₦airaland Forum

mrwilliams9:
The fact remains this.

Sengal has won 2 AFCONs in the past 4 tournaments. We have come close but we didn’t win, simple as.

If NFF was as competent as needed maybe we have better players for those near misses.

We can try to downplay Senegals success but results are results. For a nation as big as Nigeria the NFF has let us down. 17 medals at AFCON but only 3 gold medals.

The same Senegal we think is a small boy is just 1 AFCON away from drawing level with us.

All I sha know is there is no guarantee of win even if NFF is the best football federation.

ChrisKels:
If these were Senegalese and they were born in France, at least 90% of them would already have opted to represent Senegal.

We are not just attractive at all. Imagine an average striker like Ilenikhena that was born in Lagos is not even interested in joining us even though his path to the French senior national team isn't clear.

But that said, Senegal produces qualities at home and at the same time attracts qualities from abroad.

You have the idea. The fact that Senegal is converting their dual nationals while we aren’t shows Nigeria isn’t as attractive of an option.

Every pundits and international stars rated us as the best team at this AFCON but a penalty loss to a cheating host nation suddenly made the team very bad.

Wow! Wow! What a shame!!

But a team whose striking force contributed just 2 goals in the knockout stage with a porous defense that conceded a stvpid penalty that should have been punished is now the team the Super Eagles should emulate?

What a disrespect!

Odunayaw:
All I sha know is there is no guarantee of win even if NFF is the best football federation.

There is no guarantee of winning but there will be a more consistent showing in our football.

For example WCQ. I believe if we had the right manager in Chelle from the start we’d have qualified for the World cup.

If we had a competent NFF then playing
For the SE would be a thing of pride and we’d have an easier time converting dual nationals and increasing our potential player pool.

Some are saying the likes on Carney, Lesley etc are not better than the current player we have but even still they don’t want to play for us….

Bossoflife25:
Every pundits and international stars rated us as the best team at this AFCON but a penalty loss to a cheating host nation suddenly made the team very bad.

Wow! Wow! What a shame!!

But a team whose striking force contributed just 2 goals in the knockout stage with a porous defense that conceded a stvpid penalty that should have been punished is now the team the Super Eagles should emulate?

What a disrespect!

No one is saying emulate Senegal but take notes from their FA on how they are managing their talent pool both local and international.

It is not about this AFCON but future AFCONs.

What is our NFF doing to ensure our footballing success is sustained?

We made the SFs in AFCON 19 and 25, final in 23. But missed WCQ in 22 and 26.

To me that looks like uneven progress

We Nigerians need to admit when we are short and look to improve.

This super eagle side is prime to win the next AFCON but what about after that? What is our plan to ensure consistent success? What is our talent pool looking like? Are we pulling from U17, U20 or local leagues well?

And what I am telling you is that it has nothing to do with FA! Nigeria was just simply unlucky. There was no tournament Senegal had the better players nor played better footb all than Nigeria in all those AFCONs. We were simply just unlucky!

You putting their achievement on bringing in foreign born players is my problem.
Which of those foreign born has done better than our foreign borns. Lookman, Bassey, Ekong etc.
You talk as if Nigeria has no foreign born in the team.

mrwilliams9:
Calling it Mane and luck is a discredit to their achievements. Mane alone did not win them their first AFCON or 2nd one. It was a team effort.

Let us just agree to disagree.

I am saying Nigeria could be doing more like the Senegalese FA so that our success is more sustained and not just a flash in the pan.

Naija won AFCON 2013 but failed to qualify for 15 and 17.

This is what I’m alluding to with a competent FA that knows how to manage resources (players being one of them).

Senegal made the 19 final, won again in 21 and again in 25.

mrwilliams9:
Calling it Mane and luck is a discredit to their achievements. Mane alone did not win them their first AFCON or 2nd one. It was a team effort.

Let us just agree to disagree.

I am saying Nigeria could be doing more like the Senegalese FA so that our success is more sustained and not just a flash in the pan.

Naija won AFCON 2013 but failed to qualify for 15 and 17.

This is what I’m alluding to with a competent FA that knows how to manage resources (players being one of them).

