Tolu Arokodare scored the only goal that earned Genk a 1-0 win against Union SG in their first game of the Belgian Championship round play-offs on Monday.
It was Arokodare’s ninth goal in 30 league appearances for Genk this season.
The 23-year-old scored in the 27th minute to help his side get the win.
It is a much improved second season for Arokodare at Genk who only managed two goals in 11 games last campaign.
Also Read: Paris 2024: S/African High Commissioner In Nigeria Backs Banyana To Beat Super Falcons
Genk are in third place in the six-team championship play-offs.
They will take on Royal Antwerp in their second game on Saturday, 6 April.
Antwerp lost their play-offs opener 1-0 to Anderlecht with Childera Ejuke and Alhassan Yusuf in action.
The team that finish top will qualify automatically for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
The second placed team will advance to the Champions League qualifiers, while the third and fourth place sides will pick the tickets for Europa League qualifiers and Conference League play-offs.
26 Comments
12 UNCAPPED PLAYERS WHO SHOULD BE CALLED TO THE SUPER EAGLES ON MERIT
1.Chuba Akpom (Ajax Amsterdam, the Netherlands)
2.Akor Adams Montpelier HSC, France)
3.Gift Orban (Olympique Lyon, France)
4.Igoh Ogbu(SK Slavia Prague, Czech Republic)
5.Onuche Ogbelu (Esperance, Tunisia)
6.Tolu Arokodare ( KRC Genk,Belgium)
7.Yira Sor(KRC Genk, Belgium)
8.Francis Momoh (Grasshoppers Zurich, Switzerland)
9.Elijah Adebayo ( Luton Town, England)
10.Gabriel Osho(Luton Town, England)
11.Philip Otele(CFR Cluj, Romania)
12.Obinna Nwobodo(FC Cincinnati,MLS USA)
@Hillary Ochiabuto… very solid list. I agree 100% with you.
Please add Nwakali and Ejuke. Iwobi does not come near these two BALLERS.
Of course, Iwobi is miles ahead of them. They can never come close to him.
On any and every metrics available they can never come close to the only SE player who averages 1 direct or indirect goal contribution from midfield in virtually every 3 SE games in the last half a decade.
A player even the Brazil national team coaches identified as the one they must silence in order to make the SE toothless.
Nwakali my foot….!
@Dr.Drey… you no ever want to take ear hear Nwakali name. Whether you like it or not, Nwakali to a lot of football fans who understands suitability playing style to roles will tell you Nwakali is a more natural attacking midfielder than Alex Iwobi… no serious football club or national will play a weak player without turbo reserve of energy for midfield. I think real fans have not forgotten the episode when BoBo Nwabali shouted at him to be more dutylike… dude escorts opposition midfielders in games… I will never play a player who calls himself an attacking midfielder but will go 7games on the bounce without any evident shot on target… dude can’t press opposition in midfield, will never stickout a foot to disrupt the rhythm of opposition… if anybody like, let then paint Iwobi with gold dust… dude never shines in midfield… make we hear word for soft whiteman European football… Mali boys catch him and Ndidi for midfield barely two weeks back who see Iwobi shadow… passing ball from side to side without initiative… shey na sideways pass statistics we go chop? In Tinubu’s voice…
@Jimmyball
How would you rate a Florian Wirtz or Benaldo Silva? Are they trash as well cause they go games as midielders without shots on targets and yeah, ‘they don’t press the opposition in the midfield’?
This is the same Iwobi that created over 7 chances from open play in one game more than any other midfielder in the EPL this season.
You should understand every player have their strengths and weaknesses, Iwobi not exempted. A good coach plays to the strength of his players.
Arguably, there is none in the Eagles currently, that ceases the initiative more than Iwobi. As long as there is an opening, he sees it and goes for it.
If you had watched the 2018 world cup qualifiers and see how much impact Iwobi had in our qualification, I am sure you will be much more appreciative of the man.
