₦airaland Forum

drstranged:
I can put it to you that the Tunisians were very very poor in this match, probably their worst performance in recent times. Go and watch their match against Uganda and their world cup qualifiers you'd understand. Yet despite how poor the Tunisians were on the night they still managed to score 2 goals against Nigeria, and could have even scored more but for their poor finishing.
Yes there was significant improvement in Nigeria's performance compared to the world cup qualifiers (no one is doubting that) but the point is that they have no defence and goal keeper. No matter how good the strikers perform, they should pray they don't meet a more clinical side that would tear that defence to shreds. Tunisia should have easily won that game if they scored those chances they shamefully missed.

We are both saying the same thing, Tunisia has been good but were very bad yesterday while SE has been performing poorly for a while now while they played very well yesterday, so this is just a case of two teams turning the tables when not expected.
Tunisians would have won if they had converted their chances, yes and same can be said for the SE also because I know Victor missed many chances also same with the Ejuke guy.
At the end of the day, the team that converted their chances won and that's what football is all about and not what would have happened(assumptions)

IyaTola:
Lol! His in talks with 4 European Clubs.

Hahahaha, same story they gave us after the nations cup that ten clubs are vying for him.
Akuko Mike Ejeagha

eddie7:
OP scoreboard please

Hello brother merry Xmas....pls I want to ask you something

Glitcher:
because of H2H rule, we will qualify as the top team no matter the outcome of the matches.

GD comes first

drstranged:
I can put it to you that the Tunisians were very very poor in this match, probably their worst performance in recent times. Go and watch their match against Uganda and their world cup qualifiers you'd understand. Yet despite how poor the Tunisians were on the night they still managed to score 2 goals against Nigeria, and could have even scored more but for their poor finishing.
Yes there was significant improvement in Nigeria's performance compared to the world cup qualifiers (no one is doubting that) but the point is that they have no defence and goal keeper. No matter how good the strikers perform, they should pray they don't meet a more clinical side that would tear that defence to shreds. Tunisia should have easily won that game if they scored those chances they shamefully missed.

Tunisia would've held 5+ goals if oshimen finished off those crosses in the first half

Magnetic010:
name one quality goal keeper that plays in any of the top leagues in europe that is Nigerian? We do not have at all I mean at all and we by that i mean our administrators need to start doing something about that

we've maduka from Udinese pal

IyaTola:
That interpretation isn’t entirely accurate. Defenders attacking the ball in the air doesn’t automatically mean they don’t trust the goalkeeper. In many defensive systems, especially against teams that overload the box, defenders are instructed to be aggressive and attack first contact, regardless of who is in goal.

Nwabali’s role in those situations is often to hold his line and protect against second balls, not necessarily to come and claim every cross. That’s a tactical choice, not a lack of confidence. If the keeper steps out and misses, it’s a guaranteed big chance — coaches prefer controlled risk.

Also, aerial dominance isn’t just about claiming crosses. Positioning, timing, communication, and decision-making matter just as much. Nwabali has shown strong shot-stopping, composure under pressure, and consistency, which are critical qualities for a tournament goalkeeper.

As for Okoye, yes, he plays at a higher club level and has good attributes, but club football and international football demand different things. International football often prioritizes reliability and chemistry with the back line over flair or league pedigree.

So while Okoye may be more rounded in some areas, Nwabali’s selection can be justified tactically based on system fit, defensive structure, and the specific demands of the team — not simply trust or lack thereof.

This one is busy using AI to reply comments all over the place . Tufiakwa!

Banbanna:
I thought the same thing too. The ball bounced off the Tunisian unto Osayi's hand.
Some penalties these days are just ridiculous, makes one want to hate football.
That Ref dey fear those terroristic NotAfricans 😁😆.Hence had to give them the pen to spare himself.

Everyone is terrorist to you, most of you lack common sense here.

ezixt:
This one is busy using AI to reply comments all over the place . Tufiakwa!

Kindly provide proof it AI

MadPolitician:
O

You made up this beuriful response, abi?
Or did he actually answer to that?

Yes, he actually answered.

African football has a tendency to overreact to contact, with every touch and pass sometimes being viewed as a foul. This is a noticeable trend in certain facets of the game. Addressing this could enhance the overall experience and showcase the true talent on the field.

But for now, I will stop watching this AFCON tournament.

[img]car[/img]

IyaTola:
Yes, he actually answered.

Happy to hear this.
I can see his intelligent position. Thought he never took notice...

That said,I still think that we have the defensive midfielders to tighten things up. Paseiro did this so well at the last AFCON.
I think the best formation for the Eagles at the moment is the formation they had in the first half against Tunisia

This idea of defending from the front causes hypertension fir the fans. Zimbabwe equalised after the introduction of Bonniface in the dying minutes at Calabar. It was the same scenario against Congo. Now this...
Maybe the players are struggling to adapt to this..

Why should we play for a draw if we are really serious as a team? After all, Uganda should be easily beatable compared to Tunisia.
It should be an opportunity to access players in the bench and other types of formation, which might prove useful in the knockout stages.

