Gernot Rohr says the Super Eagles could have had better results in their two friendly games against Algeria and Tunisia,Rohr says the Super Eagles could have had better results in their two friendly games against Algeria and Tunisia, Completesports.com reports.
The Eagles rounded up their friendlies with a 1-1 draw against Tunisia on Tuesday night after losing 1-0 to Algeria on Friday.
Reflecting on both friendlies, Rohr stated there are positives to take going into next month’s 2021 AFCON qualifiers against Sierra Leone.
Also Read: Super Eagles’ Players’ Rating In 1-1 Friendly Draw With Tunisia
“We are happy to have had this opportunity to be camped in Austria for 10 days,” Rohr was quoted on the Super Eagles verified Twitter handle.
“It was a very good feeling to be together again after being away for 11 months, although we missed some key players.”
“The two friendly games we played were very good competitive games. Algeria and Tunisia are very good teams. Indeed, the results could have been better. We could have picked a draw against Algeria and a win against Tunisia.”
“We have some positives to pick out from the games because inspite of missing some key players we still competed well. Now it is going to be difficult for me to pick our list for the AFCON qualifiers next month because of the new boys who did well.”
“I believe these very good friendly games will help us to return to winning ways when we play Sierra Leone next month(home and away). Good results next month may see us qualifying for the 2021 AFCON already.”
By James Agberebi
Got what it Takes?
Predict and Win Millions Now
72 Comments
We might not be able to beat Sierra Leone next month if what I saw is anything to go by
What did you see? A team missing 3 vital cog of its machine! We Nigerians eh Oga its called friendly for a reason!
@Toks is not even 3 but 4. Our number one striker Osimhen was not available. Our three midfielders were not available. Some of us are too quick to judge. @MIchel do you think if Aribo, Etobo and Nidi were to be in the midfield and Osimhen at the front we would lose any of the two games we played? Please let us always look at issues critically before drawing our conclusion. Like I away say, Yobo is not needed as assistant coach. They should bring Amunike who was a sticker in his playing days. Thanks
@Michel you have to agree with @Elijah samson and @Toks. Bros what they have said is facts!!!.
In as much as I don’t like Rohrs tactics and Decisions he makes in game at times, I have never had problems with his selecting of players except when it comes to Ahmed Musa.
SO yes I said it and will Maintain Ndidi, Osimhen and Aribo are game changers not just key players. and with them there with influential Peter Etebo. Algeria will still be licking their wounds toady. No Doubt about that!!!
And obviously the Excluding of a certain Henry Onyekuru and Nwakali in the past.
As of now Nwakali and Onyekuru have to earn their place back in thier clubs by improving club level form and commanding Regular Game Time like Chukwueze and Azeez are currently doing in Spanish La Liga Premiera. For those who were questioning Ramon Azeez exclusion he is injured. if fit Rohr would have selected him.
Good performance from the lads yesterday and great achievement from the two friendly matches with respect to the objective. That being said, happy for all the new players who had the chance to strut their stuff. Big thumbs up Ejuke, in there lies a bomb, thumbs up Dessers, once again showed club football is different from national team. Only about 15 minutes, yet anyone with eye for talent will easily see he’s got it in him. His straight body posture and almost perfect size gives him some edge in terms of quickness off his marker when running into space. This is where Onuachu struggles. Onuachu’s long languid body kinda do few seconds of makossa before the legs get a signal to start running. There’ nt no defender that’s gonna be waiting for that. They are already ahead seeing the body movement, but Desser like Eto kind of players, they sort of disappear off their markers. We sure gonna get goals of that young man’s boot trust me.
Now I read lots of people saying we can’t win the world Cup, but no team can say they are going to win the world cup wherein only one team wins it. But will this SE team give a really good performance? I will give a massive YES. This team is evolving into a very solid team, we are looking at the best SE team ever. We are just in a phase of getting there and anyone with the eye to see, will understand what I am saying. We only need to stay humble and don’t get complacent. At the moment, the only one area, the team needs to beef up is in that defensive midfield position. We need that kind of a midfielder, a lubricant if I must say, that gets machine parts moving smoothly. I have tried searched all around leagues for such player but no new ones I can find. Please let’s not mention Ndidi here. Ndidi is a tough tackler and one of world best ball winner but he is not a lubricator type of midfielder. The only one we have now,doing that is Etebo but he seems to be struggling with injuries recently. So it’s high time we looked for options. Azubuike readily comes to mind and if Nwakali can get regular play time, he is just another one.
I concur to your analysis. Spot on.
NO Man this team has bags of talent. and the consolation for me it that our game changers all 3 of them and a very influential Peter etebo were missing. also Rohr should realise that You have to play Ola Aina He must not unsettle the boy. Zadiu Sanusi is a very good player indeed and so is Chidera Ejuke for me they can keep their place. Chidera over Musa any day any time. Akpoguma should be given more time to he can bring something to this team as back up to what we have. Dessers can playe back up to Osimhen and Iheanacho. so for me
Sanusi
Dessers
Akpoguma
Ejuke
These are the boys that can keep their the rest will fall away when regulars are fit.
Ofcourse Ajayi is a very sound player and we are lucky to have Semi Ajayi he impressed me yesterday like I knew he is capable off.
In a friendly some players dont give 100%. Some of these players hold back because they dont want to get injured and go back to the bench in their clubs, those who have a point to prove are those you see hustling and bustling on the pitch.
But in a competitive game you can assess a players game 100%.
I think our defence is coming up. With a little tinkling it will be solid.
…We all saw the importance of defensive midfield in these latest games. This is the more reason why we should do our best to nurture the young ones we have with midfield promise in our ranks since our home league is almost nonexistent now and we have not been able to draw from the pool of homebased players due to its chaotic and unprofessional status without strong feeder teams. I will suggest since Kelechi Nwakali now has a pathway at club, we should be following his situation closely and that of young Tijani Samson, Tijani was only given about fifteen minutes against African champion Algeria and he showed character of being a fearless young lad going into challenge properly… since midfielders are hard to comeby… I will suggest if we begin to notice Nwakali, Tijani and Amoo are having playing time at clubs… we should always make to invite them as squad members to begin to train with regulars and slowly building their confidence in readiness to step-in in the future into prominent midfield roles even though they will not be playing now… nothing stops Rohr from inviting atleast 26 to 30 squad members each time there is a Super Eagles game coming up… this will even help the young lads to beging to grow in confidence at their various clubs as it will not only earn them the respect of their team mates being internationals but also that of their club trainer/coach… I believe in all we do, we must think of the future and begin to integrate real youngsters on time! We are all witnessing Ansu Fatu now, before him, we have had examples from the likes of Theo Walcot, Rashford, Mbappe and even Toni Kroos… youngsters ate the future anywhere in sports! One love Super Eagles fans… we must continue to lay our advice on public fora like this… hopefully, our football administrators, coaches and players are reading our comments… cheers to all!