Iwobi’s main weakness is his humility and loyalty. he plays to the coach’s instruction to a fault.
Anyways, you got your opinion, respectfully so, but true game watchers, appreciate a good player when they see one.
Mr Hush, In realistic terms, how many AMs in history have been good tacklers and willing to get stuck-in duels to win balls…? How many…? That they now want Iwobi to be a Taribo West pressing high up the pitch and still have the presence of mind and vision to thread opposition defences open.
Lets even look at the Nigerian context…..was it Oruma, or Okocha or Ekpo or Nwosu we could classify as defensive assets to the team….? Even Mikel who was a hard-as-nail DM for Chelsea hardly ever was a rough rider in national colours when playing AM.
The main job of an AM in football is to link the central midfield to the attack, pick the final pass for the target men, orchetrate openings in the final third and score the odd goals when the chance presents itself….and that Iwobi has done quite effortlessly everytime he has but on the SE shirt with well over 20-25 goal contributions in the SE across his over 70 caps.
The boy isn’t a superman neither is he is legendary uncle, but he has been at the heart of every productive attacking move we make for almost a decade now. If only we had the efficiency of a Aghahowa or Martins upfront.
Here is a description of an AM as culled from Wikipedia….I’m still struggling to find where “…pressing opposition in midfield…” and “…sticking out a foot to disrupt the rhythm of opposition….” is listed in there….LMAOoo
.
.
.
Attacking midfielder
An attacking midfielder is a midfield or forward player who is positioned in an advanced midfield position, usually between central midfield and the team’s forwards, and who has a PRIMARILY OFFENSIVE role.[42]
Some attacking midfielders are called trequartista or fantasista (Italian: three-quarter specialist, i.e. a creative playmaker between the forwards and the midfield), who are usually mobile (IWOBI), creative (IWOBI) and highly skilful players (IWOBI – a.k.a king of the nutmegs), known for their deft touch (IWOBI), technical ability (IWOBI), dribbling skills, vision (IWOBI), ability to shoot from long range, and passing prowess (IWOBI).
However, not all attacking midfielders are trequartistas – some attacking midfielders are very vertical and are essentially auxiliary attackers who serve to link up play, hold up the ball, or provide the final pass, i.e. secondary strikers.[43] As with any attacking player, the role of the attacking midfielder involves being able to create space for attack.[44]
According to positioning along the field, attacking midfield may be divided into left, right and central attacking midfield roles but most importantly they are a striker behind the forwards. A central attacking midfielder may be referred to as a playmaker, or number 10 (due to the association of the number 10 shirt with this position).[45][46]
Hahahaha…your “more natural attacking midfielder” has spent his entire career in lower leagues battling relegation in most cases, cannot make the SE at the age of 26 and was the AM of our U20 team that couldn’t qualify for U20 AFCON, our U23 team that couldn’t qualify for Olympics and featured in 2021 AFCON (after going to the NFF secretariat to beg for a place on the team list) with Zero shots at goal, Zero pre-assists, Zero assists and Zero goals.
Iwobi has gone 7 games without a shot on target, but in those same 7 games has recorded assists, pre assists and not less that 4 key passes begging to be converted even when placed one on one with the GK.
Na shots on target we wan chop…LMAOoo? People who really know football and know the job of an AM will rather take actual goal contributions i.e. goals, assists, pre assist and key pass ahead of take shots on target. Was Ozil renowned for his SOTs or his goal contributions…? Is KDB renowned for his SOTs or his goal contributions…? Is Jude Bellingham renowned for his SOTs or his goal contributions…?
Mali boys catch Iwobi for midfield, you mean the Mali boys who are playing in top leagues like the Bundesliga, Serie A, Laliga and Ligue 1….? Abeg who are the people catching your Nwakali in the leagues where he has been battling relegation all his career….LMAOoo
The same iwobi who was passing sideways against Mali also put Simon clean through on goal with a world class sumptuously side-footed one time pass in the same match, but your blind hatred obviously never let you see such things he does on a very consistent basis at club and national levels whenever iwobi plays.
