₦airaland Forum

eterisan:
he is now a jack of all trades, master of none. Ss nothing, cf rubbish, am cast, lwf cannot play. So what exactly is the system now.

He had not progressed or improved at all. Imagine Nacho cannot dribble a player to save his life.

MetalJigsaw:
Who does that

Can Nacho dribble?

Does he have pace?

Is he mobile?

Can he play as lone striker?

What about stamina?

After the Argentina game, the guy has ultimately proved to us the reason why his career isn't progressing; And he's been ridiculously over hyped; And why he's a constant bench warmer at a mid-table club in the EPL.

Oasis007:


Can you drop your possible 23-Man post world cup List?

Cc Forgiveness, Komekn, and my good Friend - Chriskels.

TheGoodJoe:
Simply not good enough does not work. You need to explain why. I told you, watch Nacho's off-the-ball Contribution yesterday and tell me such a hard working player has no place in the National team.

TheGoodJoe:
I think a lot of people judge a team based on just on the ball display. Nacho could not handle the pressure from the fast Argentines but off the ball, Nacho was a machine. I earlier pointed out how Nacho tracked an Argentine player from the defence of the Argentines to our defence.

He put in a lot of effort to keep the Argentines under pressure. If people look from this perspective, they will understand the important work the young man put in yesterday.

Nacho had some bad moments but I disagree he was as poor people make it.

goldfish80:
The iheanacho hype is unreal. It's is an advanced form of trolling in the real sense of it.
I haven't come across anyone in real life who rates him as highly as some people here.

Toylove:
Thought I was d only one that saw it,
He messed dat up

soetanoreoluwa:
Baba wont play back 3.

442...
Ebuehi Balogun Ekong Elderson

Vic Moses onazi Mikel etebo

Simy ighalo

TheGoodJoe:
I am so shocked with the drama going on in Spain and feel disappointed with Lopetegui negotiating and entering an agreement with Real Madrid few days to a top World Cup game. Astonishing when you look at the fact he gained most of his experience working with the Spanish FA. The FA supported him and showed faith in him until he became a Manager of the Spanish team.

Today he is a top quality coach but I feel he should have paid back the Spanish FA with his loyalty.

Wish him the best.

tbaba12345:
Semid4lyfe, kindly unban tbaba1234... spambot banned him.

forgiveness:
Some players are not suppose to be invited. Remove Nwakali and Victor Osimhen for Abdul Ajagun or Joel Obi and Cyriel Dessers. Remove Kenneth Omeruo and Mouruf Yusuf, substitute them to

Joebie:
Very valid argument in my opinion.
We can't just write off any lower league player -- even NPFL players.
When we see a player of class, we will know. And when he is invited, he should prove it all over again.
So share a link and/or video

Kaustubh Pandey writes a detailed scout report about Usman Abbas, Metta’s attacking full-back.

Football in Latvia may not look like a lucrative proposition to most, but it isn’t something to be taken for granted by those who don’t know much about it. Currently ranked at the 110th position in the FIFA Rankings, the 45th spot is the highest that the nation has ever reached. The national side has never qualified for the World Cup since its inception, but managed to qualify for the 2004 European Championships, that saw them get eliminated in the group stages of the competition.

The Latvian football league, which is also known as the Virsliga, isn’t too well known a commodity either. And it’s rare to see a Latvian football club become a mainstay of a European competition, be it the Champions League or the Europa League. While sides like Spartak Jurmala have, in recent times, made a bit of a habit to play in the Europa League, there has been a lack of European representation for Latvian sides.

That, though, doesn’t mean that quality players don’t exist in there. Clubs like FS Metta are pioneering the cause for youth development in a league that is in desperate need for having a dip into grassroot level development. Metta’s young Nigerian starlet Usman Abbas is someone who proves that the work is not going in vain.

Who is Usman Abbas?

Born in Dala, a town in the north of Nigeria, Usman began plying his trade with Nigerian club FC Hart from quite a young age. Someone whose career kick-started from the humble beginnings of the dusty, musty roads of Dala, Usman joined his current club FS Metta last year at the mere age of 18.

Metta is his first European club, but the Nigerian youngster has already represented the national side at the Under-17s level. He was included in the best eleven of the Under-17s AFCON of 2015 and made a mark for the side on an international level too and his performances during that tournament helped him earn a move to Metta.

At club level last season, Abbas made 15 appearances for Metta in the Virsliga and despite being 18, emerged as being one of their best players during the season. Metta finished at second from last season, but Abbas’ standout performances have proved that he could well be one for the future.

What is his Style of Play?

A left back by trade, but also someone who can play as a left winger, Abbas is just five feet four inches tall, but it’s his pace and balance on the ball that make him a quality outlet from the left flank. An attack minded full-back, Abbas isn’t someone to be taken for granted by opposition defenders.

What are his Strengths?

Abbas’ low centre of gravity always makes him a tough contender to keep up with in terms of pace and acceleration. He can go past people and due to his small stature, he can catch people off guard with his pace and the undying willingness to zoom past people on the flank.

He may not be someone who has a number of skills and tricks up his sleeve, but his runs are usually direct and allow the team to make progress down the wing. Last season in the Virsliga, Abbas attempted a total of 2.6 dribbles per game, which is very good for a left-back who is just 18-years-old.


In the above instance, Abbas receives the ball in some space around a crowded area down the left flank. After having picked out the space, he exceutes an impressive dribble and goes past two defenders as if they aren’t there. His balance on the ball and his sturdy body posture while running are traits that help him make similar runs throughout a game.

Another quality that stands out in the youngster’s armoury is the hunger and the desire that he has to push forward. He is always an active character and you are never likely to see him stand to take a breather on the pitch. He keeps on marauding up and down the pitch and is not one to stop running.

Apart from being a determined individual, Abbas happens to be a sound tackler too. It’s his small body stature that allows him to be sharp in tackles and interceptions. That allowed him to make 20 challenges and come out with an accuracy of 55 percent in that. In terms of tackling, Abbas made five tackles per game, with an accuracy of 58 percent.

The above instance brings to the fore how well Abbas uses his body, despite being smaller than every player on the pitch. Here, he shrugs off an opposition player who is way taller and stronger than him to protect the ball to perfection and to eventually win a foul. This is enough to prove how sturdy a body posture Abbas has and how important it can be in shaping the player he will develop into.

What are his Weaknesses?

No matter how many strengths a player has, he is certain to have some weaknesses in his game too. No player is perfect, after all.

Passing and decisiveness around the box is where Usman Abbas seems to lack. He made an average of 44 passes per game last season for Metta, but his passing accuracy stood at just 77 percent. While it clearly is in need of some improvement, Abbas attempts an average of 1.68 crosses per game. It isn’t a bad statistic to judge a player with, but despite being a rather regular crosser, Abbas plays only 0.5 key passes per game which is a bit underwhelming, to be honest.

Abbas’ overall traits are impressive enough for an 18-year-old, but it could well be a case of judging him a bit too early. There could be more surety about how able he is, if he would have been plying his trade at a league with a better player standard than that of the Virsliga. Playing against and with players of lesser quality makes him look like a really good player, but it would be interesting to see how he fares in an environment that pits him up against better players.