NIGERIA(1) VS SUDAN(0) FT CHAN SEMI FINAL

[oloye]

The team people called rubbish when the list was announced is now in the final abi nor be so?

[Globero]

The team people called rubbish when the list was announced is now in the final abi nor be so?

This is exactly why I dey always tell una say, its just got to be .....

..... Arsenal for life !

..... Naija for Eternity !

[truetalk]

Let's slow down O! Dr. Yinka.

Even though I think this CHAN team is much better that Keshi's bunch, remember Ejike was MVP in CHAN. See how bad he looked in his Brazil Cameo.

We should be happy that a few keepers are getting tournament experience (even if they are shorties). Hopefully Akpeyi is gone for good. I was so angry that some on here were saying we had no one better in the middle of last year.

Heck NO! They are not...

Apart fron Rabiu Ali, who's already on this team as one of its mainstays, most of the players on that 2014 team would EASILY get on (and most likely start) for the present team, particularly Shehu Abdullahi, Ejike Uzoenyi, Ugonna Uzochukwu, Kunle Odunlami, Erhun Obarnor, Hilary Ikenna, Barnabas Imenger Jr., Aliyu Ibrahim (of whom Faleye is a poorman's version of), Christian Obiozor, Ifeanyi Edeh - and there's no way that Farmer Okpotu can clean Gbolohan Salami's boots! That 2014 team was ultimately unlucky, but don't let your apparently unabiding personal hatred of Keshi cloud all sense of rational judgment. SMDH

This team is better. More solidly built from the back. Personal hatred for Keshi? Is you OK?

Right after our 1st game, I said this team will be difficult to beat. We drew vs. Rwanda, but hit the bar 3X.

In addition to having better keepers (Ezenwa over Agbim), I'll take the current fullbacks over Kwambe and Francis.

Search the forum. I said that all the noise about Odunlami, was just that. Noise. If no one had seem him or Egwueke before, Egwueke looked better in that tournament.

The 2014 team was blowing hot and cold. They gave up 2 goals in a loss to Mali in their 1st game, gave up another 2 goals against Mozambique (they won), and of course gave up 3 in that wild Quarter Final against Morocco.

You think listing out the names of the players in the 2014 team automatically makes them better?

Talking about hating coaches, you have been calling this team poorly coached. A team that is solidly built from the back and tough to beat. Maybe you should look in the mirror to find out why the thought of hating coaches is right on the tip of your fingers.

[mystic]

Let's slow down O! Dr. Yinka.

Even though I think this CHAN team is much better that Keshi's bunch, remember Ejike was MVP in CHAN. See how bad he looked in his Brazil Cameo.

We should be happy that a few keepers are getting tournament experience (even if they are shorties). Hopefully Akpeyi is gone for good. I was so angry that some on here were saying we had no one better in the middle of last year.

Heck NO! They are not...

Apart fron Rabiu Ali, who's already on this team as one of its mainstays, most of the players on that 2014 team would EASILY get on (and most likely start) for the present team, particularly Shehu Abdullahi, Ejike Uzoenyi, Ugonna Uzochukwu, Kunle Odunlami, Erhun Obarnor, Hilary Ikenna, Barnabas Imenger Jr., Aliyu Ibrahim (of whom Faleye is a poorman's version of), Christian Obiozor, Ifeanyi Edeh - and there's no way that Farmer Okpotu can clean Gbolohan Salami's boots! That 2014 team was ultimately unlucky, but don't let your apparently unabiding personal hatred of Keshi cloud all sense of rational judgment. SMDH

This team is better. More solidly built from the back. Personal hatred for Keshi? Is you OK?

Right after our 1st game, I said this team will be difficult to beat. We drew vs. Rwanda, but hit the bar 3X.

In addition to having better keepers (Ezenwa over Agbim), I'll take the current fullbacks over Kwambe and Francis.

Search the forum. I said that all the noise about Odunlami, was just that. Noise. If no one had seem him or Egwueke before, Egwueke looked better in that tournament.

The 2014 team was blowing hot and cold. They gave up 2 goals in a loss to Mali in their 1st game, gave up another 2 goals against Mozambique (they won), and of course gave up 3 in that wild Quarter Final against Morocco.

You think listing out the names of the players in the 2014 team automatically makes them better?

Talking about hating coaches, you have been calling this team poorly coached. A team that is solidly built from the back and tough to beat. Maybe you should look in the mirror to find out why the thought of hating coaches is right on the tip of your fingers.

Substitute Agbim for Ezenwa and let's see how far this team would go. Agbim was shockingly bad in 2014.

[Robbynice]

The team people called rubbish when the list was announced is now in the final abi nor be so?

You think it was bad after the list was announced, you need to see what was said after the first game that ended in a draw...it is a shame, a damn shame if you ask me smh

[Damunk]

What eventually became of Odunlami?
What eventually became of Agbim?

[1naija]

This was the first game of the team that I have seen, and THEY WERE POOR EXCEPT Ajiboye. The problem is Sudan were even poorer finishers. We are in the final and that's all that matters, but let's not get carried away.