Your “more natural attacking midfielder” Nwakali was spat out of the same Arsenal Academy (where Iwobi graduated to play in Arsenal main team) for free to Huesca despite initially paying almost $3m for him, while Iwobi was sold for over $35m to Everton after 4 productive years with the main sqaud……..LMAOOO.
Iwobi has been playing in the best league in the world for clubs like Arsenal, Everton and Fulham, for almost 10 years now, while he has amassed 78 caps internationally at the age of 27 but according to you, “…no serious football club or national will play a weak player without turbo reserve of energy for midfield….”……LMAOOo.
So I guess its clubs like Porto B (2nd division), Alcorcon (2nd division), Huesca (2nd division), Ponferadinna (3rd division), KVV Masstricht (2nd division) and Chaves (bottom of Portuguese league) where your “more natural attacking midfielder” has been featuring as a mere squad player (not even one to be classed as indispensable) that are serious football clubs……LMAOoo. While all the coaches who have coached the SE since 2015 when both Iwboi and your Nwakali both burst onto the scene are also not serious coaches…or the SE not a serious national team…..LMAOoo
Hello…..are we missing something here…..?! LMAOOo
Mr man, learn to watch what you say please….LMAOoo.
You will never play a player who calls himself an attacking midfielder but will go 7games on the bounce without any evident shot on target you say…..LMAOoo….your “more natural attacking midfielder” went an entire season without registering a goal nor an assist in both Porto B and Huesca and is yet to register a goal for Chaves this season……LMAOoo.
If you think Iwobi escorts opposition midfielders in games, please take time to watch Nwakali at Chaves for the rest of this season, you will understand the reasons why his career has stalled with relegation-battling teams everywhere he goes……LMAooo
The fact that your “more natural attacking midfielder” at nearly 26 years of age has only 4 senior international caps to date says a lot…LMAOOo.
And by the way, your “more natural attacking midfielder has 4 goal contributions in all competitions this season, while the weak Iwobi has 6, playing in a more elite and harder division.
“more natural attacking midfielder” my foot….!!!
Dr you can’t put it any better. I became your fan from this world class analysis.If Nwakali is all that good he should have gotten the attention of the big leagues since after conquering the world at below 17 as all his colleagues have done. Super Eagles should not be for rehabilitation of players who have woefully failed to realize their potentials to make their mark.
Sometimes it is laughable how few berate Iwobi. It boggles the mind.
Do we even watch the same football?
They forget the only reason they expect more from Iwobi is because they know how much of a quality, he is yet they doubt. And that is just ironic.
I understand the need for constructive criticism but for what Iwobi has done for club and country, Iwobi should be revered rather than unnecessarily castigated.
As per this season, Whatever your ‘fave’ top Nigerian players list is, Iwobi would be mentioned.
Mine? It goes without saying, with no particular order;
Iwobi, Lookman, Boniface (notwithstanding his injury); expecting to see more of him in the Eagles, Bassey, Ekong, Moffi, Aina, Nwabali, Onyeka and Osimhen( I know there is a bit of drop off but…).
Now this are my top 10 based on factual play rather than emotions.
As much as we expect more, please we should give Iwobi his flowers, he does deserve it.
Honestly Mr Hush… it’s mind-boggling. It’s ludicrous, to say the least.
I wonder what these blokes watch claiming they’re watching football.
This kid is practically the only midfielder in the SE who puts our strikers through on goal one-on-one with goalkeepers on a consistent basis…almost on a match-by-match basis.
He did a lot of that at AFCON, he even did that against Mali in the last friendly when his vision and quick thinking on the ball put Simon clean through on goal. If not for the profligacy of our strikers, that boy should have over a score of assists for the national team in his over 60 caps by now.