The Ansu Fati and co you mentioned are very well established playing regular football for their teams and a big one for that matter.
What I am saying in essence is that not every promising youth international makes a success of their career.The national team is never going to be a grooming ground for any youngster rather it’s for those who are good enough or have showed immense skills,character and quality irrespective of age.
Apparently,the youngsters you mentioned are regulars for some of the best clubs in the world,so for that deserves to be part of their national teams.But a different story for our own Amoo and Tijani who both plays for small clubs in small leagues.I will suggest they should focus on building their career first,to a height where they can compete at international stage.
@Jimmyball….
Invite 30 players to a friendly match?
Are u kidding us?
Do u know it is the board that cater for the players transport fare?
Was it against LIBYA last afcon qualifiers that Rohr was trying to tell the NFF that “… Inviting a player from chinese league (i.e IGHALO) to come and score 5goals(if i’m not mistaken) is not a lost”…..
And now you want 30 players; how much have u given to the board for players wellfare?
Man pls allow us to manage it the way we see bikonu….
@UBFE… Why do I need to give the board money? If friendlies are organized in Europe transport fare is cheap and most of the players would not even spend up to 250 euros for flights or speed trains within Europe… If it’s invitation to Nigeria I can understand… Most nations play their friendlies in Europe now which has become a very convenient measure. NFF should just be more transparent so that the players can make sacrifices for Nigeria sometimes for love of country and career… But with the way NFF admin behaves each time there is a FIFA largesse or grant released after world cups tournaments… that’s why most of the players will never sacrifice a penny for Nigeria… we saw what George Opong Weah was doing for his country not too long and today his country men gave his leadership of the whole country! Do you even realise that the coach of Algeria… Belmadi was a former international and even Tunisia’s coach Adel Selimi? But see how NFF is treating the likes of Amuneke and Finidi because they refused to accept being dictated to and embracing a culture of fraud and bribe… Not all ex international have attitude of taking bribes from players… Coach Gernot Rohr though good in his own right should only be a short-term solution… the long term solution should be us encouraging our own and developing our league… Nigerias league in the old days of Julius Berger, Stationery Stores and BCC Lions including used to be well run and amongst the best in Africa… Let’s begin develop our own! If current players are seeing how ex-internationals, some who are rightly qualified are being treated and humiliated… No young and current Super Eagle player will ever sacrifice anything for Nigeria…
@Greenturf… Don’t we have Swedish nationals play with Amoo in Hammerby? Even Tijani is playing regularly for Hartenberg if I get the name right! Nwakali is already in Laliga with Huesca and if not for the recent injury we heard… he was featured in their first game of the season… Amoo is already a first time player for his club… What we need to be doing is to be watching these boys closely and making a case for them… Once you are talented and doing well, even if you are so young, you are good enough. It has been revealed times without number that talents and determination trumps age… See MIKEL Agu who is an older guy… has he been able to convince? These young lads will know will still go through our ranks u-20 and so on… but I do not believe they cannot compete with with we already have… they can sure rub shoulders with all due respect. If you read my write up well… I did not say they be given automatic starters berth in Super Eagles…
… If Ansu Fatu was never given his chance to test waters at the big stage, he will still just be a good player in their B team or Academy… there has to be step to allow young players exposure on time… UNFORTUNATELY our youngsters have to come to Europe leagues to compete with locals and natives which is not always easy… If we had a league back home that is functional and very professional… We will easily be able to have young personnels coming through easily… Sometimes we invite senior players that are average and we end up not even suiting them up for games…
Check this out:
Okoye
Tyronne. Akpo. Leon. Zaidu.
Ndidi.
Ejaria. Aribo.
Iheanacho. Iwobi.
Osimhem
Zero Win in 2 matches; have the Super Eagles taken 2 steps backwards?
Nigeria’s German tactician Gernot Rohr came out say that the Super Eagles will return to winning ways in next month’s Afcon qualifiers following just concluded double winless friendly matches.
“I believe these very good friendly games will help us to return to winning ways when we play Sierra Leone next month (home and away),” asserted coach Rohr after his team had to settle for a 1:1 draw against Tunisia yesterday with a draw not to have been a forgone conclusion.
Yes Nigeria could have won the match: had Iheanacho been more decisive and emphatic with his penalty kick in the first half – with Nigeria leading 1:0 at that point – there would have been daylight between both teams. But with Nigeria’s lead still slim following the Leicester City man’s failed penalty kick in 30 minutes, the Tunisians still smelt a route back to the match and followed the path to their equaliser with Omeruo losing his man and Okoye well beaten by Tunisia’s Dragger in 44 minutes with the Super Eagles left counting the cost. 1:1 at that point, 1:1 it stayed.
Singling out Iheanacho and Omeruo is not meant to scapegoat them, far from him. In fact both players put in decent shifts at both ends of the pitch to put Nigeria ahead and to keep Tunisia at bay. Iheanacho’s trickery, swivel, swagger and sublime shot from 12 yards gave Nigeria the lead while Omeruo’s tackles, interceptions and markings helped to at least secure the draw.
But was the draw good enough?
I guess it depends on who you speak to. Some fans are just happy to have seen quite of number of new faces given the opportunity to strut their stuff in Super Eagles colours and if truth be told, most – if not all – of them did not disappoint.
Of all the players that played against Tunisia (and Algeria), it is hard to find any of them that did not play with his heart on his sleeves. They all played with passion, patriotism, purpose and positivity which are the minimum requirements I would demand from any player called to serve his fatherland.