Senegal made the 19 final, won again in 21 and again in 25.

Omo Senegal try oo, they would have easily met us on 3 afcon if they had won the 2019 afcon

That is why I said your argument is flawed!
You only look at the end goal but not the circumstances that led into that!
How did Senegal qualify for the 2022 World Cup? How did Senegal win 2021 AFCON? Penalties!

We were eliminated on away goal rule, and a goalkeeping error in 2022.
Paserio that led us to the AFCON finals was the one that put us in a very difficult situation right from the start. What else should the NFF have done?
Are they not the one that brought Chelle too?
Senegal won good for them but saying they are doing something better than nigeria is where I objected. Yes, they are good but they have been very lucky!

mrwilliams9:
No one is saying emulate Senegal but take notes from their FA on how they are managing their talent pool both local and international.

It is not about this AFCON but future AFCONs.

What is our NFF doing to ensure our footballing success is sustained?

We made the SFs in AFCON 19 and 25, final in 23. But missed WCQ in 22 and 26.

To me that looks like uneven progress

We Nigerians need to admit when we are short and look to improve.

This super eagle side is prime to win the next AFCON but what about after that? What is our plan to ensure consistent success? What is our talent pool looking like? Are we pulling from U17, U20 or local leagues well?

Bossoflife25:
And what I am telling you is that it has nothing to do with FA! Nigeria was just simply unlucky. There was no tournament Senegal had the better players nor played better footb all than Nigeria in all those AFCONs. We were simply just unlucky!

You putting their achievement on bringing in foreign born players is my problem.
Which of those foreign born has done better than our foreign borns. Lookman, Bassey, Ekong etc.
You talk as if Nigeria has no foreign born in the team.

Many things to unpack here.

Dismissing our lack of success as just being unlucky does us a MAJOR disservice. Why do I say so? It allows us throw our hands up and not look at rectifying where we went wrong. That is not how to manage the NT.

I'm not putting their achievement on bringing in foreign players. But I'm saying their FA managing the team well makes for an enabling environment to bring in dual nationals. Even if those dual nationals would not make the bench for France or Belgium.

For Nigeria, even the dual nationals that have no path to England, France or Germany are still not converting for us. Lookman took until mid-20s before declaring for Naija. We struggled for long to get Eze, even when he was at Reading.

A better FA means the NT is more attractive to play for, meaning we'll get the best possible player pool and that should lead to better results over time. Yes, some luck is involved but you can create your own luck by being prepared.

Bossoflife25:
That is why I said your argument is flawed!
You only look at the end goal but not the circumstances that led into that!
How did Senegal qualify for the 2022 World Cup? How did Senegal win 2021 AFCON? Penalties!

We were eliminated on away goal rule, and a goalkeeping error in 2022.
Paserio that led us to the AFCON finals was the one that put us in a very difficult situation right from the start. What else should the NFF have done?
Are they not the one that brought Chelle too?
Senegal won good for them but saying they are doing something better than nigeria is where I objected. Yes, they are good but they have been very lucky!

Yes, the Senegalese FA is doing something better than Nigeria.

They did not have 4 different coaches during WC qualifying. They did not have a row about players' bonuses not being paid on time.

Their success will be easier to maintain because they are setting a good foundation to build on. The NFF is not setting the same foundation, so our success will be hodgepodge.

We missed 2022 WCQ because of a GK error but we had known the GK department had been an issue since AFCON 19 with the Mahrez FK and AFCON 21 with the Tunisia strike at Okoye.

What I'm saying is if we had a better player pool, we may have been able to rectify that issue sooner. But unearthing that player pool is the job of the NFF.

If the National team was not attractive Eze will not visit the team prior to 2019 World Cup. You keep going in circles. The Nigerians see pathway to the English National team while the Senegalese do not with France.
Or why is Real Madrid's Mendy not playing for Senegal.
If we want the Burnley guy today we will get him but we really do not need him with the talent in our midfield at the moment.
When we want Ryan we got him. Simple!
And as at today, Wolfsburg and Everton are after him (another under 25) based on your standard right?

mrwilliams9:
Many things to unpack here.