Let’s not even talk of his one-time assists and pre-assists like the ones we saw against Ghana in the last friendlies and at AFCOn against the likes of Cameroon and Angola.
The likes of Julius Aghahowa or Obafemi Martins will be praying to have an Iwobi playing behind them.
In our last friendlies, he was coming so deep to pick balls from the defence to link up the attack because we almost didn’t have anyone to do that, yet these accusers of the brethren want him to still be the one to run the whole length of the field for 90 minutes to join the attack and score goals too….haba…is the boy a machine…?
Imagine comparing a Nwakali who has spent the larger part of his career battling relegation, even in lower divisions, to Iwboi. Or an Ejuke who is still struggling to find his career feet since leaving Hereenven nearly 4 years ago…….what an insult….?!
Their Nwakali and Ejuke should come and oscillate between playing 8, 10, 4 and on the wings for the SE let’s see how they will fare…..LMAOoo…oh, sorry, they can’t even get into the SE yet….talk more about tying down a place in the team….LMAOoo.
Indeed, Iwobi has no business coming close to them…..he’s miles ahead of them and in a league of his own.
I just hope one day this boy would not get angry and boycott the SE like Okoye did. We go suffer ehn like the period after Oliseh chased away Enyeama before we finally found Ikeme (although short-lived too).
I was thinking about where to start talking about the value Iwobi brings to the table and then I saw your reply that covered every blade of the grass.
To add, Iwobi is not a DM. He’s an AM. Players don’t do very well outside their natural roles. Nwakali will struggle as a CB or LB and Ekong will be tootless if he swapped role with Oliseh or Iwobi. The same reason Simon could not maximize the telegraphic pass Iwobi threaded to him against Mali and got injured for the rest of the season in the process.
Only a bad coach made a good player bad or been injured trying to adapt to an unnatural role. Iwobi is not his uncle and maybe doesn’t have his status yet, but he keeps simple and efficient unlike Jayjay.
Please let’s not chase away Iwobi. I don’t even see any player currently better than him in that position and creating clear goalscoring chances. Plus he’s not selfish and personal glory-seeking like Chuwkwueze. He’s an improvement on the Oliseh of old. He’s intelligent. He’s got the eye. He assists and scores if he’s better placed than the number 9.
*Nwabali, the goalkeeper, not Nwakali
@Mr Hush, you said it all. Sometimes I wonder whether people even watch and analyze Iwobi’s game before criticizing him, or it’s just pure hatred. For some, simply because Iwobi happens to be Okocha’s nephew they expect him to demonstrate similar skills and trickery that Okocha did (sometimes without much end product) forgetting that football has gone past that era. Here is a skillful footballer who has adapted to the modern game of playing for the team, working the team’s plan and delivering the end product, yet all he gets is unnecessary destructive criticism. I can sympathize with those still stuck in past expecting a playmaker that dribbles from his goalpost to the opponents penalty area, but unfortunately football has evolved beyond such individual showmanship. Previously it was Troost-Ekong being viciously attacked by some who thought he was occupying the slot that their anointed player should occupy, hence all the campaign to bring the young man down, but as God will have it, he shut them up with his performance during the last AFCON even while playing with injuries. Some of those perpetual critics of Troost-Ekong are now shamelessly including him in their “wonder team lists”. For those that also, feel that they need to bring down Iwobi in order to create a space for their favoured player, they should have taken lessons from the Troost-Ekong case. Not only did Troost-Ekong play alongside the player they thought they were fighting for, but he outshined everyone and ended up the player of the tournament. There is enough space for everyone who works hard, stay consistent and bid their time. The opportunity will certainly come, and such players will take their chance without anyone having to pull another person down in the foolish belief that they are fighting for “their own”!