IyaTola:
Kindly provide proof it AI

Really? Instead of you to quietly let it slip after being caught you still want to do -provide proof nonsense? Come on! Just learn from this.

IyaTola:
No one is saying Nigeria lacks good goalkeepers locally. The issue isn’t availability, it’s exposure, consistency, and level of competition.

Yes, Vincent Enyeama is the perfect example—but that actually supports the argument the other way. Enyeama was already playing in France (FC Lorient) when he became Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper and later moved to Lille. His rise to global recognition came because he was tested weekly against high-level attackers, under intense tactical and psychological pressure. That environment sharpened him.

Local league goalkeepers like Ikechukwu Ezenwa absolutely had talent and charisma, and he even got opportunities with the Super Eagles. But when it came to major tournaments, inconsistencies showed. That’s not always about talent—it’s about:

Training infrastructure

Match tempo

Tactical discipline

Mental pressure at elite level


Giving chances to locally scouted goalkeepers is important, but those chances must be earned and sustained, not given as sentiment. The national team is not a development platform; it’s a performance stage.

So the fair position is:

Scout locally ✔️

Encourage local talents to move to stronger leagues ✔️

Select based on readiness for international football, not location ✔️


Enyeama didn’t become Enyeama because he was Nigerian-based.
He became Enyeama because he proved himself at a higher competitive level.

If you want, I can also help you rewrite this to sound more diplomatic or more aggressive, depending on the tone you’re going for.

Anyway, since you are demanding for proof, here it is: check the last sentence in your post quoted above. Have you seen your gaff? You omitted to delete the part where AI was asking if you needed it to rewrite it to sound more diplomatic etc.

Do you still need more proof woman of integrity?

Blankstare:
Hello brother merry Xmas....pls I want to ask you something

Hi my brother, please fire🔥 on with your question

eddie7:
Hi my brother, please fire🔥 on with your question

Had to quote you from another thread. Abeg which good agency is doing recruitment right now?

webincomeplus:
You just read AI-generated garbage.

Lol... The most important thing is the knowledge, it doesn't matter the source

Thank you

princeFAD:
Have you forgotten that it is our local coaches that made us not qualify for World Cup? It was finidi and Eguavon who were handling the team first at the initial stage of the qualification. Almost all the matches played then were either loses or draws

You left out the major culprit: Jose Peseiro. Our first two very easy games, he drew 1:1. Lesotho and Zimbabwe. We got 2 points instead of 6 points that would have made a lot of difference.

IyaTola:
Kindly provide proof it AI

IyaTola:
No one is saying Nigeria lacks good goalkeepers locally. The issue isn’t availability, it’s exposure, consistency, and level of competition.
Enyeama didn’t become Enyeama because he was Nigerian-based.
He became Enyeama because he proved himself at a higher competitive level.

If you want, I can also help you rewrite this to sound more diplomatic or more aggressive, depending on the tone you’re going for.

I was really enjoying your analysis until I saw that bold part you forgot to edit out. C'mon, it's a discussion forum please.

Levels1:
Nothing .

absolute nothing

I'm not in support of them going either

but spreading lies is what I stand against.

Yeah I get you, even though I think the petition won't go through Sha

Cos it's gonna affect the entire Africa qualifying phase

lanreni:
Why should we play for a draw if we are really serious as a team? After all, Uganda should be easily beatable compared to Tunisia.
It should be an opportunity to access players in the bench and other types of formation, which might prove useful in the knockout stages.

Was Tanzania easily beatable? Stop underrating any team, you will not hear. These are the "small teams" that denied us the world cup ticket.

okunwaye:
we've maduka from Udinese pal

The same Maduka whose blunder is the reason why we have Nwabali in goal today

Blankstare:
Had to quote you from another thread. Abeg which good agency is doing recruitment right now?

Let's go private please.. Email

eddie7:
Let's go private please.. Email

I pm you already

dominique:
How many matches did the coach play him for the world cup qualifiers? Eric Chelle has shown that prefers mid table south African league keeper to him so you can't expect him to leave his club where's he's a starter to come and sit in the bench for AFCON

Well it is not entirely true, during a large part of the qualifiers okoye was serving his betting ban. In any case I personally do not think the coach has a special bias towards him, I may be wrong

ThunderFireAgba:
The same engine that shutdown during match with the DRC or another engine?

Well, it was the same mistake he did during DR Congo's game. Removing Iwobi who was our main midfielder. Reading the game by coaches is very important. I just pray he learn from his mistake that's all.

0Brien:
Was Tanzania easily beatable? Stop underrating any team, you will not hear. These are the "small teams" that denied us the world cup ticket.

Because we chose to play like a small team. No small team is in the semi-finals, because class is always permanent.
If the super eagles had played up to half of the energy they used against Algeria, we would have qualified for the world cup.

eddie7:
Let's go private please.. Email

Hey bro... pm you, but I haven't gotten response. Pls can you drop a whattapp number