Nigeria v Libya (4-0) FT - Ighalo (Hattrick lo mo), Kalu

[vancity eagle]

No point crying over spilt milk, but one can only wonder what would have happened at the world cup if Iwobi was our AM.

I've always felt Ighalo has been unfairly criticised for failing to score because in more than half the games he's played for the SE, he has received very poor service. Even the likes of Harry Kane, Cavani, Lewandoski, and Suarez would have struggled to score in some of the games Ighalo has played for the SE. You can only judge a striker objectively when he's getting support and receiving the ball from those around him.

KPOM

I am not the biggest Ighalo fan, I think he is OK, but other than the Argentina miss he has been unfairly criticized.

Our problem is not finishing, our problem is creating chances.

Today we could have won by 6 or 7, because we had a player who knows how to create, and the attacking support was on the same page at least half of the time.

as well as we played in the 2nd half we can still improve quite a bit and then we will be smashing teams like this by 5 6 7 goals per game.

People were too quick to poo poo on Iwobi when he started off slow with the national team. He must be given our trust to handle the creativity of this team, but we need to immedietly draft in Eze and Ejaria as backups.

[Mister Dolly]

Fantastic result for the Super Eagles. Way to intimidate your opponent before the return leg. Hopefully we play with as much confidence on the 16th as we did today. Iwobi was superlative and the wasteful Ighalo found his scoring boots again with a hat trick.

Well done lads!!

[mystic]

Great result for Nigeria! I expect a difficult match in Tunisia.

[john12]

You simply cannot compare Libya to Argentina or Croatia so comparing iwobi performance today to his wc own is invalid. We all saw iwobi against Croatia and as much as I am a big iwobi fan, he was rubbish against Croatia

[zee]

Misses Ighalo will get the MOTM but I would have given to JAY JAY IWOBI

NO WAY!!

Etebo is MOTM. He totally took control.of that midfield. Spreading passes, keeping possession, winning balls.

WARRIOR!

Nonsense.

[marutimon]

You simply cannot compare Libya to Argentina or Croatia so comparing iwobi performance today to his wc own is invalid. We all saw iwobi against Croatia and as much as I am a big iwobi fan, he was rubbish against Croatia

He did the same against Argentina in November last year. FACT!

And vs Croatia he was played on the wing. Everyone also can have an off day, but Iwobi was still better than most vs Croatia. The guy who really hurt us in that game was Etebo, who doesn't know when to run and when to pass.

[Damunk]

Metallaboy that Argentina game was 50/50 and the team with the best quality took their chances. You have to understand that at the highest level, you either take your few chances or be punished. We missed our chances while Argentina scored their own shikena and that was Nigeria only WC game against Argentina that we actually could had won

It would have been 60/40 if Rohr had actually played Nigeria's best team.

Let's not forget Ighalo's miss....that would have won the game or at least guaranteed a draw.
The tactics in that game was not the problem. Our finishing was.

Also, yes maybe Iwobi might have helped us offensively, but again I remind you that today's Iwobi was not the same WC Iwobi.

Alex is playing with confidence and composure that he just did not have before. We can guess all we like of what might have happened if he played, but it wont change who Alex was before, and the result of the Argentina match. All we can do now is move forward.

Thank you 'jare.
Alex has said as much himself, quite recently.

But come, when will these Rohr haters just let the matter rest? This their non-stop whining like women in their first trimester don really tire persin.

[wale1974]

Humble pie for Chinese Journalist (Ayo Akinfe)

[anikulapo]

People should stop saying rohr got his tactics wrong against Argentina or Croatia, he didn’t. We just lost to a better team with better players. Shikena! If you want to challenge world class teams, produce world class players. You see how these boys destroyed Libya today?

[metalalloy]

Someone who has to be concerned is Iheanacho. What role does he play on this team? He isnt strong enough to be the targetman and success now muddies the water after Ighalo, he isn't fast enough to be a WF especially now we have at least 4 of them who could lay a strong claim in that role ahead of him, and really is wasted on the wings. I suppose he would be a back up to Iwobi as the advanced midfielder behind Ighalo, but then you give up a lot of defensive responsibilities and he hasnt exactly grabbed that role by the horns.

[txj]

Misses Ighalo will get the MOTM but I would have given to JAY JAY IWOBI

NO WAY!!

Etebo is MOTM. He totally took control.of that midfield. Spreading passes, keeping possession, winning balls.

WARRIOR!

Etebo was solid but the Libyans actually overran our midfield in the 1st half and were unlucky not to have scored.
Iwobi's vision, sublime skills, understanding of the game, swagger and confidence makes him the best player we have now barring none.

