₦airaland Forum

BankyGee:
Omo Fredrick no assured?

I swear to God, forget age o, that guy almost made people not see Bassey for the iron bender that he is o, everytime they pair together, people always talk about Fredrick when Bassey also will have a mad performance.

Fredrick is a SUPER GUARANTEED starter anyday, anytime. In CB he tears, in RB he tears. He low-key sent Troost-Ekong to retire early because Ekong knew he was mature as a replacement for him even with his young age.

He has not been substituted out once since his debut for Nigeria, a stat only Calvin Bassey was holding in recent times till this AFCON. He has not had one bad day for Nigeria. He held down Aubameyang for 90 minutes. He fought war against three pacy and athletic wingers vs. DR Congo for 120 mins. A 20 years old boy o!

After Bassey, na Fredrick, no worry! The B-squared Wall 🧱🇳🇬

Chibuike Nwaiwu bench Benjamin Fredericks ke? Abeg when be Trabzonspor next match, I need to watch him play.

Mujtahida:
I thought he's an attacker from his clip I saw on X.

Na 3 hin be. Seriously good one.

Na this kind genuinely young ones our NPFL journos suppose dey push instead of oldies like Ismaila Sodiq.

Blueelf:
Alright

I have some questions for you semid4lyfe

Do you think ita possible for Chelle to take this team to a place where they are practically unbeatable even with obvious refreeze boas

NO and YES.

NO because no team is unbeatable really. Knockout games will ULTIMATELY be decided by PSO, and a loser/winner must always emerge.

YES because Eric Chelle has made the team defensively resilient and he's yet to lose a game in 120 minutes as Super Eagles coach.

In the group stage, we conceded goals hut simply outscored our opponents. Kudos to our strikers. In the Morocco game, our attack and midfield were off, so the pressure was on the defence but it held up. Kudos to the defence and Nwabali. After the opening 30 minutes, a quiet calm enveloped me, and I just knew we were not gonna concede.

Also, what did you expect Chelle to have done differently in that match that he didn't do?

Hindsight they say is 20-20 but he shouldn't have started Onyedika. Onyedika was the CDM and base of the diamond so his position was the most pivotal to our midfield game, and he was horrendous.

Poor positioning, terrible awareness, slow in decision making and on the ball, poor reading and anticipation of opponent's play, awful press-resistance, poor ball advancement etc etc. I think he should have pulled Onyedika off at the end of the first half and replaced him with Tochukwu Nnadi.

Also, I think there was too much data and tape on how we played especially after the Algeria game, which Morocco analyzed and came up with the perfect counter-play, the midpress, and wing overload. The midpress took Onyedika, Iwobi, Lookman, Akor, Osimhen outta the game. The wing overload pegged Osayi and Bruno permanently in defence so they couldn't provide the width that is required from wingbacks in a diamond midfield setup. Osayi and Bruno tried to advance play on a few occasions but the Moroccans committed tactical fouls on them, and the referee's poor officiating did not help in that regard.

Do you think the Egyptians would borrow from Morocco's playback to stifle our midfield tomorrow?

The Egypt I've watched right from the Pre-AFCON friendly against us only plays one way. Massive defense, quick transitions to counter attack. They don't bother with midfield and possession-based football when they meet quality opposition. I dont expect them to play differently.

Also, this is a dead rubber match and the stakes are not that high. Both teams might field their B-sides and this might impact the game.

Goke7:
😂 SA is wining the next Afcon be that! Na that potato pitch dem go play all their matches till the final we never see anything 😂

The AFCON after the next you mean

Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania 2027
Botswana & South Africa 2028.

With the experienced players in our team, and a sprinkling of exciting new talents that have emerged and will still come through, who says we can't win the next two AFCONs?

Eric Sekou Chelle must be given a contract extension until 2028 by the NFF so he can drive the project.

