 2015.

“This is a big tournament with much stronger competition. When you play at the under-age tournament, and then you come to the senior World Cup, you see it’s much harder. So, you just have to adapt to it.

“My style of play can’t always be the same. I need to find different ways to change my attacking patterns so I can get behind the backline.”

Triple threat
That is a lesson Oshoala duly learned after the Super Falcons’ loss to Australia, where she and her fellow forwards rarely threatened the Matildas’ goal. After a wildly entertaining 3-3 draw where Oshoala scored Nigeria’s second and presented herself as a constant threat to Sweden, the No8 found herself frustrated against Australia.

“I would say Sweden actually made it very hard for us,” explained Oshoala. “Australia I think were an easier opponent. We were unlucky not to get the goals we needed. But it doesn’t matter; we have to be better, no matter what.”

If coach Edwin Okon can get his front three - Oshoala is usually featured up top alongside the talents of Desire Oparanozie and Ngozi Okobi – firing on all cylinders in time for Tuesday’s big test against a tough USA side, the Super Falcons may just be able to soar into the knockout stages, something Nigeria have only done once before, at USA 1999.

Oshoala believes she and her team-mates have what it takes to reach the Round of 16, and as she explains with a smile on her face she would like to emulate the style of a certain attacking trio known the world over.

“I want us to play like Real Madrid’s forwards!” Oshoala says through her laughter. “They’re very, very good, Benzema, Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.

“We can be similar to them and I’d like us to play just like them as much as possible. As a front three we can be very dangerous and if we try to be like them, we’ll go very far in this tournament!"

Duru1:
This 90-minutes talk is a hogwash. The team had four or three days to recuperate. Besides, there are players on the Matildas side that played the same 90 minutes without being substituted. Nigerians in particular and Africans in general are full of it. We know that each time our teams take the field against a European team and officials are Europeans, officiating will weigh heavily against us. Instead of Nigerians using their head during the match, they tend to get loaded with silly sentiments while chasing individual glory.

And in those days, do you know that the team trained twice a day? Wont remind you that training is more tasking than the match itself.

Pictorial of the permutations of group D.

Na training Okon wan use finish these girls ooo. I will quote an excerpt from a USA newssite about Super falcons.
''Another major factor worth bringing up when discussing Tuesday's game is fitness. In their second Group D match of the competition, Nigeria looked sluggish in the waning moments of their 2-0 loss to Australia.''

''Nigeria hurt themselves by not using any substitutes against Sweden, and it seems like the treacherous nature of the artificial turf and the short time in between games limited them against the Matildas.''

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2495331-is-starting-tobin-heath-the-true-answer-to-the-uswnts-attacking-problems
I wonder if Okon has scouts. He is burning out these girls and its painful!!

My people please lets not give up on Oparanozie. She is one of the best in the world. I just cant wait for her to surprise you all on Tuesday. The game vs USA so much suits her. With American defenders, she will show herself.
I still hope and pray that the coach shores up the midfield. America so far has not been convincing. They wont be against Nigeria. We just need to control the match and avoid silly defensive gifts.

Duru1:
When she is in shape, yes. But I can tell you that Oparanozie on this stanza is a shadow of herself. She kept stumbling and falling knees over head on any touch of the ball.

She fell because she played for too long on artificial turf in the opening match. It is more work than on grass because the bounce of the ball is not normal. Also, she was perhaps the most hardworking against Sweden. She held the game up alone almost all the time.
Moreso, Okon trains the girls twice a day. That is too much, even for men on artificial turf.

Duru1:
If she is miles ahead of Umotong and Dike, Falcons should not take the field against USWNT. Anybody is better than Oparanozie at this point. Nigeria could find a diamond in the rough.

It wont take you 10 minutes of the game to start clamouring for Oparanozie. She is a handfull. The fact that she was tired against Australia doesnt mean she's no good. She has rested, so has Oshoala. Only Ordega is likely to be unfit.
You will see the real Oparanozie on Tuesday.

dodobytes, you will be making a big mistake by dropping Oparanozie. Shes miles ahead of Dike and Ini.

