₦airaland Forum

mostob:
You just summed up everything with your response here. There are contradictory reactions from both sides that fit different narratives. Senegal players not celebrating favours the stance that Diaz missed deliberately. Diaz weeping and Moroccoan players showing disappointment favours the stance that Diaz didn't miss deliberately.

What I think is Diaz just chose to lose the penalty as fair play without consulting his teammates. Maybe he did whisper something to one of the Senegal players (Mane maybe) about losing the PK.

he lost it on purpose. That's the weakest panenka ever seen

Spainever:
I started watching AFCON in 1988. Since we defeated them in 1992 and 2000 ,I cannot recalled when Nigeria defeated Senegal senior national team.

you started in 88. Oya who scired the last goal in afcon 88? No googling the answer. I have cheat detector here

Bruno Onyemaechi subbed in on 79mins for Olympiacos as they lead 2-0 vs Leverkusen in the UCL


Femi Azeez bagged an assist in Millwall's 2-1 loss away at Lampard's League leading Coventry in thr English Championship. His 9th G/A in 15 starts across l 17 league apps.

Spainever:
I like your comment especially the bolded part . Imagine Senegalese second choice goalkeeper was assigned to ensure that he gave Mendy towel and stationed there permanently throughout the match but for Nwabali they took his towel even threw banana at him ,he ate it . What if the banana was poisonous?
This coming women AFCON will be very tough and rough . Algeria will play Morocco. Algeria and Egypt celebrated Senegal victory .

The protest won them the trophy
That protest put an end to the poor referee decisions
The referee realized it was serious when Senegal walked off the pitch
I don’t think Nigerian players would’ve had the nerve
Sénégal took the trophy because they’ve got guts, they weren’t going to leave the stadium without the trophy

Did the protest lead to the penalty reversal?
If the defender had done the right thing there won't be a penalty in the first place.
Diaz trying to do a Zidane caused all these. lol!
The referee was fair to both teams except the goal he mistakenly cancelled.
Nigeria played the same Morocco, and did not need to protest rubbish cause the defenders defended well. Simple.
Going by your post one will think Nigeria did not even qualify at all.
You guys are too emotional here. Na where belle face all of una. Smh

yinkeys:
The protest won them the trophy
That protest put an end to the poor referee decisions
The referee realized things was serious when Senegal walked off the pitch
I don’t think Nigerian players would’ve had the nerve
Sénégal took the trophy because they’ve got guts, they weren’t going to leave the stadium without the trophy

Orban is not similar to Lookman. He is an out-and-out striker

Hardrive:
Some other players that should get a look in Chuba Akpom = Second striker back up for akor.
Bob Murphy omoregbe = Right wing option or possible replacement for Moses Simon.
Victor Eletu= Time to time call up to get used to the eagles setup.
Sani Suleiman= Replacement for Moses Simon
Gift Orban= Lookman's back up behind the 2 strikers.

When I saw Akpom and Eletu, I just jumped and pass!

Joebie:
Orban is not similar to Lookman. He is an out-and-out striker

Former Super Eagles Skipper, William Troost Ekong signs with Qatar's Al Ahli SC.

He's left Al Kholood of Saudi Arabia.

Oizee:
I weak honestly

you dont hav tooo brush?( no oofense)

Afcon 2025 Top G+A contributor, Ademola Lookman in Atalanta training ahead of their UCL tie vs Athletic Bilbao on wednesday.

Super Eagles Top Scorer at Afcon 2025, Victor Osimhen getting set for Galatasaray's crucial UCL tie vs Atletico Madrid on wednesday.

TheSuperNerd:
Afcon 2025 Top G+A contributor, Ademola Lookman in Atalanta training ahead of their UCL tie vs Athletic Bilbao on wednesday.

Christened Ademola Broken Lookman by Daddy Oliseh

lol.. how many goals have Akpom scored this season?

