All in all, a great tournament for the development of women's football in Africa.
For Nigeria, a good slap in the face for us. We've been coasting along all these years and were derelict in refreshing our team and doing away with the old guard. The team has been LONG overdue for that. The likes of Ordega, Oparanozie, Okobi, Chikwelu need to be done away with. Bring in the new girls and groom them.

Randy Waldrum clearly has his work cut out for him. In fairness, we missed the likes of Ajibade, Payne sisters, Onumonu, Okeke & Ohale, to name a few BUT the best team of the tournament won today. Nigeria NEEDS to move forward. We still have a good team to win it all on the continent BUT we need to be serious about our refresh program and the building of a younger and more competitive team to ensure our qualification for the Nations cup and indeed and most importantly, the World Cup. We have a LONG way to go and we need to be serious about it!!!

As VP Akinwunmi said after the game, glad this happened NOW and not when we are playing Ghana, when there is ZERO margin for error.

Kudos to South Africa and the 2021 African Women's Player of the year (in waiting), Thembi Kgatlana.

My view, its time for the coach to bring in the new girls to the team, i think rita chikwelu, okobis time is up with the national team, we cant be playing players based on how they played in the past, your current form is paramont. Oparonozie also is so slow, she could not run past Jenine, hence move her to the bench abeg, speed is extremely key for strikers in mordern day football. If Oshoala is not playing well, she should be sustituted.... I do not understand why she was in the game allthrough the 90 mins, she was absent today. It is time for the coach to be brutal and he has a good reason to be... Thank God it happen now. So he has time to drop people he will drop and start building with the new ones.

Lets not decieve ourselves, it is not only South Africa that can beat us with this slow players we still have, that zambia that went to olympics to can, those girls are also very fast. We have a target behing our back already, all all these teams want a piece of us..

I think the cancelation of the last u20 world cup has affected the way we inject new players to the national by now we would has seen a replacement for all the tired leg in the team

AkinDS:
All in all, a great tournament for the development of women's football in Africa.
For Nigeria, a good slap in the face for us. We've been coasting along all these years and were derelict in refreshing our team and doing away with the old guard. The team has been LONG overdue for that. The likes of Ordega, Oparanozie, Okobi, Chikwelu need to be done away with. Bring in the new girls and groom them.

Randy Waldrum clearly has his work cut out for him. In fairness, we missed the likes of Ajibade, Payne sisters, Onumonu, Okeke & Ohale, to name a few BUT the best team of the tournament won today. Nigeria NEEDS to move forward. We still have a good team to win it all on the continent BUT we need to be serious about our refresh program and the building of a younger and more competitive team to ensure our qualification for the Nations cup and indeed and most importantly, the World Cup. We have a LONG way to go and we need to be serious about it!!!

As VP Akinwunmi said after the game, glad this happened NOW and not when we are playing Ghana, when there is ZERO margin for error.

Kudos to South Africa and the 2021 African Women's Player of the year (in waiting), Thembi Kgatlana.

Let all man fight for shirt, no preference, may the best man/woman pick the shirt and not based on big names, after all, the so called big names where not known at a point im time. There always someone else to be the next big thing... Sorry guys for my rant, am just angry.

The pattern of play was not great either this team couldn't put together 5 passes everytime they just hoof the ball to the top , maybe the passing game is build around payne i dont know

Right now we are not even favorite against ghana next month hopefully , Ajibade , ohale , plumptre , payne and okeke will be available

carbonado:
Lets not decieve ourselves, it is not only South Africa that can beat us with this slow players we still have, that zambia that went to olympics to can, those girls are also very fast. We have a target behing our back already, all all these teams want a piece of us..

marvin906:



When she's on the national team..
She becomes below average..
What happened to Ariyo,Esther okonkwo, Patricia goerge we need young bloods
And for heaven sakes play alozie in her position

I have watched Ariyo, I don't really see her as a game changer when her team is not dominating. I think one of the best attackers we have at the moment is Rasheedat Ajibade.

isan:
Right now we are not even favorite against ghana next month hopefully , Ajibade , ohale , plumptre , payne and okeke will be available

.....lol...it is not that bad yet.....However, we should not take the Ghanians for granted.