[Gotti]

This team is better. More solidly built from the back. Personal hatred for Keshi? Is you OK?

Right after our 1st game, I said this team will be difficult to beat. We drew vs. Rwanda, but hit the bar 3X.

In addition to having better keepers (Ezenwa over Agbim), I'll take the current fullbacks over Kwambe and Francis.

Search the forum. I said that all the noise about Odunlami, was just that. Noise. If no one had seem him or Egwueke before, Egwueke looked better in that tournament.

The 2014 team was blowing hot and cold. They gave up 2 goals in a loss to Mali in their 1st game, gave up another 2 goals against Mozambique (they won), and of course gave up 3 in that wild Quarter Final against Morocco.

You think listing out the names of the players in the 2014 team automatically makes them better?

Talking about hating coaches, you have been calling this team poorly coached. A team that is solidly built from the back and tough to beat. Maybe you should look in the mirror to find out why the thought of hating coaches is right on the tip of your fingers.

Blah, blah, blah...

Admittedly this team is defensively better (despite that defense being regularly carved up by the Sudanese tonight and previously by Angola - earning Ezenwa MOTM as frankly should have Ajiboye tonight), but cannot carry the candle offensively to the 2014 side and has a disjointed midfield that has gotten regularly rolled over throughout this tournament. Conversely, arguably apart from the opening game in 2014 (and perhaps the first half against Morocco), the 2014 team consistently played some really good football. In contrast, this present team struggles for LONG patches of games (even in today's game which was probably their best showing in the tournament).

And yes, I do engage in HONEST discourse and proffer HONEST opinions (albeit subjective - like EVERY human being), and thus have no qualms about having shared what was a virtual UNANIMOUS opinion on this forum (especially after the Rwanda game and even after the Angola game) that the talent on display was poorly coached. When players talented enough to be on the national team (albeit the homebased group thereof) are struggling with basic organization on the pitch while repeatedly making diabolically poor-decisions all over the pitch, that is more than enough evidence of a poor coaching performance, and I make absolutely NO APOLOGIES for calling a spade by its name. Of course, while I did not actually refer to Yusuf Salisu (because it was so obviously not a personal comment or attack), ultimately as the head of the team's coaching staff he bears the ultimate responsibility for team's coaching and yet again I make NO APOLOGIES whatsoever thereto.

Unlike those who retain a primordial hateful obsession with Keshi (and prior to him, Amodu), intelligent folk form opinions based on the evidence before them - when a team plays poorly, intelligent and rational folks say so based specifically on that performance, and conversely when a team plays well or otherwise shows some evidence of good coaching (as with spells of today's performance, where the coach even shared my expressed opinion of starting Okechukwu alongside Okpotu), intelligent folks give them kudos. Unfortunately, in much of the crude and crass style of much of Nigerian public discourse, some folks remain limited to extreme alternatives of either canonization or demonization with no nuance in-between, when intelligent folk have the capacity to alternatively commend or condemn the same team/coach based on specific performances or action.

BEST OF LUCK to the Lads in the final on Sunday. They are understandably (and even expectedly) playing relatively much better than they did in the group games (albeit still patchy in myriad stretches of the game) and DESERVE due credit for it (even if still not up to the flowing football of 2014!).

[Gotti]

This was the first game of the team that I have seen, and THEY WERE POOR EXCEPT Ajiboye. The problem is Sudan were even poorer finishers. We are in the final and that's all that matters, but let's not get carried away.

[Robbynice]

This was the first game of the team that I have seen, and THEY WERE POOR EXCEPT Ajiboye. The problem is Sudan were even poorer finishers. We are in the final and that's all that matters, but let's not get carried away.

My brother when you get to the final, you are not a bad team. I mean you do not use luck to get to the final of a major tournament. Haba...it is possible that they had played well in the 4 previous games they played before this one that you saw for the first time. They might just have had a bad game today.

[1naija]

This was the first game of the team that I have seen, and THEY WERE POOR EXCEPT Ajiboye. The problem is Sudan were even poorer finishers. We are in the final and that's all that matters, but let's not get carried away.

My brother when you get to the final, you are not a bad team. I mean you do not use luck to get to the final of a major tournament. Haba...it is possible that they had played well in the 4 previous games they played before this one that you saw for the first time. They might just have had a bad game today.

Uncle, Like i said, this was the first time I watched their game in this tournament, so it may very well be that they had an off day. But you would agree that they played poorly and would have lost severly had Ajiboye not performed like he did. That's not to say they don't deserve credit.

[Tbite]

I haven't watched any of the matches.

but I do hope that we can win this.

[mystic]

This was the first game of the team that I have seen, and THEY WERE POOR EXCEPT Ajiboye. The problem is Sudan were even poorer finishers. We are in the final and that's all that matters, but let's not get carried away.

