₦airaland Forum

Had to check back in to see the vibes after the loss.

This loss is probably more painful to me than the one against DR Congo. And the reason is because we actually played well, not just in this game but throughout.

For starters, the officiating was a massive fraud. Yes, Morocco figured us out tactically, but if the referee has just let us flow into the game and not display his obvious bias with his incessant interjections and fraudulent free kick calls, we'd have been at least 1 goal up. It was obvious that his constant whistleblowing psychologically dampened the boys and they started second guessing whether to engage in certain fuels or not. And this happened right until extra time where we were fatigued.

I'm not here to rail on the boys. They did their absolute best. Whatever happens in the 3rd place game, I still consider our run from the group stage to the quarter final to be arguably the finest football we've played in nearly 20 years. Eric Chelle is a fine coach. However, it's undeniable at this point that in-game management is his biggest challenge, and so far it's looking to be a constant with him. At any rate, he stays. There's obviously progress in the team with him at the helm. Plus we need him to prosecute the next couple of AFCON qualifiers and the 2030 FIFA World Cup qualifiers... that is of course, if the NFF will let him.

I knew we'd lose this game if it went to penalties. We simply don't have penalty takers and there's only so much Nwabali can do to help the squad. That first save should have put us in the driver's seat for the next 3-4 penalty takes but we fluffed it.

As for Chukwueze, I have no words. In my humble opinion however, I'd had preferred he had come in during the time Moses or Dele Bashiru was subbed in. He couldn't have been worse than Moses Simon by any means in my book.

Thankfully, the Women's AFCON is around the corner. Hopefully the girls will right the wrongs done here and come out on top again.

Alright then, back to Twitter.

mostob:
Josh Ogunnaike.. A LB for Arsenal U21. He trained with the first team today.

Na me first discover this one o. If em blow tomorrow, make nobody lay claim o

Especially one fake pundit here who specializes in misreading people's arguments and congratulating himself for it.

NasirIbnLaAhad:
I think people in this thread are being unnecessarily harsh on the lady. She posited a very poignant argument.

Premise 1: If political will alone were sufficient for hosting tournaments, then countries with declared intentions and allocated budgets would successfully host.

Premise 2: Nigeria has repeatedly declared intentions and allocated budgets for major projects (including stadiums and infrastructure) but has failed to complete them.

Conclusion: Therefore, the critical factor is not political will or available resources, but institutional capacity for execution, which Nigeria currently lacks

Is this your argument, QueenJazz?

Well, I'm happy someone gets it.

The thing about having conversations or debates is that sometimes, people jump into conclusions or assumptions about other people's intentions or positions. If you check my post history, except someone is saying blatant rubbish to me or wants to be a troll, I'm very agreeable on a lot of things and would rather not drag out issues.

The other day, I noted weaknesses and flaws with the Super Eagles, they turned it into me glazing Morocco and calling them unbeatable.

I don't have to D-ride Nigeria all the time to show loyalty.

Nigeria is a footballing powerhouse. That's a fact.
We have natural talent, largely unrivaled in the continent. That's a fact.
Our league is poor. That's a fact.
We're not effectively developing the talents we have. That's a fact.
We don't have enough FIFA approved stadiums. That's a fact.
Other countries are catching up with us on the international stage. That's a fact.
We can still improve. That's a fact.

Can Nigeria host the AFCON? Not until things start working properly and we build confidence with FIFA. Sadly, our administrators aren't taking sports as seriously as we'd hope.

What makes me laugh though is that some people here would rather bait-and-switch and fight strawmen instead of actually understanding the core of my argument.

For example, shamelessly arguing and lying that I'm discrediting Nigeria's football legacy and achievements when I never did that anywhere.

Or claiming that I said Cameroon is better than Nigeria, which is far from what I actually said. But of course it's easy to attack strawmen when the actual point is difficult to understand.

It's easy to misinterpret what I'm saying and make it seem like I'm just being irrational when I'm just expressing reasoned skepticism in the capacity of our administrators based on their antecedents.

These people make it seem like you're wishing the downfall of the country when you're only talking from a place of concern.

The issue is beyond talk for me. My only prayer is that we stop latching on to how good things were before and we enjoy a new era in Nigerian football that will even be ten times better than it was back then.

Semid4lyfe, Dominique et al why cant I receive a link to deactivate my account? Abeg oo. Let me leave football for the pundits and scholars and professionals abeg.

