WHY ARE AFRICAN TEAMS SUCH POOR PASSING AND POSSESSION TEAMS

[JACKAL]

Ok, I admit, it sounds racist but I just don't understand why we cant move the ball from the back to the front without losing possession most of the time.

The possession time is like 70% to 30 % in favor of our European, south American even Asian opponents now in almost every game.

The Europeans are especially good at this, even the smallest European team moves the ball with ease from the back to the front against any team in the world.

What is our problem here ????

[Robotnik]

Haha..

Because our development institutions do not emphasize enough on the science of it.

What does Guardiola look for when picking his players..

[Igugu]

It boils down to coaching. Coaching in my mind means "teaching" the students. It is the responsibility of a coach to teach a player how to kick a ball the right way, possession techniques, and so on if he/she observes any member of the squad or whole squad not doing any of these or other little things correctly. No?
Too often I see players make same mistake time and time again; and I wonder what the coach tells them during practice or after any tournament.

[jette1]

and you have to open a thread for this; senegal nigeria egypt ghana civ are not african teams anymore

mods

[joao]

JACKAL, why do you love acting like a peacock?
Are Thailand, New Zealand, and Scotland, African countries?
Please stop the pretense of having a point to make, when in fact you are merely seeking attention.
Your continuing self degradation needs curing.

[Scipio Africanus]

Of more import is to ask why African teams are quite poor at attacking and find it very difficult to score goals.

The SE have never scored more than 3 goals in a WC match. The last time they scored 3 goals in a WC match was 21 years ago against Spain.

Cameroun have scored a grand total of 10 goals in 5 WCs. Meanwhile Croatia scored 14 goals in one WC.

Nigeria have scored only 3 goals in each of the last three WCs we qualified for.

Ordinary Russia has scored 6 in one game (granted it was against Cameroun but who is counting )


I don't care about pretty passing and possession because we frequently do nothing with it (Bafana I am looking at you). We have a long standing goal scoring problem.

[ohenhen1]

Influence of kick and run leagues like the EPL.

[ANC]

Influence of kick and run leagues like the EPL.

[joao]

Influence of kick and run leagues like the EPL.

No better answer than this.
Soccer is more about creative ball movement, and less on physical running and shooting.

[ANC]

Please move this to International Football, it does not belong to Eagles Nest

[marko]

You have raised some valid points but of course people want you to move this somewhere else for reasons i dont understand, This thread definitely belongs here as it affects all Nigerian teams, they teach kids in Europe from an early age, my son already plays football, the coaches are parents like myself, they train twice a week, at every training session, emphasis is laid on passing, playing as a team, defending, shooting and what not, so these kids already have a good head start, so by the time some of them decide football is a career, they are have the basic knowledge and this stays with them

I dont know the training structure of Nigerian kids for example but i will assume that most are naturally talented and gifted, so perhaps not a lot of emphasis is on building from behind, passing within a team, it all depends on the coaching staff

we see this at under 17 level where Africa have won quite a lot at world level, this is due to a mix of raw talent shining or perhaps the not too fancied subject, age cheating! anyway that is besides the point here

when they finally get to under 20 level, even if they take older players than they claim they are, the same Europeans that they thrashed 7 nil go back and continue work on their football development and at this level, Nigeria for example are found out big time, they have never won the Under 20s as they cannot cope with the organized European or South Americans

Will not blame this entirely on the players, the structures are not there to continue development, most of the under 17 want to go abroad early enough and some do only to spend the next couple of years in the football wilderness and only to resurface at the next under 20 world cup!

The European counterparts for example join major club youth set up with excellent world class facilities, they play in regular competitions with their peers, so we see the difference 4 years can make! England for example, never fancied in the under 17 and under 20 set up decided to take it seriously and look what happened, they won both in the same year, something Nigeria has never been able to win despite the experience at competing at this level for years!