Bossoflife25:
When I saw Akpom and Eletu, I just jumped and pass!

forgiveness:
Nigeria don't scout for 21, 22, 23 and 24 years old players because they never blow. They start chasing arround for them when dem start to dey blow which I think it is wrong.

Players like Nwanari, Kayode, Koleosho, Carney, Azeez, Ilenikhena, Justin Njinmah, Okoli, Lesly, Kazeem Olaigbe, Anjorin etc. are within this age range and they are very promising players. Afolayan, Jacob Murphy etc

Unfortunately, Nigeria dey wait make dem blow before attracting them.

That is poor on our part. We should be approaching them at 18,19,20 and inviting them to our youth and Olympic set-up. That way they get to know the African game and build a bond with other players.

mrwilliams9:
That is poor on our part. We should be approaching them at 18,19,20 and inviting them to our youth and Olympic set-up. That way they get to know the African game and build a bond with other players.

Approaching them at the age they just finished youth football for their resident countries and dreaming of representing them in the senior team, if you no go find your youth teams

Tessyy1701:
How I wish I can like it more than once!

How I wish Sir Motsepe can see the last line and reverse our darling Afcon back to biennial competition

Truly that 4 year circle should be reconsidered.

Goke7:
That’s why am not happy at times with the inconsistent performance of the current generation of players they are the ones that will keep making the likes of oliseh continue to run their mouth and use eloquence to deceive many.

Oliseh thinks he’s always right even when he speaks foolishly. Is it osihmen that made chuks and Bruno to miss their penalties? Did the eagles truly fail at this Afcon considering where we were before Afcon? His problem is no one has the right to question him because he feels he’s the best. Dude kind of arrogantly attributes the success of the 94 team to himself. If you listen to the video in detail you’ll see where he said Nigeria never won anything for years until he joined the national team in 1993. A team but for Yekini goals they won’t have won Afcon or qualify for the World Cup and immediately Yekini left what title did he and the rest of his teammates won at senior level? Phew. Unfortunately not many will be able to isolate issues properly from his current ranting.

I tire for Oliseh. He's been unduly unfair on Osimhen.

opes:
Oliseh thought people have forgotten his own story. He did worst than Osimhen

That's because there was no social media in their time.

solonnachi:
Oliseh said the truth....

Truth about?

Mujtahida:
That's because there was no social media in their time.

There is, but not as it was today, social Media was just starting then, and not too much in Naija,

It was the exclusively owned by the super rich, which were not many then, heck it was during that same time mobile phones start coming to Naija market too

do4luv14:
Except by some miracles wey qualify for the worldcuo,
That ranking is about to be given a very sharp downward trend

Walahi...

Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray) vs. Bodo Glimt - Won 3–1, Brace, 9.8 rating, MOTM 🔵🏆

Erling Haaland (Man City) vs. Bodo Glimt - Lost 3–1, Blank, 6.4 rating 🟠

I guess Haaland is the ECOWAS Osimhen 😂😭

do4luv14:
There is, but not as it was today, social Media was just starting then, and not too much in Naija,

It was the exclusively owned by the super rich, which were not many then, heck it was during that same time mobile phones start coming to Naija market too

There was no social media in 1994 - 2002 which corresponds to Oliseh's playing era. Mobile phone is not synonymous with social media.

BankyGee:
Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray) vs. Bodo Glimt - Won 3–1, Brace, 9.8 rating, MOTM 🔵🏆

Erling Haaland (Man City) vs. Bodo Glimt - Lost 3–1, Blank, 6.4 rating 🟠

I guess Haaland is the ECOWAS Osimhen 😂😭

More like Scandinavian Osimhen

Mujtahida:
Truly that 4 year circle should be reconsidered.

They just have to... it's bad

Sarsaparilla524:
Nigeria will win the 2027 AFCON
January 20, 2026

By Azuka Onwuka

With the completion of the African Cup of Nations in Morocco this past weekend, I predict that Nigeria will win the next edition in 2027. That sounds like the kind of statement that attracts laughter and argument, because of many instances when Nigeria had looked strong on paper but ended up disappointing everyone. Nigerian football has taught us to be cautious with bold predictions. Yet this is a conclusion drawn from the past and the present.