Goke7:
Hosting two Afcons within 3 years is nothing but a fraud but in this motsepe regime nothing is impossible! Morocco could as well be designated host permanently! Nonsense and ingredients

Do the calms bro.

News just broke that Botswana will put in a joint bid alongside South Africa to host the 2028 AFCON.

Mzansi are favourably disposed to it, and with Patrice Motsepe being from SA and the Southern Africa region, the Botswana-South Africa 2028 AFCON is a forgone conclusion.

Aaah, thank God.

Blueelf:
Okay, you made some very valid points

But you'll agree that the penalty loss is partly his fault

Is he saying that our past penalty failures didn't teach him to prep these guys for that outcome?

See I'm not trying as much as possible t9 blame him because I think he should be given a long term contract with as much support as possible but Chelle too mess up small. Although I've no doubt that he'll improve as a coach in the coming future

You are beginning to sound like our blue font guy, TGJ. Pray tell, how is the penalty loss his fault? .

Right from the WCQ Play-offs, the team practised PKs in EVERY training session knowing they were knock-out games and there had to be a winner.

Even at this AFCON, during the Semi-final pre match presser, Chelle was specifically asked by a Nigerian journo if they were training for penalties and he confirmed they were. I also watched various Interviews of our players in which they said they were practising PKs in training just before the round of 16.

Go back and watch the WCQ playoff PSO, Bruno played our best PK. Fast, medium elevation and to the left of the goalkeeper. Obviously, Morocco prepared for the eventuality of PSO, studied tapes of our PK takers (including the WCQ playoff PSO) and their goalie had memorized how our players played PK. That's the reason Bounou stepped to his left rather than dive even before Bruno hit his PK. Unfortunately Bruno hit it tamely down the middle this time, and Bounou recovered and was able to stretch out a hand to stop it.

As per Chukwueze, do you honestly think that was the kinda PKs he was playing in training that Chelle brought him in specifically to take a PK? You sef reason am. Moreover, no matter how well a team prepares for penalty and how proficient they are, a winner must emerge and its just unfortunate we were on the losing side. Me, I can never blame Chelle for the outcome of the game. Our PK takers let him and Nigerians down.

Despite the painful loss, I am proud of the valiant effort of the team. I saw determination, fearlessness, fighting spirit and a "we die here attitude" all of which were missing in the DR Congo game. The team did not fold this time and just go through the motions, and that's in my opinion is our biggest win from the Morocco game.

Eric Chelle has given the Super Eagles a playing identity. He has met the semifinal target the NFF set for him and did so playing exciting and beautiful attacking football. He is still unbeaten in regulation + extra time with thie Super Eagles. He may not have gotten to the final like JP did in Ivory Coast but I regard him as our best coach in the last five years. The Super Eagles need some coaching stability, and I hope he stays and the NFF extends his contract till after the 2028 AFCON.

The 2027 AFCON will be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania but shey una don hear say Morocco is considering hosting the 2028 AFCON as warm-up and preparation for the 2030 World cup that they're co-hosting with Spain and Portugal? This people wan use hosting win two AFCONS sharperly sha. Hopefully, Senegal spoils their planned party in the final just like the Super Falcons did.

Mujtahida:
Okay let me not say he acted maliciously (and I have my reason for saying so) but Chukwueze really effed us up.

I saw a video where Chukwueze himself was saying that they have been practicing penalties. Chelle at the post match presser said that he was one of the best at Pks in training. He was brought in specifically to do that job. Fresh mind, fresh leg. He bungled it right at the moment Nwabali gave us the advantage.

All the effort of the team, gone to waste.

Bro, I agree with you.

Chukwueze 100% deserves the dragging he's getting from Nigerians.

You sef check am, Chukwueze and Bruno missed their PKs. In fact, Bruno's PK was the consequential one that gave the advantage to Morocco to score and win but na Chukwueze Nigerians dey drag.

