₦airaland Forum

As long as the cut was not in his foot, I think he can play.

By the way, when did he sustain this said cut? The guy played the whole minutes nah and there was never a time he was seen bleeding

Mujtahida:
We don too shine Cameroon Congo. But that petty thing wey Rigobert Song talk against Lookman and Oshimen dey do me like say make we brush them small again. Just 1-0 don do.

Make Rigobert go cut him dada make fresh air enter him agbari. Cameroon's defence must still have PTSD from Osimhen's press at last AFCON

CornOak:
Baba, dem ban your main moniker?

Don't know wetin dey worry am but I go sort am out.

[quote author=joelsteron post=137964962]Chukwueze give me the ball, proper baller...

No wonder all the players celebrated with him tapping his head. Hehehe

At the time Samuel Chukwueze got the ball, Raphael Onyedika was not even near the Ugandan box.

He timed his arrival to perfection; called for the ball, and got it.

Onyedika was too good against the cranes👏👏pic.twitter.com/w92CxTvT9f

— Making of Champions (@MakingOfChamps) December 30, 2025

wan break those defenders back. Werey lọmọ yen

Funny description of Algeria's clash with DR Congo.

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh pic.twitter.com/5PCkDVCgvr

— DIMA (@dimadamelio) December 30, 2025

Joebie:
make he no stat pad? He has 1 goal o

I no fit lie, I wanted him to score badly. But that's secondary to making sure he is fit and ready to run riot on Monday

It is really crazy to know know that if we had played our so called first team midfield, our play wouldn't have been as fluid and smooth as it was yesterday. It would have been gidigbo and panic passes. Our so called first team midfield would have made Uganda look like a great team.

Bashir really impressed me yesterday with his movements.

Odunayaw:
I no fit lie, I wanted him to score badly. But that's secondary to making sure he is fit and ready to run riot on Monday

E pain me when that goalkeeper stopped his goal bound shot. I would have preferred the goal to the red.

TheSuperNerd:
Igoh Ogbu was solid vs Uganda by the way. A huge influence on our buildups from the back and a firm presence too defensively.

Igoh Ogbu, Calvin Bassey, Benjamin Frederick. Add a fast rising Vince Osuji at Club Brugge and a few more talented heads like Nwaiwu and Chukwu and we are stacked at CB.

The Super Eagles Central defence is gonna be arguably Africa's strongest for the next decade post-Ajayi, Post-Ekong.

This Afcon is the transition period for the defence.

I love Ogbu's long forward passes

123jamessmith:
I was almost chearing tears just now. How can Mali produce a world class coach like Eric chelle and Nigeria with so many great Ex international cannot boost of a good manager.
Is a very big shame.

Stop looking for wetin no loss
Nobody send you

XrisKelz:
E pain me when that goalkeeper stopped his goal bound shot. I would have preferred the goal to the red.

Exactly. I first crashed out as per the keeper had no business ruining it

semid4lyfe:
Players are playing for VAR penalties in this AFCON. Our attackers and defenders should take note.

especially the North Africans they have cracked the code 😂

TheSuperNerd:
Do you know that all of Raphael Onyedika's 3 goals for Nigeria have come from only 3 competitive starts and that all 3 were assisted by one man, Samuel Chukwueze?

Yes. Chukwueze assisted Onyedika in that WCQs game vs Benin that saw us lose 2-1 under Finidi's tutelage.



Also, Onyedika has 8 Super Eagles Starts from 19 caps counting the Egypt friendly just before Morocco 2025.

Only 3 are competitive starts. The other 5 starts are friendlies.

They should allow him to play more at least sub Ndidi when we are winning. For him to have this number of goals with so few caps, means he's very productive.

We have three midfielders who can give us goals randomly
Onyeka
Bashiru
Onyedika.

Since Alex was pushed deep, he's not been scoring but I see him scoring if he's allowed to play just in front of the DMs.

kennysville:
Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that, especially for a team that is gunning for glory. And that is the real genesis of our Super eagles football woes. SELFISHNESS!!!! Not forgetting that Osimhen misses 6 chances to score 2. I'd take an Afcon title over top scorer award that put Yekini in trouble with his team mates

Many players of the 94 set have come out to dispel the notion that there was beef with Yekini. Yekini was just a quiet man.

Go on YouTube and watch the interview Amokachi had with Emma Babayaro. I think Oliseh too has spoken about it.

Joebie:
i want to say:

1. Awaziem has no business in the team except when he is introduced to add more defensive cover when we want to manage the game.
2. I am not comfortable with Chelle's game management. We should not be conceding a goal when we are playing a man up versus any team except that team is clearly a superior side.
3. It does seem we have the midfield personnel to make our team unbeatable. We just need to find the right player combination of course depending on the game strategy.
4. Ogbu, Onuachu for me can be starters in this team.
5. Chukwueze should be starting if he will be consistent.