Nothing wrong in ranting, sometimes its cathartic.

You're right. Nigerians love living in the past. Our overreliance on players who have passed their 'sell by ' date is what holds us back. Desire Ellis did a fantastic job in blending new players with the old. Nigeria was still looking for salvation with spent players like Oparanozie, Ordega, Chikwelu and Okobi.

I was particularly interested in what the SA coach, Desire Ellis and SA CAF rep Danny Jordan said during their post-match interview. SA knew our weak spot and exploited it to the fullest, by "playing the ball on the ground, passing the ball quickly around the midfield and exploiting the holes left in trying to cover Kgatlana". Both mentioned 'playing on the ground and passing the ball quickly'.
Nigeria were always trying to dribble their way thru and playing long balls. Clearly, SA knew our soft underbelly was a weak and sluggish midfield, as well as our strikers not passing quickly and always trying to dribble their way through.
We need to move the ball much quicker than the way we play, and play the ball on ground (not all these long balls that have a very low pass efficiency rate). The best teams in the world do not play like that anymore. SA know that and they have started to master it.

carbonado:
Let all man fight for shirt, no preference, may the best man/woman pick the shirt and not based on big names, after all, the so called big names where not known at a point im time. There always someone else to be the next big thing... Sorry guys for my rant, am just angry.

Ariyo's lack of pace is clearly a big problem. I would rather play Ajibade in the midfield, alongside Payne and Regina Otu.
I think the best attacker we have now is Iffy Onumonu.

GeneralDae:

I have watched Ariyo, I don't really see her as a game changer when her team is not dominating. I think one of the best attackers we have at the moment is Rasheedat Ajibade.

AkinDS:
Ariyo's lack of pace is clearly a big problem. I would rather play Ajibade in the midfield, alongside Payne and Regina Otu.
I think the best attacker we have now is Iffy Onumonu.

...to be honest, better we have issues now than later...imagine, the ghanians exposing and explioting us like this....The good things is,that we have players that can almost step up immediately,if they will be experienced enough is another issue,however, i just wish the coach be brutal about it now, he actually has an excuse to cut some people off now.

GeneralDae:

I have watched Ariyo, I don't really see her as a game changer when her team is not dominating. I think one of the best attackers we have at the moment is Rasheedat Ajibade.

She's a poacher..
She can't create..

AkinDS:
Oshoala has been a complete joke in this tournament.
Very mediocre performance by her.

not just in this tourney, majority of her game for us had always been like this, always walking like a passenger in a speeding expressway

Agree.
She was like that during the Summer Series and has been that was for a while now.
Not sure what's going on with her, but its not looking good.

do4luv14:


not just in this tourney, majority of her game for us had always been like this, always walking like a passenger in a speeding expressway

Highlights of the game. I will make a more detailed one in the morning



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqJv5vPG1-c

Embarrassing! Interestingly, I did not watch.
I have always maintained that Chikwelu is washed up ; she's shown these signs long before now. She should never start any match for us, atleast. Infact, she should leave, Okobi has faded, Oparanozie has become too slow for sometime now, a lot of people thought we were missing something big when she got left out of the team. This present Ordega is a different one from the one we've always known, she may be heading to oblivion.

Good thing is, we still have players who can help us dominate the entire continent. Iffy Onumonu is currently one of our best strikers, Esther Okoronkwo is young and promising, Rasheedat Ajibade is our very best winger ;she was greatly missed, this Kgatlana has got nothing on her - they play for the same club, Tony Payne has got no competition, she is the best by miles at her position- what a lot of people failed to see, instead, rather relying on Okobi who's a shadow of herself. Since Ayinde got injured, the team has got no replacement for her ; every other one they've tried has been "fake."