Why? His "I don't care" body language, lackadaisical attitude and uninterested demeanor when he came up for the kick. That's why some people have called him a saboteur. He was chewing gum and just before he took the kick, he blew a big bubble.

Everything was just off. Chukwueze did not recognize the importance of that moment and him converting the kick. He wasn't locked in. These players gats know that when they dorn the green-white-green, it's serious business and they play not for themselves but for 250 million Nigerians.

Nigerians are not dragging him because he missed the penalty. Anybody can miss a penalty. He is being dragged because that moment required seriousness, determination, focus and he showed none.

do4luv14:
I'm
I no too trust that Oma Guy,
The report about Maduka exclusion was based on agreement between the player his club, the coach and NFF,

That was the News then, so what was Oma trying to paint with that his Reply,
I doubt him thought

Which agreement? You Maduka fanboys are terrible people and will never accept the truth about your fav even when it stares you in the face.

Oma Akatugba is the sports journalist who brought Maduka Okoye to limelight when he was playing in Fortuna Dusseldorf II in the German 3rd division and promoted him to Gernot Rohr who extended Super Eagles invitation to him. Oma is based in Germany and is close to Maduka and his family, and knows him well.

Oma even got into an online spat with another sports journalist MikeThePundit on X who called him out for promoting Okoye to the National team and Okoye's decision.

Below is an excerpt from Leadership newspaper on the Maduka issue.

https://leadership.ng/why-okoye-moffi-arokodare-others-were-left-out-of-super-eagles-afcon-squad/

A member of Chelle’s backroom staff revealed that Okoye made it clear he would only be available for the tournament if guaranteed the first-choice position.

The coaching crew, however, reportedly rejected such conditions, with Chelle insisting that all players must earn their place through competition.

Udinese also communicated their position to the NFF, indicating that the club was unwilling to release Okoye for the tournament if he was not assured of a starting role, citing concerns over losing him for up to three weeks without regular playing time.

With no guarantees offered, Chelle opted to include Francis Uzoho, who had been on standby, while maintaining confidence in Stanley Nwabali, who has since been declared medically fit.

Una fav Maduka Okoye tried to blackmail Chelle and sabotage our AFCON campaign and should never be invited to the Super Eagles ever again. EOD.

Blueelf:
I didn't know this semid

No be fight na bro. Chill 😁

On a more serious note, I heard about this but wasn't so sure about the news because I doubted it's veracity

But if true, he should stay where he is

Baba, it is true.

I was on Oma Akatugba TikTok live session after the squad release and I asked this question, and Oma confirmed it, and even justified Maduka decision saying based on club and form, Maduka should be #1 and shouldn't be chopping bench for a goalkeeper in the South African league.

Blueelf:
Yesterday was good for me

Because it reminded everyone that we have a real gem in Nwabali

If he can keep his head down, he can be as historical for us as Enyeama was

If the Wrexham guy -Arthur Okonkwo should join, he should act as understudy because he is not as good as Nwabali

Okoye should also be given a look in

Good one Nwabobo. 👍

Elf, if you ever post Okoye's name on this thread and advocate for his callup, I will haunt you on this thread, in real life and in your dreams.

Maduka Okoye is a lilly-livered chicken, a traitor and a saboteur. As far as I am concerned, he should be axed from the Super Eagles forever.

That guy opted out of the AFCON squad because his demand to be first choice goalie was refused ,saying he preferred to play regularly for his club than sit on the bench at the AFCON.

That stunt he pulled is tantamount to blackmail and sabotage of the team's AFCON campaign because at the time he opted out, Nwabali was nursing an injury and it was uncertain if he'd be fit for the AFCON.

He made a decision and I respect that but he should also live with the consequences of his decision.

Mujtahida:
It was not ill - luck. It was deliberate sabotage.

How would the goalkeeper not catch the ball? Even you, you go catch that ball. He positioned his body, telling the Gk where he wanted to play the ball, then as if that was not enough, he passed the ball to the Gk.