So we can see the difference, the funding, facilities, organization, healthcare, everything has been provided for their benefit, in the UK for example, they have national lottery funding to help out with Sports ( reason why the UK had so many gold medals at the Olympics in 2012 )

Africa or Nigeria in particular do not have this type of set up so the only option is to let these kids go abroad to continue their football development, it often shows up in our football at the highest levels, our teams are so dysfunctional, we make elementary mistakes and i will no single them out for blame, it will not be fair to do so, the government themselves are hardly organized so why should its football be any different ? thats the question i will always ask

for us to reach the levels seen as our foreign counterparts, a lot of work has to be done, the money is there but usually looted by the corrupt system, let the Europeans / South Americans continue to enjoy the investments they pump into sports, they deserve it

you reap what you sow! its that simple

[Lolly]

Ok, I admit, it sounds racist but I just don't understand why we cant move the ball from the back to the front without losing possession most of the time.

The possession time is like 70% to 30 % in favor of our European, south American even Asian opponents now in almost every game.

The Europeans are especially good at this, even the smallest European team moves the ball with ease from the back to the front against any team in the world.

What is our problem here ????

Are you referring to the men or women, or both?

[Comrade Machel]

Of more import is to ask why African teams are quite poor at attacking and find it very difficult to score goals.

The SE have never scored more than 3 goals in a WC match. The last time they scored 3 goals in a WC match was 21 years ago against Spain.

Cameroun have scored a grand total of 10 goals in 5 WCs. Meanwhile Croatia scored 14 goals in one WC.

Nigeria have scored only 3 goals in each of the last three WCs we qualified for.

Ordinary Russia has scored 6 in one game (granted it was against Cameroun but who is counting )


I don't care about pretty passing and possession because we frequently do nothing with it (Bafana I am looking at you). We have a long standing goal scoring problem.

Lack of preparation (mentally and physically) on our part. The occasions always seems to overwhelm our players. They appear to have zero self belief st the top level while when they play for their teams they are OK

But we can go dance around the elephant in the room all we want, the talent is thin. Take away the physical specimens very few of the African players display that guile and composure on the ball

[waka-man]

I actually think something else is happening.
But it is useful to go back to the data first.
Do we have proof that this is a trend?
Fro example, how have our possession stats changed over the years in our various WC matches against Argentia. It might not have changed as much as you think.

That does not however, invalidate the question.

It is clear that the African game, for better or for worse, has focused a lot on defensive organisation in response to our pre-2006 propensity to leak lots of goals. African teams were seen as easy to score against.

Quietly, we've addressed that.

But it does mean we've looked for defensive minded midfielders and play increasingly on the break. I would argue that apart from VM's penalty, all Nigeria's goals in the last 2 WC have been the result of either counter-attacks or long punts from the back. Many other African teams are the same.

The problem, as someone else has pointed out, is it is not translating to goals. Because it is easier to defend against. And that's really the problem we should be sorting out.

[airwolex]

Influence of kick and run leagues like the EPL.

But England scored like a billion goals in the last WC...I think it was against Panama.

[ANC]

Move to WORLD FOOTBALL for the sake of consistency

[wiseone]

A lot of African players grow up playing on bobbly or sandy pitches with uneven bounce. Hard to play and develop a passing game on such pitches. Meanwhile 12yo kids at European academies are playing on perfect manicured pitches as smooth and flat as a luxury carpet.

[ohenhen1]

A lot of African players grow up playing on bobbly or sandy pitches with uneven bounce. Hard to play and develop a passing game on such pitches. Meanwhile 12yo kids at European academies are playing on perfect manicured pitches as smooth and flat as a luxury carpet.

We had a good passing game in the 80s and 90s. I think the problem is we have been influenced too much by kick and run leagues like the EPL. Even Brazil have been negatively impacted by European leagues.

[Scipio Africanus]

Of more import is to ask why African teams are quite poor at attacking and find it very difficult to score goals.

The SE have never scored more than 3 goals in a WC match. The last time they scored 3 goals in a WC match was 21 years ago against Spain.

Cameroun have scored a grand total of 10 goals in 5 WCs. Meanwhile Croatia scored 14 goals in one WC.

Nigeria have scored only 3 goals in each of the last three WCs we qualified for.

Ordinary Russia has scored 6 in one game (granted it was against Cameroun but who is counting )


I don't care about pretty passing and possession because we frequently do nothing with it (Bafana I am looking at you). We have a long standing goal scoring problem.