ME: Nigeria can't host the AFCON now

FOOTBALL PUNDIT: What do you mean?! We've hosted tournaments in the 80s and in the 90s

ME: True. But look at our infrastructure and football pitches. Our government isn't even taking any action to developing them right now. We need to improve. Our past is good doesn't mean our present can't be better.

FOOTBALL PUNDIT: It doesn't matter! You don't know what you are saying! You don't know football! You're delusional! You don't have sense!

No problem. I was very foolish to even embark on this conversation. You'll never hear it from me again.

I've just realized that today that I'm a fool for expecting better from a team that I hold dearly to my heart. I won't bring up this issue again, and this will be my last time coming to this thread. What do I gain from getting myself riled up for making obvious statements that we should improve.

I never knew people were this comfortable with how bad things were in our football.

Ah foolish me. I'll never try it again.

Bye.

TheSuperNerd:
Explaining living in the past to someone clearly addressing the point of how big Nigeria truly is in "Total football achievements" as if he is not aware of Nigeria's problems currently is just you making yourself sound foolish and unaware. You think you are the only one who knows and sees Nigeria's problems. Carry on in your self deluded stance as the only one who cares then. Lol

No matter what anyone says or how they cry in here, Nigeria has earned her place as Africa's Number 1 football nation based on the gigantism of her achievements across all categtories of the beautiful game. Finito.

You've been arguing with yourself this entire time. Nobody (literally nobody!) disputed Nigeria's historical football achievements. The conversation was always about our current inability to host AFCON due to collapsed infrastructure. You keep screaming "but we're historically great!" to a point no one contested.

It's genuinely impressive how you've written paragraphs defending a position that was never under attack while completely missing the actual argument. Then you declare "finito" like you've achieved something. This is peak missing-the-point energy.

Anyway, I think I'll be giving you a taste of your own medicine now. See you in three weeks.

Bossoflife25:
It is like Dangote debating a roadside kiosk owner! He or she will never understand the opportunity available around him/her.
It's better to leave them to their penury!

"Leave them to their penury" is a wild thing to say after arguing that Nigerians should comfort themselves with 1980 achievements instead of demanding better infrastructure.

Danielnino00:
I hope you're aware that Cameroon were originally scheduled to host the 2019 AFCON but that right was stripped from them and given to Egypt because they were not ready..
Cus I don't understand this one that you're trying to make them look like a more serious country than us

True. In 2019 they weren't ready. Then they put things in order and hosted the tournament in 2021. If anything, you're proving my point.

I'm starting to realize that people on this thread are fundamentally incapable of looking at issues in non-binary fashion. I never said Cameroon is perfect (although I know people who don't know better will latch onto that red herring to pretend they're being reasonable).

Ah but what do I know? I must be a fool for expecting better from my own country.

Bossoflife25:
Cameroon is better than Nigeria in all capacity. Cameroon is the Giant of the World not even Africa!! Sorry ma! Thank you!

That was hardly the point, but I like how quick you are to acknowledge your debate limitations. Makes my work easier.

TheSuperNerd:
Your long epistle is shifting the goalpost of the central point made. Absolutely over the bar. Congrats.

Strange that my response to your exact argument is somehow "off-topic." If explaining why "living in past glory is terrible logic" counts as shifting goalposts, then critical thinking must really confuse you. The point landed. That you liked it or not is hardly my problem.

Bossoflife25:
Birds of same feather...

Why not make an actual argument, oh ye non-delusional one?

Bossoflife25:
Cameroon has what? If I talk now Semi4lyfe will ban me! This girl is simply delusional!

Cameroon wouldn't have hosted the AFCON if they didn't have the resources and logistics in place to hold it.

Yes or yes?

typicalgamer:
And you counter them why ?

Because when people accept nostalgia as substitute for progress, the government has absolutely ZERO incentive to improve. It's not rocket science.

typicalgamer:
It’s better for the to revel in past glory than live in the filth we have today.

And that's why the filth we're living in today will last forever and ever. Enjoy

typicalgamer:
To each his own i guess

I agree.

forgiveness:
Have you been to Cameroon before? Na fourth world country.

Yaounde is less developed than Ikeja. DOUALA is their second most developed city but it will not make top 30 cities in Nigeria. Dey play.

Development aesthetics and tournament hosting capacity are not the same.

Ikeja is more developed than Yaounde. No problem.

Okay then, so how come they were able to complete stadium, construction, coordinated logistics, and delivered AFCON 2021 despite their limitations?