We also have Osinachi whose absence has been greatly felt, I believe with the return of Plumptre, Patricia George, we'll be great, Zogg is progressing well. Regina Otu has to take over from Chikwelu immediately. It's worth noting that these South African players are not even experienced, we only need to put the necessary things in place. In all, this is a wake up call to Nigeria at this time cos we have been too relaxed all this while.

It is worth noting that we've paraded a very poor midfield for too long ; the Chikwelu / Okobi led midfield has been an abysmal one, and a large part of the problem the attackers have been facing.

AkinDS:
A weakened Ghanaian team? Ghana didn't concede 3 goals in the first half.
Like I said, we may be withnessing a dramatic changing of the guard in African women's football.
South Africa has played and is playing the BEST football in this tournament. Its not about gra-gra (Nigeria), its about playing intelligently and taking your opportunities (South Africa). That's how you become a world class team. Kudos to Desire Ellis who has built a very strong SA team over the years.

Nigeria is still relying on the likes of Chikwelu, Oparanozie, Ordega who are not only tired legs, but have been scouted for years by other African teams, to the extent they know their every singular move. Time to change out the old guard.

Lets hope this doesn't end up worse, as nothing stops the SA team from scoring more goals

Though I watched from highlights, I still maintain that, that South African team is not too big for us to handle, we still possess the players to handle them! The coach just needs to start taking his job seriously ; I'm one of the few people who have always spoken against such players like Chikwelu, Okobi, Oparanozie.

AkinDS:
All in all, a great tournament for the development of women's football in Africa.
For Nigeria, a good slap in the face for us. We've been coasting along all these years and were derelict in refreshing our team and doing away with the old guard. The team has been LONG overdue for that. The likes of Ordega, Oparanozie, Okobi, Chikwelu need to be done away with. Bring in the new girls and groom them.

Randy Waldrum clearly has his work cut out for him. In fairness, we missed the likes of Ajibade, Payne sisters, Onumonu, Okeke & Ohale, to name a few BUT the best team of the tournament won today. Nigeria NEEDS to move forward. We still have a good team to win it all on the continent BUT we need to be serious about our refresh program and the building of a younger and more competitive team to ensure our qualification for the Nations cup and indeed and most importantly, the World Cup. We have a LONG way to go and we need to be serious about it!!!

As VP Akinwunmi said after the game, glad this happened NOW and not when we are playing Ghana, when there is ZERO margin for error.

Kudos to South Africa and the 2021 African Women's Player of the year (in waiting), Thembi Kgatlana.

Thembi Kgatlana is 2021 is African women player of the year in waiting, really?

skallion7:
Thembi Kgatlana is 2021 is African women player of the year in waiting, really?

She's actually not done enough to deserve it - Asisat will win, mark my words!

And what exactly has Assisat done on the continent to deserve winning it?
Just because she played for Barcelona (as a reserve) and won the UEFA Cup?
Truth is, outside of that, she has been a major flop for the National Team this year (even as captain).
This tournament will be what most analysts will use to judge who is the best African player.
No doubt, Thembi was the better and more impactful player.

CoolJulian:


She's actually not done enough to deserve it - Asisat will win, mark my words!

CoolJulian:


Though I watched from highlights, I still maintain that, that South African team is not too big for us to handle, we still possess the players to handle them! The coach just needs to start taking his job seriously ; I'm one of the few people who have always spoken against such players like Chikwelu, Okobi, Oparanozie.

We still need to look at Ebi retirement soon
And a partnership of ashleigh and ohale or Nicole Payne..
If we Meet a pacy team like Zambia
Our defense is gone

AkinDS:
And what exactly has Assisat done on the continent to deserve winning it?
Just because she played for Barcelona (as a reserve) and won the UEFA Cup?
Truth is, outside of that, she has been a major flop for the National Team this year (even as captain).
This tournament will be what most analysts will use to judge who is the best African player.
No doubt, Thembi was the better and more impactful player.