Dismissing our lack of success as just being unlucky does us a MAJOR disservice. Why do I say so? It allows us throw our hands up and not look at rectifying where we went wrong. That is not how to manage the NT.

I'm not putting their achievement of bringing in foreign players. But I'm saying their FA managing the team well makes for an enabling environment to bring in dual nationals. Even if those dual nationals would not make the bench for France or Belgium.

For Nigeria, even the dual nationals that have no path to England, France or Germany are still not converting for us. Lookman took until mid-20s before declaring for Naija. We struggled for long to get Eze, even when he was at Reading.

A better FA means the NT is more attractive to play for, meaning we'll get the best possible player pool and that should lead to better results over time. Yes, some luck is involved but you can create your own luck by being prepared.

Your Senegal has been using Mendy and Mane since God knows when but you shift the standard when it comes to Nigeria. Will the NFF manufacture goalkeepers? They were searching and that was how we have Nwabali today. Or how did Nwabali become our goalkeeper today?

mrwilliams9:
Yes, the Senegalese FA is doing something better than Nigeria.

They did not have 4 different coaches during WC qualifying. They did not have a row about players' bonuses not being paid on time.

Their success will be easier to maintain because they are setting a good foundation to build on. The NFF is not setting the same foundation, so our success will be hodgepodge.

We missed 2022 WCQ because of a GK error but we had known the GK department had been an issue since AFCON 19 with the Mahrez FK and AFCON 21 with the Tunisia strike at Okoye.

What I'm saying is if we had a better player pool, we may have been able to rectify that issue sooner. But unearthing that player pool is the job of the NFF.

mrwilliams9:
There is no guarantee of winning but there will be a more consistent showing in our football.

For example WCQ. I believe if we had the right manager in Chelle from the start we’d have qualified for the World cup.

If we had a competent NFF then playing
For the SE would be a thing of pride and we’d have an easier time converting dual nationals and increasing our potential player pool.

Some are saying the likes on Carney, Lesley etc are not better than the current player we have but even still they don’t want to play for us….

I imagine by consistency you mean holistically and not just the SE because it doesn't get more consistent than back to podium finishes.

Yes I agree with even a slightly more competent NFF we'd be attractive but imo we'd only attract "more" but not the best.

I think we're unlucky that our diaspora is majorly in the nation with the most prestigious league. That environment moulds their mentality and trajectory early compared to our francophone brothers. The allure of the football world is fancier in the UK than other European countries.

Finally, African football is just entering its best decade of attention. The world is just starting to respect our football as something more than the pesky disruption of their leagues.

Bossoflife25:
If the National team was not attractive Eze will not visit the team prior to 2019 World Cup. You keep going in circles. The Nigerians see pathway to the English National team while the Senegalese do not with France.
Or why is Real Madrid's Mendy not playing for Senegal.
If we want the Burnley guy today we will get him but we really do not need him with the talent in our midfield at the moment.
When we want Ryan we got him. Simple!
And as at today, Wolfsburg and Everton are after him (another under 25) based on your standard right?

He visited but did not commit. I know how much we were crying for a 10 like Eze, but he didn't join.

But even for the Nigerians with not pathway to England or France why aren't we converting them?

There is nothing wrong with capping some guys for a few games to see how they turn out. Cap them, try them out and move. Not everyone will work but you should have a deep pool to call on.

You say the talent in our midfield but last AFCON we only went with 5 midfielders..many of us still think we need more bodies in the midfield.

Odunayaw:
I imagine by consistency you mean holistically and not just the SE because it doesn't get more consistent than back to podium finishes.

Yes I agree with even a slightly more competent NFF we'd be attractive but imo we'd only attract "more" but not the best.

I think we're unlucky that our diaspora is majorly in the nation with the most prestigious league. That environment moulds their mentality and trajectory early compared to our francophone brothers. The allure of the football world is fancier in the UK than other European countries.

Finally, African football is just entering its best decade of attention. The world is just starting to respect our football as something more than the pesky disruption of their leagues.

We'd attract more and at least have more options on who to choose from. Back to back podium finishes is very good but I want us to start asking how can we take it to the next level?