You are coming to play penalty at a semi final oo. This boy do us wetin no good.

Baba calm.down o. Accusing Chukwueze of sabotage in taking his penalty is taking things too far.

His attitude, body language, demeanor and facial expression were all off and seemed like he didnt appreciate the seriousness of that moment and the importance of scoring that penalty, and he missed it but to label him a saboteur? Mba, that's too extreme and unacceptable.

Below is what I posted last night

I don't even understand our players.

I've watched interviews of many of them, and they say they practice penalties in training every day.

Yet, they always take terrible PKs during PSO.

Look at Chukwueze taking that penalty so lackadaisically and nonchalantly. His body language, approach and demeanour was so off, like he didnt wanna be there and I knew he was gonna lose it.

Is that the kind if penalty he's been taking during training that he was brought in and selected to be our second PK taker?

No be na wa, na real wa

KingTom:
E be like say Balablu don make una skin full this season my brother tear me 500k this morning, now he's asking me between Lexus RX350 and Highlander which one better pass?

Me wey I no fit afford ordinary 15k to cook pot of soup, where I wan take see 100k to dash? Biko, na joke I dey o.

BlueRayDick:
The coach might leave on his own terms when other countries in need of national team coach come calling.

If any serious team offering him better condition of service comes calling, I won't be surprised if he takes the offer and ditch us for good.

The nature of their job is to be hired and fired, and they operate like mercenaries with no loyalty to anyone except in cases of overriding conflict of interest. For example, before appointing Chelle, NFFF sent feelers to Pitso Motsimane of South Africa to know if he'd be interested in managing the Super Eagles, and he declined saying Nigeria and South Africa were in the same WCQ group, and he couldn't work against the interest of South Africa, and it'd have serious repercussions for him.

Also, to be frank, the $50k/month that Chelle earns is like the bottom tier of salary for foreign National team coaches so that one sef dey. A better offer like the $100k it was rumoured Tunisia was offering him before they appointed someone else can tempt him away.

I hope he stays but if he goes, we simply appoint another coach and move on. There was Super Eagles before him, and there will be Super Eagles after him.

Just last December it made the news that he was being owed at least 3 months salary which I don't know if it has been cleared now.

That was the status as at the first week of December when that news broke. But as at the first week of January, NFF don pay hin salary up till the month of January and isn't owing him currently.

minfelix:
The surest way to win afcon is if the afcon knockout stage(quarterfinals/Semifinal) is crowded by less fancied opponets causing upsets on big boys in the previous stage …
maybe like SA removing Morocco to enter the quarterfinals and Benin removing senegal to reach Semifinals and Mali beating Egypt to meet Nigeria at the final….super eagles over the years till date is not looking like a team that can win a final against powerhouse..
Vs Senegal
Vs Morocco
Vs CIV
Vs Ghana
Vs Cameroon
Vs Algeria

make luck just help us align 2027 Afcon knockout stage in this way:👇🏽
Nigeria Vs a lesser opponent (R16) maybe B/faso
Nigeria Vs a Stronger rival (quarterfinals) maybe Egypt
Nigeria Vs a lesser underdog who just made an upset(Semifinal) maybe Capeverde
Nigeria Vs a lesser opponent (Final) South Africa or Zambia

I disagree.

Ater the Q/F performance against Algeria, I fancied our team's chances against every team except Morocco.

Morocco or Senegal , whoever may win it are not better than us.

You'd only appreciate how well we played when you see the way Morocco will defeat Senegal in the final

WhoDeyHause:
Omo I still never get myself till this morning. Both Chelsea and Nigeria L I chop last night. I didn't even send Chelsea if only we could win Morocco and enter final but it is what it is. Men like egbon gbola wey no dey watch ball no know wetin God do for them last night.

Yeah, it hurts more the morning after.

Still, I am proud of the boys. Unlike the team's WCQ playoff loss to DR Congo which was listless, there were positives to take from the team's performance yesterday.