Meanwhile, how many bids have we submitted to host tournaments in the last 10 years and how many of them have we been able to meet the global standards or requirements?

We don't even have consistent electricity to sustain us during events.

Let's not even enter security

It's not about overall development level but about ability to execute specific projects competently.

Cameroon is a 7th World country but they were able to mobilize resources, meet deadlines, and host successfully. With all our superior resources and infrastructure, our institutional dysfunction cannot allow us to deliver what they delivered.

Are y'all really this thick not to see the point here?

Now y'all are starting to get on my nerves.

TheSuperNerd:
I am also sick of people clouded by recency bias to not see the truth.

Recency bias? Lmao. We're talking about infrastructure collapse spanning decades! That's systematic decline, not "recency bias." This is exactly the type of dismissive attitude that perpetuates our problems.

TheSuperNerd:
Who says we should sit down and not improve? Who says our administration is best in the world? Is it not still I who hit the NFF and other relevant authorities? So stop throwing around the obvious as if it is just you who see the wrong.

You're arguing with yourself I'm afraid. Nobody said you don't see the problems or that you're not critical. The issue here is using past achievements as counterarguments to present-day infrastructure failures. I said "we can't host AFCON now," and people are responding with "but we're historically great"... Please tell me how does this address the actual point I raised about our current incapacity? Can you connect the dots?

Two things can be true at the same time:

1) We have a footballing legacy as arguably the greatest nation in Africa based on achievements

and

2) Right now, we lack the structure and facilities to develop our football and host major tournaments.

These are not mutually exclusive facts so I don't understand what y'all are getting needlessly defensive about.

TheSuperNerd:
But still, did we not reach the final of the last afcon?? Where did Morocco reach at the last Afcon after the fine 2022 WC run? Where now?

The conversation is about hosting, not having talents. Please track down the origin of this correspondence before you go off on another tangent. Our players' talent doesn't fix collapsed stadiums or security concerns. Morocco's tournament performance is irrelevant to their ability to host events with functioning infrastructure, which is what we're actually discussing here.

TheSuperNerd:
Look, Nigeria is clearly Africa's biggest and most successful football nation all round. Nothing anyone says erases this fact. The history is there and stands tall for all to see and know. 1 year of downtimes does not delete it.

Being historically successful is undisputed, that's literally the point. We were Africa's football giant. Nobody's erasing history. I'm saying it's dishonest to use that history to deflect from present collapse and as far as I can tell, no one has sufficiently countered my position. And we're not talking of "1 year of downtimes" but decades of infrastructure neglect and institutional decay.

In fact, our past success even makes the current state we are in far more tragic.

Nigeria has a footballing legacy but using it as a shield against criticism about our present failures is exactly the problem being called out.

typicalgamer:
I’m a Manchester United fan all i have is past achievements so how dishonest I’m i 🤣

People here keep using past achievements as shields against present-day incompetence. That's the dishonesty.

Odunayaw:
Why una de talk this thing like it is beyond political will and money fgs!

Why are we talking like if BAT makes a push to it we won't host the darn thing. Poor man Cameroon hosted this thing in recent memory fa

And so the **** what?

BAT making a push doesn't automatically translate to execution. We've seen countless grand declarations followed by nothing.

Cameroon has functional systems. Our problem isn't just funding. It's corruption, accountability gaps, and inability to complete projects. Political will without institutional capacity won't achieve jack squat.

TheSuperNerd:
It will take years upon years for Morocco to catch up with what Nigeria has achieved in football across all categories. Morocco has not even caught up with Egypt or Cameroun's pedigree ranks.

In football, it is not mouth. Nigeria are truly Africa's Giant.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8OAGwC2Eak?si=00difToGq6lr-T6M

Doesn't mean we should sit on our bums because we have achieved so much.

Administration needs to step up their game and do the needful so that we can enjoy sports in the country again the way it used to be in the 80s and 90s. I'm sick and tired of people daydreaming about the past even though our present is in shambles.