17 podium finishes but only 3 titles. We should set higher targets for ourselves. Every AFCON the target should be to win it. That should be the standard for the SE.

And yes, I mean holistically. Our U17, U20 and U23, CHAN etc should be winning their respective championships and show a clear pipeline to the Senior men's team.

Success should not be in a vacuum. Similar to the government, there should be continuity.

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?

mrwilliams9:
It’s not about making the bench or not. It’s about actually getting them to play for Senegal. They have a structure in place.

Tosin could have played for Naija but would rather stay without Int’l football than play for Naija.

That is telling to me. Do we have this identified level of talent coming up for beyond AFCON 28?

You talked about things leading up to the the end goal and the Senegalese FA being competent is leading up Sengals AFCON success

Bossoflife25:
Your Senegal has been using Mendy and Mane since God knows when but you shift the standard when it comes to Nigeria. Will the NFF manufacture goalkeepers? They were searching and that was how we have Nwabali today. Or how did Nwabali become our goalkeeper today?

They won't manufacture a keeper but they will scout far and wide. Nigeria has such a large pool of players for crying out loud. We had a GK issue since AFCON 19 but wasn't until AFCON 23 that we found a suitable No. 1.

For a nation like Nigeria, with as much talent as we have, I see that as the fault of the scouts at NFF.

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!

mrwilliams9:
We'd attract more and at least have more options on who to choose from. Back to back podium finishes is very good but I want us to start asking how can we take it to the next level?

17 podium finishes but only 3 titles. We should set higher targets for ourselves. Every AFCON the target should be to win it. That should be the standard for the SE.

And yes, I mean holistically. Our U17, U20 and U23, CHAN etc should be winning their respective championships and show a clear pipeline to the Senior men's team.

Success should not be in a vacuum. Similar to the government, there should be continuity.

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...

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?"

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!

mrwilliams9:
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...

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!

mrwilliams9:
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:
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:
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.

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?

mrwilliams9:
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 in a period. From AFCON 19 onwards, we have been more consistent in AFCON, but our WCQ isn't there.

This is what I'm talking about.

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.

Apart from Papa Gueye how many of them made any impact at this AFCON? They played: Mali, 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!

mrwilliams9:
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.

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:
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...

Bossoflife25:
And what I am telling you is that it has nothing to do with FA! Nigeria was just simply unlucky. There was no tournament Senegal had the better players nor played better footb all than Nigeria in all those AFCONs. We were simply just unlucky!

You putting their achievement on bringing in foreign born players is my problem.
Which of those foreign born has done better than our foreign borns. Lookman, Bassey, Ekong etc.
You talk as if Nigeria has no foreign born in the team.

Winning 2 Afcon titles in 3 consecutive tournaments is not luck, stop smoking pot.

This quote was from December 12 before AFCON. lol!

Like I said I look at events not the end-goal only.
We are building something very powerful, and the result will shock the world pretty soon!

Remember this statement for 2027 and 2028!

Of all the teams that played the semis, Nigeria is the only team with its core players at 30 years below. (Akor 24, Osimhen 27, Lookman 28, Ndidi 28, Frank 28, Iwobi 29, Bassey 25, Chukwueze 26, Bruno 26, Osayi 26).

Then you have Aknisanmiro 20, Nnadi, 20, Fago, 20, Dele 24, Aina, 28, Benjamin, 20, Ogbu 25, Ryan 24, Ejuke 26, Suleiman 19, Rafiu 23, Uche 22, Tolu 24, Moffi 25, Boniface 24, Orakpo 19- Nice, Ibrahim 19- Reims, Orban 22, Sor- 22, Genk, Anthony Dennis 20, David Moses 20, Onyedika 24 etc.

Just dey play!
That run from 1994 to 2000 that hayatou and his touts denied us is coming soonest!
Mark this post!

Bossoflife25:
We thoroughly deserve to qualify to the World Cup.
We have not lost to any team in Africa since Finidi sabotaged us against Benin!
And we have played both the 3rd and 4th best team in Africa going by the last AFCON. Ciao!

lol! How was it won? Omo ode!

Karlovych:
Winning 2 Afcon titles in 3 consecutive tournaments is not luck, stop smoking pot.