₦airaland Forum

Sadiqali24:
On a 23 man squad, I'll like us to make a list of the super eagles on this basis..
3 goal keepers
3 CBs
2 each of RB and LB
2 each of DM, CM and AM
2 each of LW and RW
1 SS
2 ST.
Thank you as I await your response.

My selection
3 goal keepers
1.Francis Uzoho
2.Maduka Okoye
3.Adebayo Adeleye

3 CBs
4.Leon Balogun
5.Semilogo Ajayi
6.William Troost-Ekong

2 each of RB and LB
7.Olaoluwa Aina
8. Chidozie Awaziem
9.Calvin Bassey
10.Zaidu Sanusi

2 each of DM, CM and AM
11.Wilfred Ndidi
12.Frank Onyeka
13.Obinna Nwobodo
14.Rapheal Onyedika
15.Alexander Iwobi
16.Joseph Aribo

2 each of LW and RW
17.Moses Simon
18.Ahmed Musa
19.Samuel Chukwueze
20.Ademola Lookman

1 SS
21.Kelechi Iheanacho

2 ST
22.Terem Moffi
23. Victor Osimhen

Utonwanne:
Alhassan is not an upgrade.

He's just there!

Yes. As far as Super Eagles is concerned. They will never consider him for the starting xi except all others aren't available. Same goes for Dennis, Awoniyi and co. Fringe players!

Super Eagles to continue their defeat in the hands of Algeria tonight. It's been long they ever won a match against any team in a friendly. Nothing but rebuilding excuse as usual. And if we think Senegal & Cameroon are not churning out top class performance, Nigeria has never fair better in over 8 friendly matches in years past.

I wonder why a player like Obinna Nwobodo with all his talent & utility in midfield is never considered good enough for the national team of Nigeria. It baffles me whenever i see our national team handlers giving call ups to less talented players. I mean names like bonke, micheal, onovo, etc to the team. Nwobodo is by far the most talented & cerebral midfielder i have seen from the Nigerian league to overseas in recent time. Team selection in Nigeria is just not fair.

Okoye comical
Bassey ball watching & unnecessarily physical.
Omeruo seemingly heavy
Iwobi Cerebral
Godwin his usual self.

JohnBullMySon:
Please never again should you keep Nwakali and Aribo in the same sentence. Nwakali's only talent is in creative passing. Other than that, he cannot play at a high level beacause he does not keep up with the pace. He is not just hadworking enough, gets lost on the pitch, loses his man, makes poor tackles.

If you think talent only is what is needed in the premier league then you're mistaken.

Well said bro. You are right on point.

I rejoice with the Lady. What a wonderful feat. And i pray & hope not a drop of Performance Enchancing Drug is found in her system in days to come. Some people in the world are just waiting to hear the result of the tests that will come afterwards. Athletics of today is riddled with performance enhancer. I pray o Lord that she's clean. Amen!

ChrisKels:
Saw Malcom against Manchester United, and I must tell you Chuks needs all the sitting ups he could get before that Malcom boy gets his invite

I think Joseph Hungbo is more skillful & technically gifted than this Malcolm guy.

What can you guys say about a young talent called Joseph Hungbo. He moves like Ebere Eze to me. Though he's left footed.

Something i always observed about Super Eagles come rain or shine. Most Super Eagles players lack grit on the ball in most of their matches. Their build up is always predictable. You will see a player pionting to another whom to pass the ball to. They can't drive forward individually and bring in an element of individual brilliance. They are constantly wasting corner kicks & freekicks. Their decision making in the final third sometimes is just baffling. Cote d'ivoire could not break down lesotho, i will be surprised if eagles put 3 goals past sao tome.

Our no 3 that took the freekick that resulted in the first goal is gifted with a sweet left foot. That Referee is just mean. That penalty he awarded to Ghana was criminal.

AndSunGorilla:
Maybe it's because of the opposition, that is, SL is expected to park the bus. Because against Mexico he used 3 midfielders for most of the game, at some point Madu went into Bonnke's role. Let's give him time sha, abi wetin we fit do?

The current Sierra leone national team is not a weak opppsition. That team is so confident they will beat the Super Eagles or at worst get a draw. And i will not be surprised. The eagles are on a downward slope whether we believe it or not. If your team can't move the ball from midfield to attack with smooth inter-change of passes, then there's really an herculen task for the team. That is why they constantly prefer to send in long balls. Leone Stars are very strong, our men will be in for it. They better prepare for the deadballs & counter-attack where they have always shown to have weaknesses.

Hello house. Please, did Iwobi's red card at the afcon implied a 2-match ban or a match ban? I'm asking because i feel Iwobi should at least be available for thIs Nigeria vs Ghana tie. Or is he injured? Just wonder why he was never included. Stand to be corrected

comodo:
I have just been thinking the same. If it were to be Nacho, fine and good. Osi cannot get a curler with the left. It's his weaker foot.

You are very correct sir. Only a midfieder can be at that spot at the time and of course, must be with sweet left foot. Osimhen being there? No way!