Yeah finally when we are beginning to address our midfield issues we are suddenly having defensive issues. Perhaps the post Ekong transition is biting us. Anyway we may have used this Afcon to finally solve the midfield fiasco which is a good takeaway.

TheSuperNerd:
Onyeka or Onyedika: KOs football, Chelle's choice

Now to be honest, a midfield 3 of Onyedika, Ndidi, Iwobi should give us more control and extra passing class in the middle. I believe it will free up Ndidi a bit to be the roaming battering midfielder who can tackle and also drive forward while Onyedika sits deep to orchestrate and allows Iwobi to play oftentimes closer to the final third to do damage more frequently.

Building up with Onyedika at the base, Iwobi at LCM and Ndidi doublepivoting and RCMing seems a bit more balanced to me with Onyeka coming in later to shore up things if need be, tactically.

I would prefer it and drop Onyeka but then the chemistry Onyeka has with Ndidi and Iwobi is key as well. Onyedika has not exactly started a lot of competitive games alongside those latter 2 and I think this alone would make Chelle stick to the midfield 3 he started with vs Tunisia.

Also, Onyeka is a harder worker than Onyedika but Onyedika excels at keeping things simpler and tidier than Onyeka.

Onyeka is a hustler while Onyedika is a metronome.

Onyeka covers more ground than Onyedika but
Onyedika has better positional intelligence than Onyeka.

Onyeka is a combatant and will roam to snuff out danger while Onyedika reads the game to cut out passing lanes.

Both Onyeka and Onyedika are good at arriving late into the box to ball strike. So we can be rest assured this quality will be present if we drop one and start the other.

So this is a choice for Chelle.

Onyeka's Grit, Power and relentlessness or Onyedika's calm, poise and control. Both are Solid defensively but have their distinct strengths.

And truthfully, Onyeka edges on Team Chemistry metrices for now.

Cant we just play the both of them with Ndidi? Because what I saw yesterday was pure class. iwobi who naturally loves to play wide in Fulham can go back to his position. Akor may be the sacrificial lamb. Where does it leave my Chuks? Kai.... The thing don scatter for my head....

Chelle said yesterday that after the game, he has headache over who now starts in the Round of 16.

Mujtahida:
Many players of the 94 set have come out to dispel the notion that there was beef with Yekini. Yekini was just a quiet man.

Go on YouTube and watch the interview Amokachi had with Emma Babayaro. I think Oliseh too has spoken about it.

Keshi confirmed there was a beef o in a tv interview years ago but I doubt if it’s is on YouTube. I’ll believe keshi version more than any other person in that generation. He did say in that interview I watched that Yekini was starved of supply.

TheSuperNerd:
Onyeka or Onyedika: KOs football, Chelle's choice

Now to be honest, a midfield 3 of Onyedika, Ndidi, Iwobi should give us more control and extra passing class in the middle. I believe it will free up Ndidi a bit to be the roaming battering midfielder who can tackle and also drive forward while Onyedika sits deep to orchestrate and allows Iwobi to play oftentimes closer to the final third to do damage more frequently.

Building up with Onyedika at the base, Iwobi at LCM and Ndidi doublepivoting and RCMing seems a bit more balanced to me with Onyeka coming in later to shore up things if need be, tactically.

I would prefer it and drop Onyeka but then the chemistry Onyeka has with Ndidi and Iwobi is key as well. Onyedika has not exactly started a lot of competitive games alongside those latter 2 and I think this alone would make Chelle stick to the midfield 3 he started with vs Tunisia.

Also, Onyeka is a harder worker than Onyedika but Onyedika excels at keeping things simpler and tidier than Onyeka.

Onyeka is a hustler while Onyedika is a metronome.

Onyeka covers more ground than Onyedika but
Onyedika has better positional intelligence than Onyeka.

Onyeka is a combatant and will roam to snuff out danger while Onyedika reads the game to cut out passing lanes.

Both Onyeka and Onyedika are good at arriving late into the box to ball strike. So we can be rest assured this quality will be present if we drop one and start the other.

So this is a choice for Chelle.

Onyeka's Grit, Power and relentlessness or Onyedika's calm, poise and control. Both are Solid defensively but have their distinct strengths.

And truthfully, Onyeka edges on Team Chemistry metrices for now.

Omo, good analysis. But you see that Frank the Tank ehn, he's just suitable because of his bustling energy. There's a way he keeps us buzzing not with sleekness or poise. He's a real bull in that midfield scattering and charging about.

I enjoyed Onyedika tremendously yesterday and I'm torn between him and Onyeka but Onyeka takes it. Ndidi should not be playing full time. Onyedika should take some of Ndidi's time.

Okay, indulging your angle for a moment this is what we will have.