The first evidence is the quality of Nigeria’s current crop of players. Nothing shows this better than Nigeria winning the CAF Footballer of the Year award back-to-back in 2023 and 2024 via Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman and being in contention in 2025. The CAF award reflects an era of excellence at the top level. It also sends a message to the rest of Africa: Nigeria has elite players again, not just one or two, but a group.

The last time Nigeria won the award before Osimhen was in 1999, when Nwankwo Kanu won it. That long gap tells its own story. Nigeria has always had talent, but for years, the best Nigerian players were not being recognised as the very best in Africa. Now the recognition is back. This is important because when a country begins to produce the continent’s best player consistently, it often means that country has a strong generation coming through.

History also supports this prediction. When the Super Eagles were at the top of their game in the mid-1990s, Nigeria also produced African Footballer of the Year winners back-to-back for some years through Rashidi Yekini, Emmanuel Amunike, Victor Ikpeba and Nwankwo Kanu. Those were the years when Nigeria did not just compete but imposed itself. The team played with confidence and organisation. Opponents feared them.

That is why I see the current situation as a return to a familiar pattern. The signs are not only in the awards and the individual brilliance. The signs are also in how the Super Eagles are developing as a team. To understand where Nigeria is going, it is good to look back at the early 1990s. Nigeria’s journey to greatness in that era did not begin with winning but with building.

In 1990, Nigeria came second at the AFCON hosted by Algeria. Clemens Westerhof had just taken over as coach. The team showed promise, but it was still learning itself. Progress was shown in the fact that Nigeria played its first match with an embarrassing loss of 5-1 to Algeria. But in the final match, when the two countries met again, Algeria narrowly won with one goal.

By 1992, when Senegal hosted the tournament, Nigerians believed they would win the cup. But the Super Eagles were stopped in the semi-finals by Ghana, led by Abedi Pele. Rather than the gold, Nigeria ended up with the bronze medal. That 1992 team was good, but it was obvious it was not complete.

When 1994 arrived, the Eagles had matured. Everything changed. The players had played together for over four years under the same coach. The result was winning the cup at Tunisia ’94. And that same year, Nigeria went to the World Cup for the first time – and made a mark. Two months before the World Cup, Nigeria was rated number five in the FIFA ranking, the highest an African country has ever achieved.

The lesson from that era is that when we keep a good team together, with stable coaching and proper support, we become a formidable force. That is why 2027 looks like a year when Nigeria will hit its peak. Nigeria is currently in a stage that resembles the early part of that 1990s journey. We have a squad filled with top players. We have a team that has shown it can compete and win tough matches. But we still need to take the final step, which is turning potential into dominance.

The difference between a good team and a champion is not just talent. The difference is continuity and preparation. Nigeria can win the 2027 AFCON if three things happen.

First, Nigeria must retain the coach and the technical path of the team. This is about avoiding the Nigerian habit of restarting every time we fail to win. Football teams do not become champions by changing managers every time they lose. A coach needs time to build a pattern of play and relationships.

Second, the team must be supported properly. Support is not only about money. Organisation is very important. Strategic friendly matches are crucial. There is also the need to create a professional environment where players can focus on football. Ensuring there is fairness and seriousness in team selection is important too. When players believe they are in a credible system, they give more.

Support also means the football authorities must stop treating competitions like emergencies. Preparation should not start two weeks before a tournament. A winning team is built over months and years.

Third, the Super Eagles must be exposed to more competitions and high-level matches. Nigeria needs to play against different styles from other parts of the world.

By 2027, if Nigeria keeps this squad together and gives them serious match exposure, they will be so strong that they will become unstoppable. And even the usual external problems like poor officiating and local hostility will not be enough to stop them. The best teams reduce the power of those factors by being too prepared and too disciplined to panic.