Lack of preparation (mentally and physically) on our part. The occasions always seems to overwhelm our players. They appear to have zero self belief st the top level while when they play for their teams they are OK

But we can go dance around the elephant in the room all we want, the talent is thin. Take away the physical specimens very few of the African players display that guile and composure on the ball

Dis is di koko of di matter.

[bk-one]

Of more import is to ask why African teams are quite poor at attacking and find it very difficult to score goals.

The SE have never scored more than 3 goals in a WC match. The last time they scored 3 goals in a WC match was 21 years ago against Spain.

Cameroun have scored a grand total of 10 goals in 5 WCs. Meanwhile Croatia scored 14 goals in one WC.

Nigeria have scored only 3 goals in each of the last three WCs we qualified for.

Ordinary Russia has scored 6 in one game (granted it was against Cameroun but who is counting )


I don't care about pretty passing and possession because we frequently do nothing with it (Bafana I am looking at you). We have a long standing goal scoring problem.

Lack of preparation (mentally and physically) on our part. The occasions always seems to overwhelm our players. They appear to have zero self belief st the top level while when they play for their teams they are OK

But we can go dance around the elephant in the room all we want, the talent is thin. Take away the physical specimens very few of the African players display that guile and composure on the ball

One thing I don't get about african footballers is that when they are playing for their national teams they tend to do stuff they will never do when playing for their clubs.
You will see a defender who knows that dribbling was never his thing all of a sudden trying to dribble from the back( then lose the ball and concede a stupid goal) but he will never do that when playing for his club. I was watching Senegal get knocked out by South Korea in the last u20 world cup where their captain decided to casually sky a very important penalty then walk around as if nothing happened.

Is it because players don't value playing for their national teams because their football associations seem not to care either(besides enriching themselves or building their profiles for future political office)?

[Comrade Machel]

Of more import is to ask why African teams are quite poor at attacking and find it very difficult to score goals.

The SE have never scored more than 3 goals in a WC match. The last time they scored 3 goals in a WC match was 21 years ago against Spain.

Cameroun have scored a grand total of 10 goals in 5 WCs. Meanwhile Croatia scored 14 goals in one WC.

Nigeria have scored only 3 goals in each of the last three WCs we qualified for.

Ordinary Russia has scored 6 in one game (granted it was against Cameroun but who is counting )


I don't care about pretty passing and possession because we frequently do nothing with it (Bafana I am looking at you). We have a long standing goal scoring problem.

Lack of preparation (mentally and physically) on our part. The occasions always seems to overwhelm our players. They appear to have zero self belief st the top level while when they play for their teams they are OK

But we can go dance around the elephant in the room all we want, the talent is thin. Take away the physical specimens very few of the African players display that guile and composure on the ball

One thing I don't get about african footballers is that when they are playing for their national teams they tend to do stuff they will never do when playing for their clubs.
You will see a defender who knows that dribbling was never his thing all of a sudden trying to dribble from the back( then lose the ball and concede a stupid goal) but he will never do that when playing for his club. I was watching Senegal get knocked out by South Korea in the last u20 world cup where their captain decided to casually sky a very important penalty then walk around as if nothing happened.

Is it because players don't value playing for their national teams because their football associations seem not to care either(besides enriching themselves or building their profiles for future political office)?

Bk-one something is very wrong with many African stars and national team players when they play for their countries

If you watch African football without the blinkers of patriotism you will see the standard is usually very poor even between so called big nations

[Kabalega]

Ok, I admit, it sounds racist but I just don't understand why we cant move the ball from the back to the front without losing possession most of the time.

The possession time is like 70% to 30 % in favor of our European, south American even Asian opponents now in almost every game.

The Europeans are especially good at this, even the smallest European team moves the ball with ease from the back to the front against any team in the world.

What is our problem here ????

You need to understand what it takes to build a team.

How many of these players have ever played together and for how long?
The players need to have some cohesion and understanding.
You cannot just get a set of individuals from all walks of life and expect them to play a passing game.
You need time. You need bonding time and the right drills to get that telepathing understanding.

Some African players grew up on fields where you cannot make a clean ground pass. All they know are air balls.
When they get fatigued or emotional they resort to air balls.