Ability-wise, yes, some are more gifted than others but that is normal. When it comes to work rate, Alex Iwobi king. I call him the Energizer-Bunny-In-Super-Eagles- Colours. Iwobi works his socks off and he is such an asset to this Super Eagles side. But in truth, none of the players I saw failed to pull his weight so, in that regards, they all deserve a pat on the back for ‘work rate’.
Although the overarching aim of friendlies is not necessarily to win matches, but winning them is not a bad idea, or is it? What winning friendly matches do to the morale of players, coaches, football administrators, fans and stakeholders cannot be overemphasised.
So, I think there will be slight disappointment in some corners that Nigeria only managed to scrape out 1 meagre point out of the 6 nominally on offer in the just concluded friendlies against Algeria and Tunisia.
But that aside, the overarching meanings that can be read to the outcome of these matches is a positive one as far as I am concerned
WHAT HAVE I LEARNT?
The Super Eagles continue to be a side that will make things difficult for teams regardless of the calibre of the opposition. Win, draw or lose, teams can always expect a rough ride against Nigeria. Tunisia played well, Algeria even better but each can only score 1 goal against Nigeria which speaks to how resolute, determined, unyielding, compact and obstinate that Rohr’s Eagles are.
With Balogun and Akpoguma driving the ball up the pitch (and Omeruo but with less success), we are seeing a renewed interpretation of the CB role sure to harm opposition teams in games to come. In fact, when you see players like Iheanacho, Iwobi, Ajayi and even Musa interpret their roles, you can’t help but notice a thinking that has gone into this in the background that, though they did not full manifest in this game, would become more apparent in subsequent games.
In short, I think our players are becoming more dynamic but you need to look deeper to source this out.
And, I don’t know about other fans but most of the (regular) players I saw – across the 2 matches – appear to have improved elements of their games even though the likes of Ekong and Onuachu could have done that bit better.
Sadly, I haven’t seen enough to suggest to me at this point that the Super Eagles of Nigeria are “world beaters”. This team is still work-in-progress but unfortunately for Rohr, time is running out.
But for me, what endears me most to this exciting collection of indigenous and foreign born players is that ‘H’ word: HUNGER.
These boys are hungry, hungry for success. You can see in them the desire to do themselves, their coaches, their families and their country proud. And this element provides a lift in their game which even makes it hard for me to criticise someone like Onuachu who obviously worked his socks off.
NEXT STEPS
Next stop now is back to back afcon qualifiers in November against Sierra Leone in November where a lot of what has been experimented in these 2 matches should (hopefully) come into fruition.
Areas of concerns remain but what thing is undeniable, this Super Eagles outfit is not regressing. If anything, they have shown promise that they can only get better. And with players who were unavailable for these matches expected to make future appearances, the possibilities remain tantalising indeed.
Nigerians can see now that I hate nobody and the coach himself testified to it that the results could have been better.
I am so proud of we patriotic Nigerians coming out in numbers to pointed out the loopholes in the Super Eagles
We shouldn’t relents. Coach Rohr fans know nothing about football. I am so sure of that. Stop backing the coach and his tactics. Let’s call a spade a spade. Nobody hates anybody period. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
@Omo9ja … Super Eagles played with minus four(4) first team Players against the African champion and 2nd ranked team in Africa .. All our mid-field players are injured .
Going by your theory it implies Pep Guardiola of Man-city is a bad coach because his team lost to LYON ( 7th position in french league ) due to four of his players been injured during the Champions league quarter-final berth .
My question to you is simple .. Are you saying Pep Guardiola is a bad coach and all Man-city board knows nothing about football ?
2nd question to you .. Ukraine won Spain ( 1-0 ) in the recent Uefa nation league and Germany played a 3-3 draw with switzerland aswell . Since Ukraine needs an offside goal to play 2-2 draw with the super eagles , Are you saying the super eagles or ukraine is a better team than Spain ?
Listen , Football is not played on paper neither is football a video game .Your post only shows you have zero knowledge about FOOTBALL .
Take away 4 important player from BARCELONA or MADRID and ask them to play any top team in Europe.
I expect your response to both questions and If you fail to answer both questions , it shows you are nothing but a hypocrite and you need to stop being negative on this forum .
God bless Nigeria
@Larry, well spoken bro.
@NA ME TALK AM, your questions have been answered in a simple way. God bless Nigeria!!!
@ Omo9ja, true talk as usual.
Rating and pointing out areas of need for improvement is a normal process in great institutions.
The two friendly matches showed how far SE management has gone since the last nations cup.
Against Algeria: SE lost 1:2 in 2019 and 0-1 in 2020..
Against Tunisia: SE won 2:1 in 2019 and drew 1:1 in 2020..
All the three teams played under similar conditions, The Tunisian and Algerians could not present their full squads likewise SE.
Although the data are not enough to make absolute conclusion, however, it is obvious that SE management scorecard is on the downward slop..
It is obvious that some players are not SE materials, by SE I meant SUPER EAGLES not what some local warriors who feel all players should come from their region think.
From the last matches and players paraded, it is obvious that only Akpoguma and Zaidu deserve to be in the starting 11 of SE.
It is obvious that Simon Moses is a better player than Samuel Kalu (even Moses is more valuable in france). It is obvious that SE still needs the service Victor Moses to make Chukwueze sit up. Victor Moses dis well with Inter Milan last season..
It is obvious that Akpo-Balo partnership will work in CD..
Aina has never disappointed in SE colors but the coach chose to underate the player by not giving him some playing time.
Going by performance in SE colors,, AAribo, Ndidi, Etebo and Azeez are the main pivot of SE midfield..
Iwobi is the chief creator…
Victor Moses is still our best catalyst for success against tough oppositions..
Nacho is still a force to reckon with..
Musa is still relevant..
Ejike and Dessers need more chances..
No need to recycle SE underperformed players again..
Dennis, Lookman, Ejaria Olayinka, and Sadiq deserve to be considered for next SE matches..
… @larry from today I will refer to you as my anchorman in this forum. I see say you don the watch ball for long! May you live long… Very apt, we always find excuses for mediocrity. Why invite a youngster if you don’t trust his abilities. Just for media fanfare… If things don’t change we will be exposed during the final head-to-head double header world cup qualifiers round… We will be meeting the likes of Cameroun and morrocco then.
@JimmyBall, You are much appreciated..!