How to beat USA
Last time, I posted a few obvious comments on how to beat Australia, the coach wasnt tuned to that frequency, and the result was painful. Now Nigeria has it all to do.
We have to beat USA to qualify. If we beat USA by any margin, we qualify. If we win by 1-0, we qualify as one of the best 3rd placed teams. If we win by 2-0, we finish the group 2nd, irrespective of the score of Sweden vs Australia. If we win by 3-0, we can top the group, if Sweden vs Australia ends up in a draw.
Now, to what I suggest as tactics...Go defensive!
1. We cannot afford to concede. So, first we must improve defensively. Considering that Njoku brought some solidity to our defense against Australia, the coach must build on that. I will suggest that we drop Onome Ebi and play Sarah Nnodim and Josephine Chukwunonye as centre backs. Ebere and Njoku as full backs.
2. Defensive midfield position. Cecilia Nku should come in and the coach should drop Ordega. We need to play a midfield 4 of Cecilia Nku, Nwabuoku, Ayinde and Okobi. With this midfield, the defence will be well screened, and our chances of conceeding goals will be limited to set pieces
3. Set pieces!!!!! Shame that the coach has not addressed this problem. We lack height in the team, and america will want to use Abby Wambach's powerful headers. No problem. This can be solved easily, reduce the chances of set pieces, and switch on. The falcons hardly win the 2nd balls from set pieces. If we are not as tall as they are, we can at least prevent them from latching on to rebounds. Zonal marking around the box but man marking inside the box.
4. Feed Asisat, she will create chances. Okobi is key to this. The coach therefore needs to get Nku or Nwabuoku to play around Okobi at all times. If Okobi can be allowed to pick her passes, then Asisat and Oparanozie will switch on.
5. No red cards! Games like this will die if Nigerian players make silly challenges. Keep the tackles clean and dont give referee the chance to ruin the match.
6. Time for Oparanozie to step up. She is still very influential. Coach needs to bring her fully into the game refreshed.
7. Make use of set pieces. Enough of these rubbish short corners.

Lol. Is this the super eagles being bullied in Nigeria by Chad? I can hereby conclude that the new NFF chairman is a badluck to Nigeria. Everything he touched has failed.

AreaFada2:
GMB regime is turning out to be one of bad news for our football. Men under-20 turnament is disaster, our our girls too not much better.

Hope this doesn't happen in other spheres of life.

A leader has to be lucky too.

As clueless as they portrayed Jonathan, in his time we won several international level including AFCON after almost 20 years.

I know APC supporters, now that it's not GEJ's regime, they will suddenly say it has nothing to do with GMB.
But if a 3-year project is commissioned next week, it's GMB who did it.

If anything, OKON is a sad semblance of the cluelessness witnessed during GEJ. PMB didnt employ OKON, nor does he have a say in NFF's affairs.

USA looking to draw. They qualify with a draw. Sweden moves to 3rd place, Nigeria will qualify if we can beat USA.

Instead of going to have an ice dip to recover, Okon is letting the falcons watch USA vs Sweden. I will suggest that Okon is sacked before the next match.

Okon very bitter about the extra time.
We just have to qualify. The children, they're aware. He's calling the girls children. What nonsense.

Press conference
Okon: Thank you, I think ehm, its a good match, a very good match. My regards to them. I dont have much to say, but about the officiating. The 2nd goal and the extra time.

Q: Okon, why did you not make any sub against Sweden?
Okon: All my girls are very FIT
Q: Okon, what do you know about Australia
Okon: I dont know anything about them. When we get on the field, we will know them within 5 minutes.
Q: What tactical inputs will you make
Okon: Only GOD knows our tactical formation.
24 hours later, Okon leads the team to disaster. Was it not obvious?