Drey don’t mind them i can’t understand how people will be comparing a professional footballer and some village champions
I tell you@ Dr Drey
I can imagine an Iwobi feeding an Obafemi and Aghaowa. İmagine Iwobi with an Utaka and Odemwigie. I can fully say, it would have rained goals. I am salivating to see what he is going to do with Osimhen and Boniface going forward, especially the latter. Just hoping we get a proper tactician that will use him properly.
as @Kel and @Aleks eluded, Iwobi is not a DM, he was simply played out position at the last Afcon. he should be praised for his sacrifice and bravery to try, and all criticism should have been placed towards Mr. Peseiro, justifiably so. Why didn’t the gaffer make the necessary change when he noticed Iwobi wasn’t flourishing out of position? Why did he have to sacrifice Iwobi’s strength which is vision, flare and movement in the forward line? Weakening Nigeria by the process.
Right now, we don’t have any creative spark as good as Iwobi; Lookman, Simon and Iheanacho might try now and then, but there aren’t close to Alex in creativity.
No matter how good they are, it is a sin mentioning an Ejuke and Nwakali in the same vein as Iwobi.
Not saying we can’t criticise but it should be constructive and in context.Till we find someone as good or better than Iwobi, we should give him the leverage and respect he deserves. He has earned it.
I have said it on multiple occasions that using iwobi in an unfamiliar position will stiffens his creativity. Even at Afcon, a lot of people are calling for my head on this forum when I said he is our best creative player in the attacking phase. But some that do not know shit about football but claim they do will be comparing a player(nwakali )who biggest weakness is his inability to carry the ball forward to a proper AM.
as @Kel and Aleks alluded…
Some people are just blind, both internally and externally. Including the ones who give themselves fake “coache-ing” titles….LMAOOo…pun intended.
See the player who doesn’t come close to nwakali and ejuke who cannot even make the SE 30 man list yet…..LMAOOo
Alex Iwobi has been wrecking havoc in SE opponent’s penalty area, putting strikers through on goal, assisting, pre-assisting and also weighing in his own fair share of goals and someone thought all that talent needs to be wasted by playing him in defensive midfield.
Any SE coach who calls himself a coach and henceforth does not know that Iwobi should be playing in the hole behind our striker (or strikers if we are playing with 2 strikers) is nothing but an idiot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=436Ye2aEgZI
“….Please add Nwakali and Ejuke. Iwobi does not come near these two BALLERS….”
Wetin we no go see for CSN….LMAOoo
Na… “sideways pass statistics we go chop?… says Tinubu!” Make Iwobi vamooze for road joor. We don’t want social media woman hairmakers masquerading as a midfielder… dude is more serious plaiting his hair done improving his game… get me Matthew Ifeanyi or Kelechi Nwakali there joor… ball know im people!!! Even Nwabali wey be gentle guy know say Iwobi na gbefu midfielder… uzuor!
@ Jimmyball
There’s what you call consistency in football, and life in general.
A player that has been playing at the top level for both club and country since 2015 (and still playing), with over 100 games for a team like Arsenal, how can one logially compare such to a Nwakali, who can’t hold a place in most teams he has played for? or is there another Kelechi Nwakali? The same Kelechi Nwakali that represented us at an AFCON? Come on now, let’s be real.
But I will reference you to @Drey’s write up above. Cause as much as we have opinions, facts don’t care about feelings.
Abeg which statistics your perennial relegation baller Nwakali get….??? Abi na U17 golden ball of 10 years ago we go chop (in peter obi’s voice)….LMAOO.
Defensive – not impressive
Attacking – nothing to brag about
Goal contributions – Sparing
And he is a “more natural attacking AM”….LMAooo
Despite playing mostly in lower divisions all his career, a paltry 13 goals and 15 assists is all he boasts of in close to a decade as a professional footballer.
An average of 1.3 goal & 1.5 assist per season (I mean an entire season) as an AM in 2nd divisions and lower leagues…….LMAOoo
Its obvious you have not even watched any of Nwakali’s games this season…..LMAOo. If you had, shame wouldn’t even let you come here to rabblerouse.