Another reason this prediction is realistic is the location of the 2027 AFCON. The tournament will be hosted by three East African countries: Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. This matters because football is not played in a vacuum. Climate, travel demands, pitch conditions, and crowd energy affect tournaments. A multi-country hosting arrangement will create a unique environment, and teams that are organised and focused will benefit more than teams that rely on last-minute miracles.

Nigeria has the kind of squad that can adapt. Many of the players play in Europe and are used to travelling and staying mentally strong. But adaptation will still depend on preparation. If Nigeria approaches the tournament with seriousness, the environment will not be an obstacle.

Of course, football is never a straight line. Injuries can happen, and form can drop. Other countries are also not sleeping. And sometimes, a team catches fire and becomes unstoppable for one tournament.

But Nigeria has some features that cannot be ignored now. These include talent, momentum, and a clear opportunity to build a long-term team. When a country wins African Footballer of the Year back-to-back, it is usually not a coincidence. It is a sign of a generation that can carry a nation. Nigeria should treat it that way.

So yes, I am predicting that Nigeria will win the 2027 AFCON. Not because Nigerians like to boast. Not because we like to dream. But because the ingredients are already on the table. If Nigeria does what successful football nations do, then 2027 will not be a surprise. It will be the moment Nigeria finally matches its talent with its organisation. And when that happens, the cup will not be a miracle. It will be the result of building properly.

X: @BrandAzuka

Copyright PUNCH

nff should use a positive slogan this time around. Let's do it again sounds like a curse. Even chukwueze noted it.

lovewins:
More like Scandinavian Osimhen

una no go wound person for this place

My guy e be things.

Spirit was also on vacation when Lookman hit a shot against Zidane in the first half during the Algeria game.

Thank God the spirit resurrected to score the winning penalty against Egypt in the 3rd place match.

Odunayaw:
Be like Lookman's spirit forgot it has broken when he sent that shot at Bono

Oliseh should go home to his wife abeg

Mujtahida:
I tire for Oliseh. He's been unduly unfair on Osimhen.

The root cause of all his rantings was the feedback he got from Nigerians on his commentary on the Tanzanian game; unfortunately, Osihmen must bear the brunt of all that! na small pikin dey worry am! He can never be wrong in his own eyes

Mujtahida:
I tire for Oliseh. He's been unduly unfair on Osimhen.

Don't mind him. Was Vahid Hashemian not his teammate at Bochum that year?

Goke7:
The root cause of all his rantings was the feedback he got from Nigerians on his commentary on the Tanzanian game; unfortunately, Osihmen must bear the brunt of all that! na small pikin dey worry am! He can never be wrong in his own eyes

He went ahead and posted that shyte on X. Dem dey give am woto woto.

Oliseh should not come near our national team oo. He's a toxic person with persecution complex. As a coach, he said that he was being hounded. As an ex player/consultant, dem still dey hound you.

I clearly see now why he failed. When he came into the team as coach, Mikel was the star boy. What did Oliseh do? He immediately went after Mikel to cut him down and demoralize him by bringing a player nobody knew about before and after the Mikel issue. Look at his fight with Enyeama.

You see that your attack against the 94 set. Abeg narrow it to Oliseh and leave out the others.

I read a comment where someone said he should borrow a leaf from Kanu, Okocha and Mikel. These were all captains in their time just like Oliseh. These other guys NEVER criticize the team openly. You think they agree with everything? No. But when you have access to the players, there's no need creating content that will create division in the squad. Instead you call the players and talk to them.

If you are Lookman and you watch this video, even if you have a clean mind, some toxic seed will be sown in your heart. If you are Osimhen and you watch it, you would be filled with rage.


Oliseh wants to destroy our football again oo.

opes:
Don't mind him. Was Vahid Hashemian not his teammate at Bochum that year?

What happened between them? See Oliseh forming saint today oo. Oliseh that was a hot head during his playing days.