I must admit that your contributions and other sincere fans (not ethnic jingoists who don’t want players from other region) are always appreciated.
@Omo9ja:
You really never cease to amaze me with some “Clownic” contributions. (Rohr knows nothing about football indeed). Very very funny comment
@Femi, Football is about winning and the way you play and the tactics you put in as a coach period. Don’t get this twisted.
The gaffer left out Azeez without having Aribo, Ndidi and Etebo available and the coach opted for Mikel Agu? How many minutes Dessers played in both matches? How about Ejuke? You can now see that we have world class coach in Oga Rohr ba? Think about it. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
@NA ME TALK AM, what kind of excuse is this? So Algeria did not have the same problem? I’m just asking ni o?
The coach himself knew that his team did not play to their potentials and the tactics of the coach wasn’t something Nigerians could be proud of period.
Once again, if I use this my beautiful mouth to woo you all, you may refuse it. If this my mouth is singing you people may ignore it but If i use it to talk, be cautious and listen to my words shekena. The gaffer have spoken the truth and yours is to digest his words.
I’m sorry, I’m not convinced with the performances of our coaches and the players.
Friendly match nowadays is more than ordinary match for any country. Use what you have to get what you deserve that is what every country is doing now. No more excuses. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
@Omo9ja .. First you didn’t answer the questions ( both ) rather you choose to ignore them but i’ll surely answer your questions .
What is the excuse of the Algerian team ?
The Algerian are playing with the Full Squad . Kindly tell me who is missing in the Algerian team against Nigeria ?
Another questions is this , is Klopp a bad tactian because LIVERPOOL lost 7-2 to Aston Villa . A team that avoid relegation on the last day LAST SEASON . does that make KLOPP a bad tactician ?
Yes the team didn’t play to their potential as some players are overhyped by the fan ( CHUKWUEZE and KALU ) . ONAUCHU and AGU are definately FLOP with super-eagle and all the players are average players / below par players minus ( NDIDI and VO7 ) .
You clamor for local players , Yet are you aware most players from Algeria , Morocco and Tunisia are players born in FRANCE , NETHERLANDS , BELGIUM among others ( You can research yourself ) ..
My main point is simple the team is definitely over-hyped by FANS and Yes their performance is the reality of how average the team is just like every other AFRICAN teams .
Before you start singing the praises of the Algerian coach , Remember most players in his team are properly trained oversea as they are born oversea and not in Africa and Moreso he didn’t inherit a team that missed two (2) AFCON and is 16th in the continent .
The Super Eagles needed a reality check and they have now fully aware that the hype on them is nothing but an illusion from fans . CHUKWUEZE and KALU are now very predictable by the opponents and you simply can’t fault the coach for that . Rather the wake up call should go to the players that they all need to improve from the Goal-keeping department to the Striker ( All the team ) .
No excuses as you claim . The Super-eagles were poor during both friendly match and they surely need to improve .
No More HYPE from FANS about having best players in Africa or super talented players in the team when the whole team is average . The coach might not be the best tactician in the world, but when most players perform woefully and four (4) major players are injured , You can’t simply put the blame all on the coach , rather the blame should be on both the coach and the whole team
God bless Nigeria .
Frankly speaking, I can’t fault Rohr for super eagles progress for the moment. you bring him to coach a team that just lost her greatest goal keeper of all time and the next goalie you brought in had an unfortunate illness. Rohr was handed a team passing through transition – he started with Mikel, Moses,Ighalo, even with no goal keeper. is super eagles over hyped? I think it’s our patriotism that is causing it. we all want to see super eagles do well
@Kingston Maybe you forgot Nigeria drew 1-1 with Brazil on Dec 2019 with a fully fit squad. So no I don’t think Super Eagles is over hyped we have a golden generation now most are not opening their eyes to see the talent bustling in this Squad Fully fit with the talent we possess Algeria would have been on the losing end.
Okay look at it this way Algeria SCORED JUST 1 against Nigeria they had a fully fit squad no injury concerns or pull outs. If Nigeria was fully fit, are you guys saying Osimhen is not capable of putting 1 or 2 even 3 past Algeria? if the answer is yes he can then what would the final score have read??? and is Joe Aribo not capable of scoring against Algeria or is Algeria stronger than Brazil?
I rest My case
sportsfan I humbly disagree with you. this is my analysis – Iheanacho is never a winger, his first year at Leicester city his coach tried him in that role in order to give him playing time but his performance was so terrible no coach of recent time has tried it, even Rohr tried it once and never did it again (against Algeria WC qualifiers second leg 1-1). secondly iwobi is best as a no10 rather than a false 7, in that free role his playmaking skills come to light, especially his vision and that unique ability to link up with forwards (few players in the world can do this the same way iwobi does it, ask Wenger) thirdly remove ejaria and aribo, quality players I agree, but ahead of etebo. have we easily forgotten about the beast of a player etebo was at the world cup and afcon. according to whoscored etebo overall rating exceeded ndidi in afcon and matched it in the world cup. if you don’t want to bench ndidi why etebo? ejaria and aribo are less adept to African football but etebo? there’s no ability that the two aforementioned players have that etebo don’t have. though at least ndidi will not be relaxed since both etebo and aribo can still play side by side (two cm like Croatia in the world cup against Nigeria and xavi-fabregas at a time in barca)
I believe you wish the best for super eagles, and mine too is just an analysis. please @sportsman don’t be I enjoy discussing with people like you, thanks for your post!
my own formation – 3-5-2
okoye
akpo-balogun-ajayi
kalu-ndidi-etebo-iwobi-ola
victor-iheanacho
@Ugo Iwunze… You sound funny. Counting chicks before the eggs hatches.
People forget Nigeria drew 1-1 with Brazil on Dec 2019 with a fully fit squad. So no I don’t think Super Eagles is over hyped we have a golden generation now, most are just not opening their eyes to see and realise the talent bustling in this Squad with current generation. Fully fit with the talent we possess Algeria would have been on the losing end.
Okay look at it this way Algeria SCORED JUST 1 against Nigeria they had a fully fit squad no injury concerns or pull outs. If Nigeria was fully fit, are you guys saying Osimhen is not capable of putting 1 or 2 even 3 past Algeria? if the answer is yes he can then what would the final score have read??? and is Joe Aribo not capable of scoring against Algeria or is Algeria stronger than Brazil?