Your more natural attacking midfielder has not provided any assists nor scored any goal from open play in all competitions this season yet……LMAOo. Similar to when he went 2 whole seasons (1 each with Porto B and Huesca) without scoring or assisnting (open play nor via set pieces)….LMAOOo. The more natural attacking midfielder.
It is in the same Portugese league Peserio spotted Onyemaechi, your Kelechi ‘Zidane’ Nwakali is playing, yet Peserio wasn’t even moved to at least include him in his 35 man prelim squad…..LMAOoo…despite plenty of PR hype in the media.
A player who is both a defensive liability to his team as well as been a totally absent creative player without the ability as an AM to assist goals from open play does not merit even being in SE team B….LMAooo.
Once again, make time to watch Kelechi Nwakali regularly in the portugese league, and delete that U17 Nwalaki picture you have stuck in your head….LMAOo. This is 2024, not 2015
Tell your 2nd division Old Glory FC player to forget about ever making it to the top 5 leagues. Directors of Football and Scouts from those leagues are not drunkards. They know a lazy, tasteless and visionless AM when they see one.
Once again…..no be U17 golden ball of 10 years ago we go chop (in Peter Obi’s voice)….LMAOO.
That’s the same way they tried to pull down Ekong and Okoye, but both boys and shoving mud down their throats today.
Some people surely have a deep-rooted hatred for our foreign-born players
Uhhumm….that reminds me, it’s been over 4 years since you promised us your boy would come good.
4 years after, he’s still struggling to create assists and score goals from open play throughout a whole season as an AM and seems set for another relegation to the Portuguese 2nd division this time around, after not cutting it in the Spanish 2nd division…..LMAOOo.
Oga, how much longer should we wait to see him come good and start playing in the UCL or Europa League and stamping his authority in the national team like his mates, Osi and Samu are doing…? Another 4 years…?
Abi an him U17 golden ball and him unkempt greasy dreadlocks we wan chop….?
I don’t have much to say, but all those people criticizing Iwobi should bring one AM in the super eagles that has more goal contribution than Iwobi and we will put Iwobi in the bin…..
Look at the game against Cameroun at AFCON, he collected the ball and pass it to BASSEY who makes a low cross into the box for Lookman to make it 2 nil.
Against Angola in the same AFCON, Iwobi received the ball and without wasting much time sent a cross-field pass to ZAIDU who eventually lined the ball for Simon to cross into the box for still the same Lookman to finish things up.
That iwobi’s cross-field pass quickly reminds me of what Henry said about Iwobi when he was at ARSENAL….
According to Henry, “Iwobi releases ball to the stickers faster than Ozil”…..
We’ve seen this on countless times how Iwobi makes fast and quick decisions that always results to a goal.
Please just like someone said that Nigerians want Iwobi to play like his uncle JJ OKOCHA, which will never happen due to the fact that they both started their football career at different environment with different philosophy….
Okocha started in Nigeria when football was more of entertainment than money, whereas Iwobi started at arsenal…. By now football has evolve from a mere entertainment to serious business and less of showmanship.
We all know arsenal pattern of game, so imagine someone coming from such a football philosophy.
So please Nigerians, lower your expectations of Iwobi playing like Okocha, it’ll never happen.
Thanks.
@JimmyBall, i typically don’t wade into these arguments as both sides do enough to buttress their points. And I get it, Iwobi is not your cup of tea. But what on earth is making you suggest an Nwakali as the player to usurp him. Nothing about the boy’s career, stats or what we’ve seen him play suggests he’s anywhere close to being super eagles material. So I ask you to kindly tell us what it is exactly that makes you believe he’s the answer.
By the way, I don’t always rate Iwobi but frankly I haven’t seen any other Nigerian midfielder that possesses his skill set. Most of our midfielders just chase the ball, and look very awkward carrying and making any pass longer than 5 yards with any zip, vision or accuracy. Especially Ndidi and Onyeka. Just about all our midfielders are gra gra type players