I saw grit, tenacity, fighting spirit and a determination not to lose the game in regulation + extra time. l watched the match with calm and being unafraid, and not once did I think we'd concede.

It's just unfortunate that the PSO turned out to be our albatross, and once again, our PK takers let Nwabali down despite his heroics.

The 2027 AFCON in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will be a level playing ground for everyone, and hopefully we can win it then.
.
I just hope the NFF doesn't press the self destruct button and sack the coach. Rather, he should be given an extended contract that runs until the end of the 2027 AFCON.

I am a Super Eagles supporter, not a fan. We go again in 2027.

Papi85:
I’m really proud of Chelle and his boys

Same here.

Despite the biased officiating, mammoth home support, pitch familiarity, and absence of Ndidi, Morocco could only defeat us via penalties. That says a lot.

The 2027 AFCON in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will be a more level playing ground and hopefully we can win it.

Eric Chelle has done well. He deserves a long term contract.

Same outcome as the WCQ play off but there was no fear, no folding this time.

I saw grit, tenacity, fighting spirit and a determination not to lose from our boys. Funny thing is that game could have continued for another 30 minutes and we wouldn't have conceded.

Unfortunately, penalty proved to be our albatross, and once again our takers let Nwabili down despite his heroics.

Kudos to the boys and Eric Chelle. The NFF should give the coach an extended contract that runs until the end of the 2027 AFCON.

It can only get better.

BlueRayDick:
To start with, Charles Anazodo is a fooool who speaks from different sides of his mouth based on his bias at each point in time. A guy did a twitter thread showing tweets at different times in the past from the same Charles supporting Super Eagles and Super Falcons players who protested their wages in 2019 . He didn't say they were wrong then, instead he helped them amplify their voice on social media till the issues were resolved. He probably had no love for Buhari's government and reasoned like a normal human being then.

Today he is a strong BATist who sees every criticism of government or its agencies from the lens of his political bias and always rise to defend them even when the defenses doesn't make much sense.

How can any reasonable person leave NFF the culprits and be attacking the players demanding their wages/bonus? Does that make any sense to you? Since you are saying the players should not honor invites if they are doing it for money, maybe the NFF too should start putting a caveat out when they send invite that the players will not be paid. So let only the mediocre players who need national team for exposure honor the invite . Even countries poorer than Nigeria pay their players for international duty , but Nigerian players should play for charity. Shior!

Anybody that refuse to eat over a game of football that has 3 possible outcome(win, draw or lose), that's their personal problem. Even players of top clubs in Europe lose important matches and still go out to chill with their loved ones. Guess what? They will receieve their due wages as stipulated in their contract. Anybody that foolishly lose valuables because they bet on football match, such a person does not deserve to own that cash or property in the first place.

Lol. You just dey help elder further him persona beef and agenda. Again, I did not state that the players should play for free. Far from it.

I only questioned the ill-timing of the teams protests by refusing to train and travel during the crucial WCQ playoffs and the AFCON Q/F respectively due to their delayed bonuses, and even suggested a better way and time to protest

This is an excerpt from the substantive post I made on the issue in the Super Eagles thread.

The outstanding bonus issue can be handled differently and at a better time. The AFCON 2027 qualifiers would commence soon. They can choose to protest their unpaid allowances then. They can even drag the NFF publicly and expose them if need be. Nigerians will back that fight but this one on the backdrop of their recent failures is ill-timed and unnecessary. The team does not need this drama. They should silence all the noise, lock in, and let their football and results speak.

You can read my substantive post from the link below.

https://www.nairaland.com/3018619/super-eagles-thread-road-afcon/18647#138064414

As per me not taking my dinner because of the Super Eagles losses in crucial games, na my own coping mechanism be that, and I don't think it's out of place to lose appetite for food when such happens.