My team list for tomorrow.... expecting some very physical athletic game.

Uzoho
Ebuehi Ekong Omeruo Collins
           Ndidi            
Onyeka Aribo
Ejuke      Awoniyi   Simon
                  

I expected a very busy day for a lightweight like Ebuehi against that very physical bissau winger.

Sudan know how to get result against Nigeria as far as football is concerned. They let us do the playing .

Watching @Basco highlight of the Nig vs Egy match, i can boldly say CHIDERA EJUKE is a SELFISH PLAYER. He had Sadiq opened twice during the 3 highlights of Ejuke, he refused to pass the ball to him. On the third one, it was Iwobi & Sadiq, rather than pass to either of them, he chose self glory again. Upon that, he could not pick a decent angle on 3 different ocassions to bury his shots instead he was hitting it at the goalkeeper. Too damn selfish!

Somebody dreamt here Nigeria vs Egypt match ended 3:0 against the Egyptians. I have been laughing ever since. Nigeria have never scored 3 unreplied goals against Egypt in over 20 years. They have won more matches against us by far in the last 20 years. Keep dreaming brother!

North African Teams & Southern Africa teams believes in team cohesion & quick transition of the ball into the opposition's half. The Sub-sahara teams believes in skills, power & pace of their gifted players. Individual brilliance mostly do it for West African teams and team cohesion & quick transition of the ball is not really a priority to them. They just want to pass the ball to their most skillful talents on the field.

@TheGoodJoe
Believe me, Eguavoen's mentioned wing play won't last 90'minutes against Egypt. On our wingers, Chukwueze especially, has never had any good game/performance against North African teams ( for example Tunisia & Algeria). He's easily crowded out and choked of possession. Since they know he likes to dribble in numbers. Same approached i believed will be used on Ejuke.
Now for Iheanacho, though very clinical & constantly running on defenders blind side to do most damage but his first touch has not really improved if he's to support as a false 9. He's sometimes too slow in possession, his skill at close end in a 1vs1 situation is not deft, and mind you, he's heavily left footed. The so called crosses from the wings will be going mostly to nobody amongst our players because as it has been mentioned, we will lack presence in the box to bury the crosses. Mind you, if it is Zaidu that anyone expects to cut back or cross from the wing, know it's 1 out of 5 that he would get right . And chukwueze & Ejuke hardly cross.

@TheSuperNerd.
Looking at your first Xi team preference, to me the most formidable set-up the Super Eagles can parade in this tourney should be a back line of Awaziem (RB), Ekong (RCB), Omeruo (LCB) & Zaidu (LB). In midfield, Ndidi (DM), Aribo (CM), & Iwobi (AM). The forward line will be a combination of Chukwueze (RW), Musa (ST), & Simon (LW). 4-3-2-1 formation.

Awaziem is more solid defensively than Aina to me as a rightback and he his equally adept at picking out an attacking player with a long pass. With Chukwueze in front of him, the RightBack should be more concern with defensive solidity and should let Chukwueze deals with the attacking duty of constantly foraying into the opposition's half. Onyekuru may come in as a sub later on for Chukwueze.

The CenterBack pairing have lot of experiences between them over the years thus complementing each other should not be difficult. If there is a need to replace anyone of them, Awaziem or Ajayi will do for me. They equally offer experience and competence.

With Zaidu on the leftback position, i will support him with Moses Simon in front of him. Playing other personnel in front of him brings certain flaws defensively. And playing Simon there too brings certain flaws offensively but against Egypyt, he his more protected with him. it's SIMON for me. Ejuke may come in as a sub later on

Ndidi-Iwobi-Aribo combination brings tested team play we have used & trusted. Transition is key. And with Iwobi & Aribo you can quickly gets the ball to the opposition half at the shortest exchanges of passes. Using other personnel is good but these guys know each other's movement very well. Nwakali/Onyeka can be sub in for either of Iwobi or Aribo in the midfield.

Musa will be my first choice. He may not be the most clinical, but he has the reputation, movement, speed & shots to scare the opponent and allow others to gain goal scoring advantage. Greenhorn like Sadiq & Awoniyi can be sub in after Musa would have stretched the opponent defence with his constant runs.

https://www.owngoalnigeria.com/2022/01/09/ekong-is-suspect-tops-three-takeaways-from-super-eagles-2-0-win-over-coton-sport-training/
This people are already writing about Ekong's loss of form even before facing Egypt. He's described as the most dribbled defender in training

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roxm7cqdvYY

My little observations from this video shows how slow the team is in defending set-piece.

First, they all anticipated the free kick to be overhead, and their reaction after the ball went through the wall of defence was very slow. Henry Onyekuru, standing in the wall swiftly broke off to tap in with nobody to give chase. Only for them to raise hands for offside when he was more alert than the wall of defense & the goalkeeper.