It’s easy to say we would put 9,10 past our opponents we are used to thinking our players are superior.That is why we are head banged and unsettled when results go the other way.
A fully fit super eagles could still lose to this Algerian side,they are that good besides I don’t think we have a better squad than them.
Playing out a draw against Brazil does not guarantee victory over Algeria.Football don’t work that way.We should look at it this way,how did we achieve the draw?Going back to that game it was a game we were anxious for the final whistle that was how huge the pressure was coming against us.I wasn’t impressed with the way we were dominated.
@Greenturf I see your point. But what I am saying is that Brazil is still stronger than Algeria and with the Experience that we have had all our players been fit, we would have locked them out.
first point no matter the player, if you instruct Ndidi to mark that player out of the game he will successfully do it.
I am not hyping these players up but everything is experience. which brings me to my next point. @Greenturf you guys forget even our key players/game changers how old are they?? how many games had Osimhen, Aribo and Samuel Chukwueze played against quality opposition like Brazil with the Super Eagles set up prior to that game?? and look how they fared.
We need to appreciate that these boys are on the track they are supposed to be looking at the clubs in which they play at their age. Chukwueze (20) Osimhen (21) Joe Aribo (24) Wilfred Ndidi (23) peter Etebo (24) . the list goes on. Please these boys are superior to any Algerian player you can name from that Algerian team. FACTS!!! @Greenturf once again if the above names where there then man Algeria will definitely be licking their wounds now. FOR SURE!
@Greenturf are you telling me this boy along with Ndidi, Aribo and Iwobi can not dominate Algeria’s Mid field? I mean look how Iwobi did against Algeria. please Greenturf I am not arguing just stating obvious facts
see movement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJc14-zpWic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSy1oRN9-xw&feature=youtu.be
My most obvious observation from the two friendly games:
Just as other friends here have recognized our lack of capable alternatives in DM and CM. In the forced absence of our reliable trio (Wilfred Ndidi, Peter Etebo and Joe Aribo), we struggled for fluidity and we were not to oiled in that department. I suppose the search continues as regards this department of our team. I believe and pray that we seal AFCON 2021 qualification after the two ties against S/Leone next month so we can further have the Luxury of trying out some prospective candidates [Ejaria, Lookman (when and if their nationality switch goes thru) Alhassan] with the last games…
God bless 9ja
I blif there are games where we need to dominate the middle of the park and there are games where we need to use the wings to defeat teams as a strategy. In games where we need to dominate the midfield, this is the line up I think may cause teams problems. This squad will be hard to beat. You have ball players in the midfield. We are guaranteed to dictate play.
okoye or Uzoho
Aina-Akpoguma-Balogun-Sanusi
Ndidi
Aribo-Etebo-Ejaria
Iwobi-Osimen
In the event we face a team where wing play is the winning strategy, I would go for this line up
Okoye or Uzoho
Ekong-Akpoguma-Balogun
Ndidi-Etebo
Lookman (Chukwueze at 60th min) Ejaria-Ejuke (Kalu at 60th min)
Iwobi (Iheanacho at 70th min) Osimen
This team has strength in the middle as well as skill. Iwobi can be threading good passes to osimen and when osimen is being marked osimen can then destroy them. Teams will start planning for osimen creating Avenue for others to wreck havoc. If they plan for Iwobi there will be amole space for osimen to wreck havoc. Chukwueze and Kalu can come in at 60th min to add salt to the wounds. Just my thought
Hmmmm….sumptous line ups. But dont you rather mind pairing iheanacho with the no 9 and iwobi playing behind them in both cases…? Iheancho carries an extra degree of both creativity and goal threat playing behind a 9, compared to Iwobi. And with a mobile Osimhen capable of running the channels, it will still be nice to have the more static iheanacho ghosting into the penalty box
I will go with @Kingston line up – 3-5-2
Okoye or Uzoho
akpo-balogun-ajayi
kalu-ndidi-etebo-iwobi-ola
victor-iheanacho
Chukwueze and Musa can be impact subs in this formation and I might be forced to replace Kalu with Simon Moses. This way we have a very solid bench with quality options including Aribo, Ejaria and Azeez or Zubby in case of injury to either Ndidi or Etebo or when Iwobi loses steam. Playing Iwobi behind Iheanacho and Osimhen will create an avalanche of chances for both forwards. With the hold up play and pace of Osimhen along with the creativity and goal threat of Iheanacho SuperEagles will score against any team. I’m satisfied with the back line for now, the other thing this friendlies thought us is the relevance of Iheanacho as a foil for Osimhen in a tournament situation. If Nigeria really want to win the next AFCON and make some noise in Qatar the 3-5-2 formation is the bread and butter for this set up as it will bring the best out of Iheanacho. As long he remains relevant for both club and country.
@Proydly 9ja… We used to agree on most things on this forum but I will disagree with you on Sanusi Zaidu benching Ola Aina. That’s not real… Let’s not begin to act as if we just stumbled on Roberto Carlos at left back… Sanusi is decent but I do not believe he is better than Ola Aina. Ola Aina is the only one in that squad that can play left back and right back almost to perfection especially with overlapping runs and good combo with our forwards on the flank… I believe Awaziem is too slow for right back… Since we need to have a dependable 23 man list soon going forward… I will suggest Coach Rohr retains Tyrone Ebuehi and Ola Aina at Right full back and Jamilu Collins and Sanusi Zaidu at left full back… Depending on when injury causes shortage of personnel, Ola Aina can always switch between left and right full back… I fear with the imminent on-boarding of Jordan Torunarigha and Felix Udokhai it should be farewell and best wishes to a a good club career to Umeruo and Ekong… ofcourse we will thank them for their good contribution…
My brother look at the 1st line up properly u will see I used Aina as one of the fullbacks in the 1st formation I provided.
OK… I see it now at Omo 9ja… Good lineup both. Kudos…
Nice one Proudly 9Ja. It made for good reading.
Proudly 9ja, in the flanks-oriented approach of yours below, the only thing I will do differently is, rather than remove Iwobi for Iheanacho, I will remove Etebo for Iheanacho. Iwobi will then drop deep to where Etebo occupied so that Iheanacho will occupy Iwobi’s position up front.