Let's do things right and restore that national pride and confidence in our football.

minfelix:
i like as most people dey always come out to defend this country 😂😂…its good sha, thats d spirit of patriotism for you…..but make we talk true…currently if we check things that makes us got that tag “giant of africa”, omo those things are slowly vanishing

- last hosting something major (u17 world cup 2009) almost 20yrs ago now
-presenting world class stadium ❌(only Uyo 30k capacity and maybe Abuja 60k capacity can compete with africa’s top stadia
- back to back winning or representing and doing well in male age grade soccer(u17 last won in 2015 10yrs ago, u20 best performance was in Holland 2005 20yrs ago, U23 olympic last best performance was 2016 rio 11yrs ago we dont even use to qualify to that one again sef
- Last CAFCL club victory, Enyimba 2005 20yrs ago
-Last senior men best world cup performance was 2014 11yrs ago, last world cup appearance 2018 7yrs ago


Na only female football still dey give us small bragging right
while Osimhen and Lookman managed to still put us on the map of african giant by winning back to back AFPOTY, and then super eagles reaching afcon final last edition still making us have small hope to call ourselves giant……infact delving into other sports where we normally use to rack up gold medal at the olympics, we no get hope again for that area…other african nation are slowly filling up these spaces especially Morocco, those guys in the nearest future will start to claim giant of africa oo🤣🤣
- hosted wafcon back to back to back
- got to wafcon final back to back to back, if they mistakenly lift am wahala don dey
-recently won the AFPOTY
-got to world cup semifinal
-recently won age grade competition (u17wc)
-hosting tournament like water from afcon to wafcon to u17 wafcon and will b hosting the FIFA world cup in 2030

issokaaay make we dey watch sha

For me it's the height of dishonesty for people to keep using past achievements of Nigeria to brag. Yes, we had it good then but now things are dire.

Can Nigeria today host the All Africa Games, talk more of the AFCON? No!

Enoughpull:
Please where are you guys watching the game.. No super sport channel is showing it

You don't have 202 on DSTv?

What package are you on?

GanagiBitrus:
The complaint against S/Eagles is not just the results of matches, but about their lack of intensity & casual approach in their play style.
They only appear serious while playing for their clubs.

Despite the 0-0 scores, you can see the intensity & seriousness in Morocco play.
S/Eagles will just be passing ball sideways & backwards & strolling on the pitch.

Facts!

elyte89:
Ibrahim Diaz 9goals = 16 appearances

Iwobi last 20games no goal no assist (he’s d best option ) 😎

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Finally a goal.

I believe this should reduce the Comoros confidence a little.

Somebody on X said Comoros are IPOB and are doing sit-at-home in this game. 🤣🤣🤣

When will Nigeria ever host AFCON like this? 🥲

Boluspor players protested unpaid wages by refusing to play the opening minute in Turkey’s second division. Pendikspor showed class and didn’t score.

- TrollFootball

Boluspor players protested unpaid wages by refusing to play the opening minute in Turkey’s second division. Pendikspor showed class and didn’t score.https://t.co/lzkuZlPj0Xpic.twitter.com/duYMCzSp3B

— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) December 21, 2025

--------------

If you try this one for Naija, Dem no send your papa oo. Dem go first give you 4-0 make you use take guide. 🤣

But seriously, I respect that Turkish side. I can't imagine this type of stuff happening in NPFL. Sometimes I wish we could just boycott everything sports in this country.

Personally, I'd be fine with this setup, given what we have. Obviously Chelle will play 4-4-2


-------------Adams---------Osimhen----------------------

---Iwobi--------------------------------------Chukwueze--

----------------Akinsanmiro----Ndidi---------------------

----Sanusi--------------------------------------Alebiosu---

----------------Bassey-------------Ajayi---------------------

--------------------------Nwabali------------------------------

mrwilliams9:
AFCON was starting to improve and now CAF is moving to every four years? Definitely caved from pressure from FIFA

Outside of the fact that we’ll have fewer AFCONs, it will now take longer to close the gap on the likes of Egypt, Cameroon and Ghana.

Foolish move all around. It would have been better for them to improve scheduling instead of moving to every 4 years.

Hopefully we can win the AFCON in 2027 or 2028 before this new format takes effect.

African Nations League... Like what the F..?

Infantino is doing too much at this point.

orriyomi33:
The Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will be held every four years from 2028, Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe has announced.

The tournament has taken place every two years since 1968, with a one-year gap between the 2012 and 2013 editions.

But the tournament will switch to a four-year cycle after the 2027 Afcon in East Africa and a 2028 edition.

Motsepe has instead announced the creation of an African Nations League which will take place annually from 2029.

"We have the most exciting new structure for African football," Motsepe said.

More to follow.

More to follow.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cgjnx6x4281o

Source ......Bbc football

Just leave the tournament as it is bruh.