TemporaryHansel:
A lecturer who won’t teach without pay is lecturing players on playing without pay. Comedy writes itself once more.

ASUU strikes every time salaries are delayed, but footballers protesting unpaid bonuses are now enemies of the state. Same problem, same government, different standards.

If players should reject call-ups because the NFF is notorious for owing, then lecturers should resign instead of striking since the government is notorious for defaulting. But somehow, only footballers must suffer “for the badge.”

This isn’t moral clarity. It’s selective outrage powered by hypocrisy.
Stop needles strikes, if you truly believe in and love this country, teach for free, disgusting hypocrite.

You don go copy from chatgpt again.

Whenever you don't use AI na that time you dey drop gba takes like poor people should be prevented from voting, as if they vote as bloc.

Simple challenge, you dey foam for mouth instead of posting where I said the players should play for free.

TemporaryHansel:
Grasping at straws as usual, smh.
As for the last part, 100k might be a big deal for you, but it's not, for me. ✌🏽

Simple challenge to produce receipt, you dey yarn opata. Waive jare.

raumdeuter:
reccy semid4lyfe

Any updates on ASUU strikes

ASUU is not currently on strike.

TemporaryHansel:
I've come to realize that lecturers hate this country. If not so, why can't they be patriotic and teach for free?

They should know that the Nigeria government, regardless of who is in power, or the form, would likely not honour any agreement reached with them, therefore they should stop going on strike.

Lol. Coward

You are still smarting from all the beatdown I have given you for your jejune posts on this thread so every once in a while, you take potshots at me.

No worry, I go monetize am for you this time and make it worth your while.

If you can point out the exact post where I said a person or a group of persons should render their services for free to the country, I've got 100k for you.

I don't even understand our players.

I've watched interviews of many of them, and they say they practice penalties in training every day.

Yet, they always take terrible PKs during PSO.

Look at Chukwueze taking that penalty so lackadaisically and nonchalantly. His body language, approach and demeanour was so off, like he didnt wanna be there and I knew he was gonna lose it.

Is that the kind if penalty he's been taking during training that he was brought in and selected to be our second PK taker?

No be na wa, na real wa.

See the yeye casual penalty wey Chukwueze play. Chewing gum too in the process.

We are terrible in playing penalties. Appalling. Why were we playing for penalties when e no sure for us?

Our penalty takers always let Nwabali down.. Always.

I am devastated.

Onyedika dropped a stinker today. And this is no agenda.

Unstoppable force (Morocco) vs unmovable object (Nigeria)

Extra time.

Onyedika is sleeping in this game

Cold dey catch me and I l sey shiver like say I dey Siberia.

If me a fan watching on TV in the comfort of my home dey feel like this, how the players go dey feel?

Super Eagles, abeg do this one for us.

Spainever:
Baba calm down o 😂😂😆😆 so you don't collapse ..make sure you watch Witt people o 😂. It is very tensed match since we are not going to world cup . This is our compensation o

Na house I dey watch am o.

Madam and the kids don go bed and na only me dey living room dey watch am.

My heart o.

Tension wan wound me. Super Eagles abeg o.

[quote author=chrisooblog post=138128782]Sani Suleiman says hi

The Flying Eagle has landed 🦅🙌

From Naija to Slovakia to Leipzig: follow Sani's story and get to know our new 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧 here ⏩ https://t.co/MXVPWGduPN pic.twitter.com/w6zIhWJ7yi

— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) January 13, 2026

! Our own Yan Diamonde abi na Amad Diallo. Coincidentally, the former is also in RB Leipzig.

He looks young, has the mannerism and acts the part. Next thing now na Suoer Eagles call up when AFCON 2027 Qualifiers start.

I wish him well.

do4luv14:
Good morning GuyZ

Amen +1today , Happy birthday 🎂🎂🎂 to me 💕💕💕💃💃💃💃🎉🎉🎉

Happy birthday bro. May the Super Eagles win and give you cause for double celebration today.