Semi Ajayi has said he and his Super Eagles teammates know exactly what to do to put things right as they prepare to face AFCON 2023 hosts Côte d’Ivoire in their next Group A game.
Despite going into Sunday’s game as favourites, the Eagles could only settle for a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea.
The football minnows scored against the run of play in the first half through Iban Edu before Victor Osimhen equalized just two minutes later.
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The Eagles were also guilty of missing begging opportunities which would have put the game to bed.
Following the draw, Ajayi pointed out that the Eagles must be clinical in front of goal.
“We created a lot of chances but we need to be more clinical and we are working on that to put things right in the next game.
“We spoke with each other, we know what we need to do to improve and we will definitely put in the work to make sure we get things right for the next game.”
The Eagles will now hope to get their campaign on track when they take on Côte d’Ivoire on Thursday.
In their last meeting in the AFCON in the quarter-finals stage at the 2013 edition the Eagles won 2-1.
20 Comments
Talk, talk and talk but do less, we’ve been hearing this from you guys and tired of it, all we asking you guys is to put in effort and put those begging chances to bed.
Senegal aren’t here to play ooo, yes they playing the Gambia with short 1, but men where the heck did the coach discover that dude with the brace from? What a goal and already tournament best goal contender, the Senegalese are really playing like they really plying there trades in Europe, see free flow football now.
Well I will continue backing my dear NT and hopefully you guys end up making us proud as that’s what we deserve as ur die hard fans.
Good, workable, organisation /management system is what is paying off in Senegal football.
I wonder what is difficult for our NFF to establish a law that any homebased player invited to SE whether CHAN or main stream SE, must sign to remain in the local league for minimum of 2years before going foreign, with any violation of that decree attracting a 2 years ban on football anywhere on this planet except mayybe Mars, jupiter, saturn etc.
Doing such will give any coach the confidence /opportunity to take closer look on talents available back home to build a truly stable team over some quality period.
I still believe we can find some talents from home, who we can mould into proper ballers, from playing for the CHAN and eventually the main stream SE. But that requires good amount of time for honest screening, camping, constant monitoring and regular friendlies.
Strange NFF can’t see the benefit of having CHAN Eagles play regular friendlies with main stream SE but yet our main stream SE was made to play with a supposed clubside in Dubai.
Playing such friendlies regularly during FIFA international windows will benefit the homebased players in the sense that raw talents will be discovered as well as help foster a better relationship amongst both national teams players. It will benefit the main stream in presenting an extra friendly game besides any other organised one for a maximum use of that international window. How those at the helms of affairs are not doing this makes baffles me.
That your law is extremely dumb!
Why would any of these players sign up to play in a useless league, when they can play in much better leagues overseas that is professionally run and will bring out the very best in them? I mean, the way some of you people think is shocking!
Why on earth would you want to inhibit anyone’s growth?
The Nigerian football league is absolute CRAP! Unless and until you people get it through your heads, you will still continue to live in fantasy land!
Its one thing to believe in something and another to be realistic. You keep talking about unearthing players in Nigeria, be it under the bridges of in the hinterlands.
Fact: do you know how many foreign scouts are in Nigeria today? Hundreds! They have combed every nook and cranny of the country – high schools, academies, clubs, under bridges etc. and have scouted and picked the very best! Do you know how many kids are in the academies of clubs in Europe, Latin America and others? Hundreds!
So please, spear us the home based this and that.
Senegal implemented a plan several decades ago and its just bearing fruit. Nigeria is a few decades behind, but will very likely surpass Senegal due to our shear population. Its only a matter of time.
It’s just a basic natural law of money, economics, and the pursuit of happiness/progress. Artificial barriers never work. Aquatic animals will naturally gravitate towards and seek out water bodies. Create the right administrative and economic environment and everything else will fall into place.
Egyptian and South African league players didn’t need any form of coercion to stay put in their local leagues. That’s why they naturally dominate club competitions in Africa and the bulk of their national teams is formed from the homefront.
The government (first of all) and the NFF know what to do. They know what to do to also draw in stakeholders like foreign and local investors. The political will is not just there. Either that or it’s not priority for them atm.
Am impressed with the Senegalese style of play, fluid ball movement, precise shooting,zero tolerance for showmanship and wastefulness,and massive commitment from all players on the pitch. Naija players can learn a thing or two from how Senegal dispatched Gambia today.