My brother when you get to the final, you are not a bad team. I mean you do not use luck to get to the final of a major tournament. Haba...it is possible that they had played well in the 4 previous games they played before this one that you saw for the first time. They might just have had a bad game today.

Nope. We've been poor throughout and have been playing disjointed football. But we do create chances and won our group on the back of a stingy defense. Our defense has not been so sturdy in the knockout rounds, but our goalkeeping has been excellent. All things considered though, our team has exceeded expectations and I'm proud of our fighting spirit. For a team that was cobbled together and didn't have ideal preparations, we've done more than anyone had any right to expect.

Now onto Morocco.

[maceo4]

This was the first game of the team that I have seen, and THEY WERE POOR EXCEPT Ajiboye. The problem is Sudan were even poorer finishers. We are in the final and that's all that matters, but let's not get carried away.

My brother when you get to the final, you are not a bad team. I mean you do not use luck to get to the final of a major tournament. Haba...it is possible that they had played well in the 4 previous games they played before this one that you saw for the first time. They might just have had a bad game today.

Nope. We've been poor throughout and have been playing disjointed football. But we do create chances and won our group on the back of a stingy defense. Our defense has not been so sturdy in the knockout rounds, but our goalkeeping has been excellent. All things considered though, our team has exceeded expectations and I'm proud of our fighting spirit. For a team that was cobbled together and didn't have ideal preparations, we've done more than anyone had any right to expect.

Now onto Morocco.

I thought I was the only one that saw this, each game has been an eyesore with so much disjointed ball that I couldn't stand more than 30 minutes. The sort of horrible decision making these players exhibit just drives me crazy, but they keep finding a way to win and I guess thats all that matters. But this team is NOT very good at all.

[lacidi]

Nigeria is the only country that cries after winning. Cote D'Ivoire, Cameroun, Zambia etc. are all out. In fact the 1st 2 went out in the group stages, but we are in the finals and all we read is how we are an 'eyesore'. So it makes me wonder how the other wonderful teams could not beat a team that is an eyesore. How terrible are those other teams?

[Cristao II]

Team has strong defence but the attack na .... I watched the first game and got so bored that I decided to follow scorelines only. A team (read Greece under Otto Rehagel) can be an eyesore and still win games.

[Cristao II]

This was the first game of the team that I have seen, and THEY WERE POOR EXCEPT Ajiboye. The problem is Sudan were even poorer finishers. We are in the final and that's all that matters, but let's not get carried away.

My brother when you get to the final, you are not a bad team. I mean you do not use luck to get to the final of a major tournament. Haba...it is possible that they had played well in the 4 previous games they played before this one that you saw for the first time. They might just have had a bad game today.

Nope. We've been poor throughout and have been playing disjointed football. But we do create chances and won our group on the back of a stingy defense. Our defense has not been so sturdy in the knockout rounds, but our goalkeeping has been excellent. All things considered though, our team has exceeded expectations and I'm proud of our fighting spirit. For a team that was cobbled together and didn't have ideal preparations, we've done more than anyone had any right to expect.

Now onto Morocco.

KPOM!!

[mapet]

What eventually became of Odunlami?
What eventually became of Agbim?

Agbim is a classic case of what a keeper should never be

[oloye]

The team people called rubbish when the list was announced is now in the final abi nor be so?

This is exactly why I dey always tell una say, its just got to be .....

..... Arsenal for life !

..... Naija for Eternity !

Arsenal ko, Gunners ni...

[Godfather]

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[Cito]

Nigeria is the only country that cries after winning. Cote D'Ivoire, Cameroun, Zambia etc. are all out. In fact the 1st 2 went out in the group stages, but we are in the finals and all we read is how we are an 'eyesore'. So it makes me wonder how the other wonderful teams could not beat a team that is an eyesore. How terrible are those other teams?

It is possible we are looking for better and not just good enough. That other teams are Shyte do not mean we will be less shytier than them as long as we win. We can be better and should stride to be better that’s all that counts. Just being less shyte than the opponent is not good enough.

And congrats to the guys for making it this far. Now go out there and win it all.

[okidoki]

None of these guys had preseason with their teams, yet we want them to perform like they are all match fit. I’ve seen the whole matches, and I have to say they’ve tried. It’s far from perfect, but I’m more impressed, than disappointed .

[mystic]

None of these guys had preseason with their teams, yet we want them to perform like they are all match fit. I’ve seen the whole matches, and I have to say they’ve tried. It’s far from perfect, but I’m more impressed, than disappointed .

Nobody here is disappointed. The object of the game is to win, and we've been doing that. However we've got to be honest with ourselves that we can present a much better product on the pitch. If you have a child who is passing all his exams but can do much better, you'd congratulate him but encourage to study harder.

That's essentially the same thing here. We're proud of our team. No doubt about that. Nonetheless, we're aware that we haven't really played well yet.

Thankfully we have one more shot at playing the type of football that Nigerian teams are capable of playing. And if we finally put it together on Sunday, methinks we're coming home with the Cup. Anything less and I suspect that we'll come out second best.