Secondly, the goalkeeper (Uzoho) would have done better using his leg to clear the ball to safety some keepers do that a lot but instead he wanted to stand up and save the ball but was slow from his reaction . The team needs to be mentally alert to every opponent present or movement in their box at all time. Their anticipation & decision making must be quick.
In tournament, team cohesion matters a lot & stroke of luck. They may be brilliant individually but as a team, they will conquer.

@TheSuperNerd.
Please, do you think Chidera Ejuke if used in the attacking midfield role can function efficiently & effectively for the Super Eagles Judging by the way the team build up slowly from the back & with constant high balls into the opponents half. Because to me, he's a player who would rather hold on to the ball & look for one or two or three players to dribble rather than pick out a free & open team mates on time for transition into the opponents half.

ChrisKels:
Glad Osimhen and Dennis are not coming. Let's provide Ighalo an avenue to lead the strike force with Chuks and Ejike playing as inverted wing forwards.

Ighalo will only lead the strike force well when he probaby plays with someone like V.Moses or Musa on the wings. You may not believe this. Moses or musa use their speed to set the striker free on goal but Chuks & Ejuke are usually fond of speeding & dribbling in a showboating manner, as a result allowing the opponent to regroup. They don't play to the strength of the striker. They just want to speed, dribble & shoot which is not bad if done accurately but most times they lack such accuracy.

Subzero047:
The thing is Sadiq Umar would pray for Dessers' upper body strength not even about where they play

God bless you sir. Dessers is a better player than Sadiq Umar. The two things that i admire so much about Sadiq is just his mobilty & skillset. Sadiq got skills! But one annoying thing about Sadiq Umar is his poor upper body stamina (he lacks balance). Dude can't stop falling & crawling in a match. He has weak shots from distance and for his height, he's just not that good in the air.

Personally, except there are other factors, Akpoguma was never exceptional otherwise Rohr would not have kept him on the bench whilst Aina, Omeruo, Awaziem, Ekong, & Shehu gets game time over him despite his football profile. In the friendly against Tunisia & the Sierra Leone match he was not convincing.
On Olisa ndah, he was in imama's olympic u23 qualifier team, he was also part of that team that failed in wafu game (2019) & CHAN qualifier against Togo. He also played in the thumping by mexico of recent memory. That dude is not that special as claimed by some folks here. He may be shining against players that are all muscle & speed in the SA PSL but at the big stage his true potential will face the litmus test. Maybe because he's from the local league where the mentality is to always play long high passes and the coach claimed he wants something like that and/or it could be another opportunity to get a better deal for him elsewhere. Remember Anayo Iwuala of recent memory in the Super Eagles. Remember Valentine Ozornwafor too in the friendly against Cameroon. Just something to help a brother with. Nigerian way. Period!

Akinkunmi Amoo seems good with his decision making on the ball when running at goal. The guy even looks faster and more skillful than Samuel Chukwueze. He has that ability to keep possession on the move at quick pace and giving that split pass when he wanted to. Youtube though can be deceiving sometimes.

12large1:
He is definitely better than Collins and aina

You are very wrong sir. He his not even close to them in quality. Dude is as described above. He has no finesse or technical astuteness about his game. He his all about pace & power. Gra gra & insha Allah as quoted earlier fitted him perfectly. Injury to first choice leftback & his super agent factor is what his helping him out. He oftentimes looked naive positionally when defending.

Icon79:
Jamuli Collins is in because we don’t have lots of options in the LB position. As for Musa and Shehu, they are there to “balance” the team. They are the quota candidates, if you know what I mean �


O pari

One thing we usually forget is that Musa is a good player and so is Shehu. Our current wingers will never get to Musa's past level cum goal scoring abilities till the day they retire from football. Be it Chukwueze, Ejuke, kalu, Onyekuru and/or Simon. Look at how they move, pass, dribble & shoot, then you will know that Musa had perform far better in his national team career.

ChrisKels:
Yea they are doing pretty fine churning out stars, but about that Adeyemi, Amoo is a better talent and plays more mature soccer. But while Germany is calling Adeyemi, our PHE master is overlooking Amoo

Amoo is not a better talent than Adeyemi. He is not even as good as Adeyemi. That Adeyemi is an icon in the nearest future. He uses both feet, even though he's left footed. He's faster, more skillful & a more technically balanced player.

BOOOMNAIJA:
Finally, the closest to taye taiwo we will ever get in this dispensation...but a much more flexible/sleeker version of d legend.

CALVIN BASSEY

Unless have not seen this boy play. He's no where near taye taiwo even when he was poor. This dude is sitting on the bench weekly for 28 years old borna barisic. Defensively, aina, collins & zaidu are still better than him. He's only good at bombing forward.

Truidstar:
Relax..na cape verde..no be Brazil....

Cape Verde is a very good side. With this team list, Nigeria stands no chance on a poor synthetic pitch in a very windy stadium in Cape verde. They are gaint killers. They once defeated Portugal with the Ronaldo of this world. Even second team of Cameroon that Rohr could not defeat had their first team losing by 3 goals. You will surely be humbled very soon bro.