When the dust settles, we will pick up for the next match. Few things need to change:
1. Coach is burning down this girls in training. ONLY Nigeria has 2 training sessions in a day. For goodness sake, these are ladies. Even men have limit. It was obvious in the match today. Our gals got tired as early as 20 minutes.
2. Get the starting line up right. Over the past 3 years, Nigeria has been blessed with many good players for all teams. Only the coaches are POOR. extremely poor. There were so many glaring mistakes which the coach adamantly insisted on for the 2nd match.
3. We had no business losing the midfield so early vs Australia. Cecilia Nku should have played and Ayinde dropped.
4. Nkwocha should only play when we're trying to hold on to a lead, not when we need a goal.
5. REST the players for 2 days before the USA game. YES. These girls are good, but the legs didnt carry them today.
6. The defence needs sorting. I suggest removing Onome Ebi for Ohale or even Nnodim. Also, the team needs to learn of the offside rule. Poor.
7. The attack is still deadly...when the legs can carry them.

I honestly dont think it is hard to coach the falcons. All this was glaring from the first match. Ohale was a disaster as a full back. Why use her again
The front 3 was bound to be weaker and slower after the rampaging display vs Sweden. Why not drop 1 or 2 of them and start the more pacy Dike or Esther Sunday?
We have a capable replacement for Ayinde, why not start Cecilia Nku?
Have our defenders ever heard of the offside rule??
Shame another shining star is down.

olapluto:
How to beat Australia:
1. Keep Dede in goal. Most people dont know that Whyte is shyte! She is worse than Dede.
2. Bring in Njoku, drop Chukwunonye and move Ohale to partner Onome Ebi. This should have been done at halftime against Sweden. Its a no brainer. You cannot play 3 at the back and leave the flanks exposed like that. Ohale was doing too much and it backfired.
3. Keep the midfield as it is. Okobi, Ayinde and Nwabuoku really tried. They held the midfield well, though the 3 at the back somehow disrupted things.
4. Start Esther Sunday ahead of Ordega against Australia. Why? Because Australia will be out to attack us, and Esther Sunday's runs and dribbles will be key, with Njoku also pushing forward, Australia will be on the backfoot for most of the match.
5. Make substitutions!!!!! For heaven sake, this is artificial turf, the girls will cramp badly if they all play another 90 minutes. Dike, Ini, and even Nkwocha are all ripe to come in.
6. Zonal marking! I know the coach is naive and thus is adamant on man marking, even when height is not to our advantage. Watch Sweden's first goal and see how Fisher sold Ayinde to get a header. We simply cannot do man marking. Let the players have a zone to mark, so they can attack the ball before it gets to the opponent. This will be key against Wambach of USA when the match comes.
7. Players should try to get at the referee. Often times Nigeria gets bad refereeing because of bad perception, but yesterday, We had only 4 fouls all game, against 14 fouls of Sweden. This is even despite leniency of ref towards Swedes. They got no yellowcards. This must stop! Let our players call attention of refs where needed.
8. Relax and know that Australia cannot beat Nigeria. I mean if you do not lose against Sweden, and put in better performance, you will surely beat Australia

If only...

LOL. Even the referee had enough. stopped game 3 minutes before the end.

Dike should have come in for Oparanozie. This coach is just a clown. See him looking like Jesus will come and score for him. EEJIT

Courtney Dike finally on for Oshoala.
Thats game over for Nigeria.

Njoku begging Asisat to please keep going. Thats our only tactic. Urging each other on. Perhaps coach should have just asked the girls to read bible as match prep.

Empty goal, tired legs cannot even tap it in.

LOL. Even when we have the chance to score, our ladies cannot run anymore.
Dumb coach was talking about God and Jesus instead of studying his opponent. What a waste of talent.

Nkwocha was the wrong sub.
2-0 Australia. Looks like offside.

If this team was coached by a good coach, Nigeria will be like 4-0 up. 4-1 at worst.

Oparanozie removed too. Okon don vex!!! Mama Nkwocha on.. Experience.

Njoku will stabilise the game now. Aussies cant bump forward like before.

PHEW! Okon you dull head. Now replacing Ohale with Njoku. Substitution you should have made from first match.