I think Iwobi will offer more in 90 minutes than Etebo (if a coach is hard pressed to substitute one of them in the course of a game).
Okoye or Uzoho
Ekong-Akpoguma-Balogun
Ndidi-Etebo
Lookman (Chukwueze at 60th min) Ejaria-Ejuke (Kalu at 60th min)
Iwobi (Iheanacho at 70th min) Osimen
Drey I thought about it (Iheanacho) hence the reason for bringing him in the 2nd half to add bite as iwobi often gets tired around the 60-70 min mark. How would you tweak it? Reorganize the team, an interested to know what people like u, omo9ja, deo, Jimmyball, AY, Kenbeth, Sportfan, chairmanfemi etc (sorry if I 4got to mention u) think? Positives and negatives about the line up is welcome.
okoye or Uzoho
Aina-Akpoguma-Balogun-Sanusi
Ndidi
Aribo-Etebo
Iwobi
Iheanacho-Osimen
Something like a 4-4-2 diamond or an inverted 4-3-3.
It could also be like
okoye or Uzoho
Aina-Akpoguma-Balogun-Sanusi
Ndidi
Aribo-Etebo
Iheanacho-Iwobi
Osimen
with the left footed guys operating from the right in order to be able to split open defences with balls into space for the diagonal runner.
In the event we face a team where wing play is the winning strategy, I would go for this line up
Okoye or Uzoho
Ekong-Akpoguma-Balogun
Ndidi-Etebo
Lookman (Chukwueze at 60th min) Iwobi-Kalu (Ejuke at 60th min)
Iheanacho (Dennis/Olayinka at 70th min) Osimhen
With Ejaria coming on for Iwobi in any of the cases
Yeah the line up with Iheanacho-osimen combo looks good from an attacking sense. I was mainly looking at dominating the midfield, not given any team the opportunity to dominate that area. But I will concede from an attacking sense thae combo of iheanacho-osimen will be great. Iheanacho tho am a fan needs to work on his fitness, I saw how he collapsed yakata after bringing dat Tunisian player down, u could tell he was gassed out. Maybe it was just me ooo, I thought when we had that penalty, Moses Simon wanted to take it but Iheanacho grabbed the ball (Alan Tammy Abraham and Jorginho) instead, I thought I saw them discussing who should take the penalty, maybe it was just my eyes playing tricks on me ooo.
If Iheanacho can get his groove back, him osimen combo would be very interesting. If we are down and we want to throw the sink at the opposition, throwing in Dessers to partner Osimen wont be bad either.
Thumbs up bro… U be coacheee abeg
Proudly 9ja, for me it’s not so much about personnel but more about tactical approach. So, I like the thinking behind your set ups. Thanks so much. Such a fun exercise. 🙂
@jimmyball… I enjoy the comment, especially when you said we should stop acting as if we’ve stumbled into a Roberto Carlos! and for your comment “I fear with the imminent on-boarding of Jordan Torunarigha and Felix Udokhai it should be farewell and best wishes to a a good club career to Umeruo and Ekong… ” I so agree I think me and you are the only ones that may share this view. in fact what about adebario of Fulham (ex Man City lonee) but this is also my fear – what then would happen to the leadership of the team. ekong,omeuro,musa losing their place and balogun retiring who will greese the defense by chemistry? awaziem – udoikhai – adebario (this 3 man defense is super eagles 2022)
Okoye
Akpo. Balo. Zaidu
Aina Ajayi/Etebo. Azeez/Aribo
Iwobi
Dennis/Olayinka. Nacho/S.Moses
Osimhen
When Ndidi returns;
Okoye
Akpo/Ajayi Balo. Zaidu/Aina
Aina/Ebuehi Ndidi/Ajayi Aribo/Etebo/Azeez
Iwobi/Ejaria
V.Moses/Dennis. Nacho/S.Moses
Osim/Olayinka
I am abit concerned with Rohr goals record. Since the Cameroon match during the qualifiers, Rohr’s team has not been scoring alot of goals. Just one goal all the time.
Now he wants to rely on an all German defence. I hope this will help him focus on attacking tactics
4 goals vs Argentina
2 goals vs Iceland
3 goals vs Cameroon AFCON
2 goals vs Ukraine
2 goals vs Benin
4 goals vs Lesotho
Its good to wish to score 4,5 goals all the time, but its rather unrealistic. Even our ‘almighty’ 94 sqaud were not scoring 3,4,5 goals all the time. The most important thing is that the team and its crew should learn to score when its necessary and hold on to the lead and also learn how to manage games. If they can win all their games fine…if not, then they HAVE TO win the important ones
Lets note that the upcoming Qualifiers in November may come to soon for our midfielders who are injured and we will likely be without them when we face Sierra leone. So I suggest we put out a likely winning formation based on the players that was used during the two friendly games. They maybe all that we have at the moment.
You are very correct bro.
You are right @Sportsfan. I think only Etebo will be back and fully fit by November. Aribo would still be touch-and-go. Baring any last minute loss of form, the line up we saw against Tunisia is likely going to be the same vs Sierra Leone (with Musa most likely making way for Osimhen) and that probably was the thought behind fielding Ajayi in the DM as the midfield destroyer in back to back games….and he did acquit himself with a good job of breaking and disrupting the play of our opponents in those games, though his ball carrying abilities were understandably suspect. But an Ajayi-Etebo combo can get the job done in November.
Against Sierra Leone likely fomation:
Okoye
Awaziem akpoguma Leon zaidu
Ajayi
Samuel/Ejuke Iwobi. Simon/kalu
Iheanacho
Osimhen/Desser
Sportsfan, I suspect you are right with that line up based on the March against Tunisia. How long is Etebo, Aribo, and Ndidi out for? Will any be available in November? Am pretty sure Ndidi will be out but not sure of the rest. If they are all unavailable, the only tweak I will make to your suggestion is replacing Awaziem with Aina, Semi for Azeez (natural position).
Okoye
Aina-Akpoguma-Balogun-Sanusi
Azeez
Chukwueze (Ejuke)-Iwobi-Kalu
Iheanacho-Osimen
GR seems to like Kalu and Chukeueze slot which makes sense, considering the players we have at the moment these are the best on terms of goal contribution to the team. Simon tho good defensively doesnt score goals compared to Kalu at least in 9ja colors. Ejuke tho showed flashes of what he can do albeit for 15 mins, hasn’t done enough in my view to dislodge Chukwueze. But I wont be surprised if GR goes with your lineup tho, I think tho that Aina is better in that position than Awaziem, what do u think?