Onyedika-Ndidi-Onyeka then Iwobi in the hole behind Osimhen and Lookman 2-man attack? Hmmm.

Is this it?

Sometimes ehn, overtinkering can scatter a good thing.

And yes ofcourse, Chukwueze wont start in this setup as seen vs Tunisia. So it is indeed a selection headache.

solonnachi:
Cant we just play the both of them with Ndidi? Because what I saw yesterday was pure class. iwobi who naturally loves to play wide in Fulham can go back to his position. Akor may be the sacrificial lamb. Where does it leave my Chuks? Kai.... The thing don scatter for my head....

Chelle said yesterday that after the game, he has headache over who now starts in the Round of 16.

semid4lyfe:
All you Naturopathic doctors prescribing bitter leaf juice, red oil et al, wey una certificate and practicing license?

Awolowo leaf na magic wand. A touch of the juice go cloth the wound in seconds. Na wetin we dey use during street football back in the days😁

You mean North Africans.

Goke7:
especially the North Americans they have cracked the code 😂

Do you guys not see that like a snake moulting Nigeria is imperceptibly getting it's next generation of players?

A new team is being created right in front of us!

TheSuperNerd:
You mean North Africans.

No mind me o 😂 chai

solonnachi:
Cant we just play the both of them with Ndidi? Because what I saw yesterday was pure class. iwobi who naturally loves to play wide in Fulham can go back to his position. Akor may be the sacrificial lamb. Where does it leave my Chuks? Kai.... The thing don scatter for my head....

Chelle said yesterday that after the game, he has headache over who now starts in the Round of 16.

Honestly the game yesterday has made Chelle job more difficult especially in that midfield as bashiru and onyedika has given the coach more trouble 😂 but it’s a good thing as we now know even if there are injuries worries we are good

Onuachu too has brought another dimension as that pass to chuks for his assist to onyedika is something new that should get Chelle thinking of the other options he now has

Mujtahida:
Omo, good analysis. But you see that Frank the Tank ehn, he's just suitable because of his bustling energy. There's a way he keeps us buzzing not with sleekness or poise. He's a real bull in that midfield scattering and charging about.

I enjoyed Onyedika tremendously yesterday and I'm torn between him and Onyeka but Onyeka takes it. Ndidi should not be playing full time. Onyedika should take some of Ndidi's time.

Onyeka edge it indeed with onyedika on stand by. Onyeka also has scoring boots as well.

Emmy450:
he should be selfish abeg, just 1 AFCOAN goal so far, for our talisman??.

Against Tunisia, there is this chest control and heading down pass he gave to Lookman that he blazed over the bar, walai Osimhen for slap that shot inside the net instead of heading it down to lookman…na those kind goals he dey score for europe

The winner of Algeria vs DRC will face Nigeria if we advance to the quarterfinals…..guys if DRC beat Algeria and advance omo na em b say DRC is a menace oo…

Unlucky Algeria.. How do you mean you are playing Congo in the round of 16😅

minfelix:
The winner of Algeria vs DRC will face Nigeria if we advance to the quarterfinals…..guys if DRC beat Algeria and advance omo na em b say DRC is a menace oo…

If we beat them na to raise dust about that WC slot o

caprikon:
Playing Onuachu and Osimhen upfront was quite an experiment. Surprisingly, Onuachu was the one who dropped deep at times whilst Osimhen occupied the centre halves.

Since the Egypt friendly, I've been calling for Onuachu to start alongside Osimhen in attack instead of Akor.

Onuachu brings superb holdup play and ball distribution and being a big target man, draws defenders to himself thereby taking pressure off Osimhen.

His aerial threat also means defenders can't concentrate only on Osimhen during corners/ indirect free kicks.

I hope Chelle will listen to me now.

Mujtahida:
Omo, good analysis. But you see that Frank the Tank ehn, he's just suitable because of his bustling energy. There's a way he keeps us buzzing not with sleekness or poise. He's a real bull in that midfield scattering and charging about.

I enjoyed Onyedika tremendously yesterday and I'm torn between him and Onyeka but Onyeka takes it. Ndidi should not be playing full time. Onyedika should take some of Ndidi's time.

Onyeka is a must in our starting 11 especially if the team is facing a tough and superior opposition

Bobo na tank wey fit run 120 mins harassing opponent’s midfield and attackers

Mujtahida:
Do you guys not see that like a snake moulting Nigeria is imperceptibly getting it's next generation of players?

A new team is being created right in front of us!

exactly, the likes of Ogbu, Fisayo, Alebiosu, Nnadi, Akor, Fredrick Chiemela, Akinsanmiro, Chrisantus plus those that are uncapped like Nwaiwu, Dennis Anthony, Seriki, Azeez, Otele etc the future looks bright and well taken care of

It’s left for the NFF to get the administration aspect right