Barbara Banda would win it. To be fair, the likes of Babara and Chawinga are perhaps even better than both Oshoala and Thembi, but they play in very small teams in Africa especially Chawinga.

CoolJulian:


She's actually not done enough to deserve it - Asisat will win, mark my words!

Asisat doesn't deserve it this time. Barbara Banda does.

AkinDS:
And what exactly has Assisat done on the continent to deserve winning it?
Just because she played for Barcelona (as a reserve) and won the UEFA Cup?
Truth is, outside of that, she has been a major flop for the National Team this year (even as captain).
This tournament will be what most analysts will use to judge who is the best African player.
No doubt, Thembi was the better and more impactful player.

Actually, Asisat has been largely underwhelming as concerns the national team, but she continues to be impactful for her club, even as a reserve - she scores a lot of goals.

I am usually disappointed at how she plays for the national team, and maintain that she sits up, even as I've always stated that she's got a lot of things to learn - she's not refined! ... You see, one fact is, at Barca she is surrounded by such quality players that make the job very easy for her, meanwhile, in the national team, the reverse is the case, especially at the midfield - the players have been poor.

And no, this tournament alone, is never going to be used... Players' impact at club level will also greatly matter. Besides, there are still lots of matches left to play, or... When is it going to be announced?

marvin906:




We still need to look at Ebi retirement soon
And a partnership of ashleigh and ohale or Nicole Payne..
If we Meet a pacy team like Zambia
Our defense is gone

Yes, Ebi's time is definitely numbered ; she's always given her all, her experience has been handy all these years, but she's old. I have no idea why coach Waldrum does not rate Nicole Payne, but, yes, Ashleigh/ Ohale/ Zogg are very capable.

GeneralDae:

Barbara Banda would win it. To be fair, the likes of Babara and Chawinga are perhaps even better than both Oshoala and Thembi, but they play in very small teams in Africa especially Chawinga.

Barbara Banda, rather, is a worthy mention, not Kgatlana. I think she's even a better finisher than Oshoala, Chawinga is also another player I respect so much. The big advantage Oshoala has over them is that she plays for a much better club and national team.

GeneralDae:

Asisat doesn't deserve it this time. Barbara Banda does.

Problem is, she doesn't play for conspicuous teams.

CoolJulian:


Problem is, she doesn't play for conspicuous teams.

She played at the Olympics, breaking some goal scoring records there. I believe in women's football, the Olympics is a bigger tournament than the UEFA champions league, or at least should be as far as African football is concerned.

CoolJulian:


Yes, Ebi's time is definitely numbered ; she's always given her all, her experience has been handy all these years, but she's old. I have no idea why coach Waldrum does not rate Nicole Payne, but, yes, Ashleigh/ Ohale/ Zogg are very capable.

Has he even played Nicole Payne once

CoolJulian:


Yes, Ebi's time is definitely numbered ; she's always given her all, her experience has been handy all these years, but she's old. I have no idea why coach Waldrum does not rate Nicole Payne, but, yes, Ashleigh/ Ohale/ Zogg are very capable.

I think Onome Ebi is already at 90+ Caps..
38yrs nor easy, a younger CB can come in immediately..

Time to Scout in from the NWFL....

My greatest pain right now is the injury to Patricia George at the wrong time, she's another quality option as a Full back or a Winger, Skillful, Strong and very fast.. I bet non of our current Defenders are as quick or skillful as her.. Just hope she recovers fully before next month.

Our major problem is getting quality full backs and Midfielders..

Regina Otu 25yrs should be our Defensive Midfielder henceforth, she's more than Capable and hope she moves to a tougher league Soon..

Thank Goodness Halimatu Ayinde has started minor work out... She should be fully back by early next year but we still need someone to play that spot for now...

Tony Payne holds that attacking Midfield role..

The rest can come in as Back up...

One Major problem we have been having of recent is the availability of the Players.. one issue or the other might deny them the chance of coming around...