I am not too big on Samuel Kalu… His game is very immature to me. Predictable and really not up to much. Ademola Lookman once switched will easily take Samuel Kalu sport to me and seeing we have Sanusi who can really run and tackle at tfr left side… Lookman could have more freedom to contribute to meaningful attack…
I am not too big on Samuel Kalu… His game is very immature to me. Predictable and really not up to much. Ademola Lookman once switched will easily take Samuel Kalu sport to me and seeing we have Sanusi who can really run and tackle at tfr left side… Lookman could have more freedom to contribute to meaningful attack… We could also test Peter Olayinka in place of Samuel chukwueze… We should be trusting enough to really test these guys as we build a team towards 2022. We should get mature positive team players who could be big in games for us… We need goals and hustle everywhere on the pitch… Sitting back and allow our opponents to take the game to us then only use speed to counter will never give us the edge from the get-go we want… What’s the point playing fanciful dribbling football and not scoring. Super Eagles since cameroon game pre-worldcup has struggled to get goals… In Afcon against Burundi, Tunisia, Algeria and Madagascar it show… Let’s play a cautious defensive game but more to our attacking strength.
Be guided that Chukwueze is a left winger; whereas, Ejuke is a right winger. I will rather play both of them on either side of the wing as inverted wingers with Osimhen leading the attack in a 4-3-3 formation
… @vince. Nice caution but we really have not seen Ejuke enough to size up the defensive and tracking back side of his game. Peter Olayinka from his club matchups from last seasons champions league he played for Slavia Prague, has shown that on the left side of attack he puts in good marking duties to help the midfield and also tracks back very well to assist the left back… While I am not outrightly canvassing for a starting place for Olayinka, I feel Rohr could even give him a chance against Sierra Leone… If we allow Olayinka play in the doubleheader against Sierra Leone a less formidable side compared to the likes of Zambia and Cameroun who also heavy weights… It will give the coaching crew and super Eagles faithful like we the fans a good opportunity to see if we can consider him going forward… I believe it’s time to suit up Olayinka, Sadiq and Maja to see what they bring to the fold in real competitive match situation… Mind you I will not root for experimentation if we are playing the likes of Morocco, Senegal and Egypt. If we can test Emmanuel Dennis, Peter Olayinka, Josh Maja and Sadiq Umar in the forthcoming doubleheadee with Sierra Leone… We would have considered everyone worth considering except Chuba Akpom… Mind you Chuba Akpom did well with Greek Champions last year and he playing for Middlesborough this season should give us a good chance to watch him properly before deciding if an invitation should be extended to him… We have seen enough of Samuel Chukwueze and Samuel Kalu… Except we begin to see them upping their goal stats at Villarreal and Bordeaux to suggest marked improvements but that’s not seeing they will diminish in continuing to be key members of Super Eagles… It’s my belief that if a player has done well over a good stretch, we should not be only waiting for the opportunity of friendly matches to test them on their craft… We can use qualifiers with perrenial weaker oppositions to give such players a chance… So far I believe Ejuke is daring and fearless and occasions will arise in the future that his crisp drbblings will help us unlock defences in crucial matches… for me Ejuke is a secret weapon!
@Drey and Rohr Die hard fans we Don’t hate Rohr but his decision making skills is poor. Please I would like you guys to read the part of MUSA very carefully i dont hate him just stating it as I see it.
Rohr decision-making heaps pressure on Super Eagles ahead of Sierra Leone double-header
Solace Chukwu
Correspondent
Gernot Rohr
Getty Images
FEATURES & OPINIONS
OPINION
TUNISIA
NIGERIA V TUNISIA
FRIENDLIES
NIGERIA
The German coach made a number of puzzling choices that left more questions than answers ahead of November’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers
Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Tunisia drew the curtain on a deeply underwhelming international break for Nigeria and her fans.
Kelechi Iheanacho’s first-half goal, his first for the national team for three years, seemed to presage a much-improved performance from the humbling defeat at the hands of Algeria four days earlier. However, by the end of the opening period, a penalty had been missed, and some all-too-familiar foibles had, once again, arisen.
Even against a Tunisia side given to playing on the break, the Super Eagles were unable to assert themselves upon proceedings.
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When faced with the might of (a second-string) Algeria, it was somewhat palatable to be outplayed for periods of the game; Djamel Belmadi’s side are, after all, reigning African champions, and showed their depth and fortitude in holding Concacaf champions Mexico to a 2-2 draw despite being down a man for 40 minutes.
To be so easily manacled by the Carthage Eagles is an altogether tougher pill to swallow.
Some of that was to do with the withdrawals of Wilfred Ndidi, Joe Aribo and Oghenekaro Etebo thinning out the midfield pool. Aribo has enjoyed a strong start to life on the international stage, seeming especially to relish friendlies, and has brought much-needed dynamism to middle of the park; Ndidi and Etebo made up, almost in entirety, Gernot Rohr’s defensive midfield rota. So yes, there were mitigating factors.
Joe Aribo, Wilfred Ndidi – Nigeria
However, it was also Rohr’s call to eschew calling up proper replacements, especially when he had Ramon Azeez on the standby list.
That directly played into Semi Ajayi, on whom the jury is still out in his natural position in central defence, deputising in front of the back four for these two matches.
The inability of the West Bromwich Albion man to adapt to the demands of the role were apparent by how often he abdicated his post, and made the decision to discard Frank Onyeka, a natural in the position, even more difficult to understand.
That really is the overwhelming theme from this international window: increasingly, it is difficult to understand Rohr’s decision-making process as far as selection goes.
What was the rationale behind his decision to give Maduka Okoye two starts in the one position where clarity has been difficult to find?
The Sparta Rotterdam goalkeeper was impressive on debut against Brazil in 2019, and looked assured in the Algeria defeat. Surely, Tunisia offered the optimum chance to blood either Matthew Yakubu – who had been earning rave reviews in traning – or former youth international Dele Alampasu.