He only influenced the game in the final third. His lack of presence in the build up phase and his poor positioning in the non possession phase was central to our problems in the 1HF.

[txj]

You simply cannot compare Libya to Argentina or Croatia so comparing iwobi performance today to his wc own is invalid. We all saw iwobi against Croatia and as much as I am a big iwobi fan, he was rubbish against Croatia

He did the same against Argentina in November last year. FACT!

And vs Croatia he was played on the wing. Everyone also can have an off day, but Iwobi was still better than most vs Croatia. The guy who really hurt us in that game was Etebo, who doesn't know when to run and when to pass.

Some of the best #10s play from the wing...

People need to understand the game...

[txj]

People should stop saying rohr got his tactics wrong against Argentina or Croatia, he didn’t. We just lost to a better team with better players. Shikena! If you want to challenge world class teams, produce world class players. You see how these boys destroyed Libya today?

While I do not like his philosophy of the game, he has rarely got his tactics wrong. Like he did vs Croatia...

[Enugu II]

So who gets to qualify from the group? First 2 teams?

Yes, minus the Cameroon group, where only the best non-Cameroon team progresses (Morocco / Malawi / Comoros).

If Nigeria beat Libya away and South Africa beat Seychelles away - Bafana Bafana will have qualified by day 4, while Nigeria will need just 1 point from two games.

Salone ban puts their group in same position as Cameroon group.

No, because two qualify from the Salone group. Different situation:
Cameroon group - one team from three qualifies
Salone group - two teams from three qualify

marutimon,

I doubt that two will automatically qualify from that group if Sierra Leone does not get bak in. We have seen this before and I believe we were a victim in the past. With three teams left in the group, they are unlikely to get an automatic place for the second placed team. CAF will likely rule on this situation when it becomes clear what Sierra Leone situation is in the near future. That is just my tuppence and not an official position from CAF.

[Enugu II]

Metallaboy that Argentina game was 50/50 and the team with the best quality took their chances. You have to understand that at the highest level, you either take your few chances or be punished. We missed our chances while Argentina scored their own shikena and that was Nigeria only WC game against Argentina that we actually could had won

It would have been 60/40 if Rohr had actually played Nigeria's best team.

Let's not forget Ighalo's miss....that would have won the game or at least guaranteed a draw.
The tactics in that game was not the problem. Our finishing was.

Also, yes maybe Iwobi might have helped us offensively, but again I remind you that today's Iwobi was not the same WC Iwobi.

Alex is playing with confidence and composure that he just did not have before. We can guess all we like of what might have happened if he played, but it wont change who Alex was before, and the result of the Argentina match. All we can do now is move forward.

charlie,

Well stated on Iwobi and his WC performance. Players are not robots that perform consistently across contexts. Today, Iwobi influenced the game from the middle but he has not always done this when playing for Nigeria and thus the talk that he would have made the difference at the World Cup is certainly speculative.

[wale1974]

Poor side.

Oga Cellular U too?

[wale1974]

It's criminal that Rohr still plays Ighalo in the SE... That man is a bloody imbecile.

Best post from wailers today.............Classic

[wale1974]

The mentality of Nigerians when it comes to building amazes me, mugu are expecting them to just roll over Libya like they're not there.The SE team that I'm watching is a much better attacking team than the one we had just 4 months ago, they're definitely getting better, too bad they can't score 6 goals in the first half.

Can you imagine. This is a team currently leading the group oh. Anyways it is what it is with SE fans. It is a damn shame if you ask me smh

Nothing more to add.

[wale1974]

Ighalo again

CE don suffer today

Thank God some of us are not Fairweather fans

[wale1974]

Bipolar people plenty this thread I swear................lol

[Vindave]

Congrats to the boys, I pray they will repeat this feet in Tunisia in the 2nd Leg, the home ground of the Libya national team.

[Robbynice]

Bipolar people plenty this thread I swear................lol

As in...It is a shame honestly, a damn shame if you ask me...smh

[Cellular]

Poor side.

Oga Cellular U too?

Extremely poor. Poor team play... disjointed play.
Don't let the result fool you.

Glad they won.

We still need to figure out a balanced midfield combination. For some reason, Ndidi is not playing well for us... doesn't play with the same discipline he plays with Leicester. I like our 3/4 German line. I like Colins at Left Back.

On offence, will like to see Musa played centrally. Ighalo still misses lots of chances... can't score with a half chance... something we will need against quality opposition. Solomon Kalu is a choosing material. Plays so unprofessionally you will think he came from the local league. Nice strike but he killed a lot of plays.

Good result... their play could be a lot better.