There are no minnows in football but that is not true with teams like Senegal. They know how to beat minnows.
You need to see the third goal against Gambia.
Players who know how to score goals. If our players are wise they should learn from the way these guys score goals and win matches.
You also need to see how the Senegalese defend. You will see about ten players coming back to defend.
Though Gambia played a man down but the Senegalese showed how to score goals. 5 shots on target and the score three goals.
Not with some of our lazy players like iwobi and onyeka.
I think it’s time we stopped using faces to pick players. Yusuf should have been an established international by now.
Well I hope they can just help themselves to give Nigerians what we want.
There are still minnows in football. Only top teams know how to deal with minnows.
No you don’t
Foolish player I don’t even know what that stupid Coach see in you that made him to future you in defense all the time
@Obaiy it’s you that is foolish. This is a player representing your father land. What did he do to make you call him foolish. Senseless guy.
When Onyeka got to Brentford and starting getting regular invites to Super Eagles… I just told this forum he was average and had nothing to add. Go back and watch the goal Thomas Party scored in Abuja, it was Frank Onyeka who lost him. I have watched Frank Onyeka full season at Brentford and have watched Obinna Nwobodo full season about three seasons ago in Goztepe, Turkey… I can confidently say here that even Ndidi is not even isnt better than Nwobodo.Some folks like to equate the name of the team your play for as equivalent to a player’s potential and game level… Just see Yusuf Alhassan from Antwerp, Belgium. His case has exposed all the paddy paddy they have been using to invite players to the national team… BASED ON FACE.
What if Ndidi has not been injured? I wonder who would have been our best player yesterday because Yusuf would had been in Belgium.
Someone got injured for Bright Osayi to make a memorable debut last year. What happened later on? He’s now fit for a sub!
When Ndidi returns, be sure Peserio (oh Lord, let him not still be in charge) will no longer find Yusuf useful.
My head is telling me the coach would have wanted our AFCON debutants to flop so he’d revert to his first team. Unfortunately for him….
Sylvester,
Peseiro is likely to hit his target to stay in charge of the team.
Uh @Deo, is the NFF target not for him to win the Afcon?
You mean he’ll likely win the Afcon?
Wonderment.
“Father, let Deo data finish so that he will not foretell more things on CS after accurate predictions on squad list. Turn it to prayer”
Lol. Bro, hungrier coaches are waiting to stake a claim on eagles than Peserios two years of wobbling and tumbling.
Let’s not let those coaches become our rivals. We need a coach with balls to unlist unperforming players from our team.
Equatorial Guinea full squad was not worth $15m. Haba!
@ JIMMYBALL, look nwobodo face and look Friday Ekpo face, you will understand while same fate FOLLOW both of them. E no good ooo. Na wetin we dey suffer be dat ooo. These coaches dem know nwobodo but dey no wanna look in dat direction at all at all, just like Westerhof refused to look Ekpo face. When dem ask Westerhof why e no dey invite Ekpo, e say no be uche face him come look oo.
IN THIS LIFE FACE DEY SELL OOOO. IF YOU NOR GET FACE, THEN GET BUILT, OR GET VOICE OR GET STYLE LACED WITH GOOD SENSE OF HUMOUR OTHERWISE YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN OOO.
Onyeka is probably the worst midfielder I have seen play for the Super Eagles. He’s bad as a defensive midfielder and bad offensively. He just runs around a lot, busy doing nothing and adding very little value to the team.
Alhassan Yusuf really showed up the coaches and their so-called scouts. How they could name the team of 25 players without that guy, and then he ends up being the best player, is beyond me. So on what basis did they invite players to Camp?
My love for Onyeka has diminished. He is ineffective.
You guys should not raise high any hope ho, the present set eagle are typical example of hope killers, se you guys saw what osihmen did yesterday. No fire in their belly, see how iwobi with big wig on his head was just running up and down, no holding of balls, no ball distribution and no creativity.
Aribo enter and started falling and was holding legs like as if he has been playing from the begging of the game.
Yinkus,
This team has it in them to go all the way to the final of the tournament.
Just a draw and you’re lashing out at these boys as if they were failures? Have you forgotten our antecedents at competitions? We start slow. Let’s stand with the boys. They have a bigger stake. Didn’t you see Osimhen’s long face after that that glaring loss?