Maduka Okoye
With Francis Uzoho still working his way back to fitness, and Daniel Akpeyi wildly fluctuating in terms of his output, surely deepening the pool by assessing another option in the second friendly should have been a priority.
Remaining on the subject of odd decisions, how to compute Cyriel Dessers and Chidera Ejuke, two attackers who shone in the Eredivisie last season and earned moves on the back of their showings, receiving a paltry 30-minute window (combined) to stake their claims?
The case of the former, in particular, is a proper head-scratcher; following Paul Onuachu’s fish-out-of-water outing against Algeria, it seemed certain Dessers would get a start against Tunisia. Instead, Ahmed Musa was selected upfront as a lone centre-forward, and despite being predictably ineffectual, he remained on the pitch for 70 minutes.
It was a snub that seemed almost pointed, and it was in that wise that the wonderfully slippery Ejuke took it. Upon coming on, he proceeded to play like he simply did not care, going on a series of dribbles and ducking in and out of cul-de-sacs, the equivalent of Nero fiddling while Rome burnt or, more appropriately, Jay-Jay Okocha japing about at the corner flag at the 1998 World Cup while Denmark cut swathes through Nigeria’s midfield.
Why did Kevin Akpoguma and Chidozie Awaziem get spells – out of position – at right-back while Ola Aina cooled his heels on the bench for all 180 minutes over the course of both matches?
Why did Zaidu Sanusi emerge for the second half against Tunisia at all, seeing that he had made his point already?
Zaidu Sanusi of Nigeria
Only upon appearing to tweak his groin after the hour-mark was he replaced by Jamilu Collins; a serious injury at this point would be a huge blow, not only to the player, but to FC Porto, who sold first-choice left-back Alex Telles to Manchester United on transfer deadline day.
Rohr’s many idiosyncrasies lent an air of farce to the October international window, and have almost completely wiped out the optimism that had previously haloed the national team.
He will rightly point to these as friendlies: unimportant in the wider scheme, and therefore only useful for experimentation. He would be right, except for the fact that, by his aversion to risk, he managed to defeat the latter purpose, while also giving the lie to the former.
It was a window for trying new things and recapturing the imagination ahead of November’s double-header against Sierra Leone.
While nothing less than six points over those two matches was going to do, by failing to freshen the pot, there is now added pressure on those outcomes, and none of the excitement that new discovery can bring to mitigate it.
@Dr Drey read and digest
I’ve told you b4 and I will repeat it emphatically. Whenever you see Captain Ahmed Musa in a SE shirt, look for the any tree nearest to you and start biting it. 15 goals 15 assists (even till as at our last match) and still counting. Just like Mikel and Yobo, we will also give Captain Musa a befitting pull-out after 100 caps and a major tournament. If he too pain you go jump inside well.
When you perform well your monthly ranking will justifies it same thing happened whenever you decided to be complacent and perform poorly..
FIFA should quickly approve the nationality switch of uduokhai, Ehizibue, Lookman, Ejaria and Torunarigha(although I am not really sure if Jordan has filed for a switch..) so that we can clearly separate the grains from the chaff in the super eagles.
It is expected, but win some, lose some…that’s the name of the game. All things being equal, back to back victories in November will take us straight to Cameroon with 2 games to spare. I’ rather pawn these friendlies for back-to-back wins in November. Our upward movement on the log will continue by then.
The ranking is not unexpected as it provides a true reflection of current SE strength against top teams. Algeria defeated SE and did creditably well against highly rated Mexico to move-up. This is the more reason why I think SE management needs to step-up against top oppositions. GR can enhance his technical deficiencies t by making the right decisions at the right time.
Regarding players invitation and selection for matches, some things don’t look right..
A coach that allows his most creative defender rot in bench for converted defender is a confuse coach..A coach that chose underperforming central midfielder ahead of a CM that did well and even created one the goals in SE last match against Lesotho is out of touch.
The games against Algeria and Tunisia have really revealed the mind-set of SE manager. It is obvious that he is yielding to blogs and comments from some fans to select players. His overreliance on some players who have continued to underperform while ignoring some who performed creditably well in previous matches is really worrying.
This is the right time to separate boys from men. Players that didn’t show up in the last match should not be invited for the next matches, this will make others sit-up.
The next list should include players that performed well (iwobi, Okoye, Akpo, Balo, Zaidu, Simon, Ebuehi, Desser, Ajayi, Ejike, Nacho and Musa), add
Reliable performer (Ndidi, Aribo, Aina, Etebo, Chukzy, Azeez, and Shehu) and include
Untested Potentials blessed with SE flair (Dennis, Olayinka, Sadiq (our best exploits in the last UEFA competitions), Maja, *Lookman, *Ejaria, *Adabioyo, *Udokhai) * pending FIFA approval and not forgetting proven and tested performers like Victor Moses (if fit and active)..
GR can cover his technical deficiencies and make his job easier by getting players invitation and team selection right.
I hope some lessons were learnt in the last FIFA window, we’ll see..
The next list of players invitation for the coming matches will make things clearer..
I wont be surprised if Rohr uses Akpoguma as a RB during the qualifiers against SL, even though he is best suited as a CB. That position is best suited for someone who plays there on a regular bases not a make shift player. I was hoping Kingsley would be the guy for the job but we are yet to see him in action for the Super eagles. Tyrone seems very good especially in defending and he has the pace to overlap well, but its hes final delivery thats the problem, his crosses are not measured. He needs to develop that aspect of his game. This one that rohr didnt give aina even 5 mins on the field, is he trying to faze him out of the team?
Aina is a good player to have, can play LB-RB with ease and knows when to join the attack, his crosses arent bad either. They are much better than tyronne and dare I say sanusi, but defensively he too is suspect but he is still better than collins (defensively) in my opinion. Now, apart from osimhen and maybe Etebo, I don’t see coach Rohr sending invitations to any other players outside those invited for the friendly games. Ndidi and Aribo will still be recovering.
I just heard that Samuel kalu is injured or got injured during the Algerian match (hamstring tear I think) yikes!
That means Rohr will definitely play chukwueze and simon if he doesn’t recover before the qualifiers (its what he does, predictable!!!)
Anyways, with osimhen back the team will have more fire power upfront. And if he can play effectively with iheanacho then forget it, it will be smooth sailing to Cameroon.