Nigeria vs South Africa (1-1) FT

[Cellular]

Alhassan Yusuf was very good today, when he came in.

Yes he was. I was nervous because he has made costly mistakes in the past, but he showed up today.

He made one mistake.
A blindside tackle at the AFCON. A tackle that would have been avoided if a teammate let him know that there was a man at his blindside.

If we are to win games on a consistent basis, we need mobile midfielders who can tackle and release ball quickly. Guinea exposed this... but we shocked it off to it being a friendly.
In Alhassan he brings energy. He is not afraid to show for the ball, and he is capable of threading a pass.
I also like that he recognizes who should receive the ball immediately.

Any notion of Wing-Play by Finidi should be DEAD! He needs to find the midfield pairing and alignment that works.

[Cally]

Will take the point.

We are still in 5th place

But still a victory within the leaders.

No margin for error going forward.

Finidi's showing today can be excused as it was his first competitive game.

No excuse for starting Onuachu or Iheanacho in the next game.

Iwobi should drop to the bench if Dele-Bashiru is fit. Ndidi, Onyedika and Dele-Bashiru can handle the middle.

Empty vessels make the most noise. You can do a million posts here calling Iwobi up and down, he still was the best contributor for Nigeria in this game. You choose to close your eyes, block your ears, and keep repeating lies to yourself. Presently, no other AM currently playing for Nigeria has been able to help open up defences like Alex. You can drop him and play whoever you want, then you will know how far. The young man was all over the pitch willing his team forward, yet you can't stop calling his name.

[Cellular]

When you think about it, we actually don't have GOOD strikers...after Osimhen (who is questionable himself) the quality level just looks piss-poor. Onuachu, Moffi, Sadiq, Iheanacho are utterly $#% players.

We should be all over players like Chuba Akpom and Solanke at this point.

Been telling them we need to look at Chuba Akpom and if possible Solanke.
But dem think say we get strikers. We don't.

[truetalk]

Alhassan Yusuf was very good today, when he came in.

Yes he was. I was nervous because he has made costly mistakes in the past, but he showed up today.

He made one mistake.
A blindside tackle at the AFCON. A tackle that would have been avoided if a teammate let him know that there was a man at his blindside.

If we are to win games on a consistent basis, we need mobile midfielders who can tackle and release ball quickly. Guinea exposed this... but we shocked it off to it being a friendly.
In Alhassan he brings energy. He is not afraid to show for the ball, and he is capable of threading a pass.
I also like that he recognizes who should receive the ball immediately.

Any notion of Wing-Play by Finidi should be DEAD! He needs to find the midfield pairing and alignment that works.

Chairman, it was more than one mistake O!

Watch the opening match against EG again. Yes, the match everyone hailed him for. Even in the AFCON final when he came on, he made costly mistakes, but that game get as e be for everyone.

Like I said, he was good today, but you cannot afford him and Iwobi on the pitch.

Two midfielders that can't score or assist at a reasonable level.

Ndidi, Onyedika, Onyeka and Dele =-Bashiru look the part.

[Cellular]

What game were you watching when you say SA outplayed Nigeria? SA was lucky to.escape with a draw. We created more chances and had greater possession.

The group is wide open. Every team mathematically still has a chance to qualify.

It is not all Finidi fault. Players not coming to camp early. You hired him in the middle of world cup qualifications. Long list of injuries. We were lucky to escape with a point today. SA outplayed Nigeria. The good news is we played better in the 2nd half. The team got to fix the errors before the next game against Benin Republic.

Luckily for us their finishers are worse than ours otherwise this game would've been over at halftime.

My concern is we lack positional organization especially compared to SA. Overall, they were more in control of this game but it ended 1-1 largely because they are even less composed than we are in the last third. We gave them so much space throughout that they should have won this game even though we could have won (because they kept us in the game).

Bros, you don tok am finish.
Today's formation was Jag-jag. It is not like he didn't tell us he does not believe in formation.

And you are right. Had South Africa had better finishers, this game would have been over at halftime.

Finidi said he likes to play out of the back and keep possession. For where. Nwabali even with his defenders open will bypass dem and send ball to No-one-in-particular aka hopeful balls for Onuachu to knockdown or draw a foul.

If they give a quiz about what formation, tactics, strategy, etc we played today you will get different conflicting answers.

[truetalk]

Will take the point.

We are still in 5th place

But still a victory within the leaders.

No margin for error going forward.

Finidi's showing today can be excused as it was his first competitive game.

No excuse for starting Onuachu or Iheanacho in the next game.

Iwobi should drop to the bench if Dele-Bashiru is fit. Ndidi, Onyedika and Dele-Bashiru can handle the middle.

Empty vessels make the most noise. You can do a million posts here calling Iwobi up and down, he still was the best contributor for Nigeria in this game. You choose to close your eyes, block your ears, and keep repeating lies to yourself. Presently, no other AM currently playing for Nigeria has been able to help open up defences like Alex. You can drop him and play whoever you want, then you will know how far. The young man was all over the pitch willing his team forward, yet you can't stop calling his name.

Is everything OK?

Please get help if necessary.

As for the game, I have no power to drop or select anybody, but I will call it as it is. You can take that to the bank.

He made the pass for the goal, but it was not defence splitting. It was a brilliant goal by the scorer who had his back to goal when he got the ball.

I defended Iwobi after AFCON with all the attacks he got, even though his limitations as an AM are glaring, He was not effective today, and I think he has limited impact in the final 3rd. HE should be competing with Onyedika in the middle.

I will make suggestions to help Finidi keep his job and help the team succeed. Take some panadol if that gives you a headache.

[olu]

I agree. I don't think Kelechi or Tanimu should be out wide. I would rather see Lookman or Chuwkueze as the RW and Awazeim or Osayi-Samuel as the RB.

Even when we played well, the team was unbalanced. South Africa had chance after chance to attack and walked through the midfield ALL MATCH. This would have been a loss if their forwards could stay onside and take their chances. Even for the goal, Taminu has no idea where the attacker is. How many times, did Bafana put them in dangerous positions with one simple ball?
he only difference in the second half was that the team played harder and eventually had players in their proper positions when they came on.

Onuachu is a good player; starting him is always a mistake. He does not fit the style of this team at all. He can't press and we don't pass that well through midfield and don't cross from the wings. Bench option only.

Iheanacho is not a wide player, and if he is to play there, it has to be for a team that will dominate possession. In this match, he was either getting the ball wide (where he can't create from) or playing centrally leaving the wing vacant for Taminu who made little use of it. No quick forward to play through balls to, either. He is not on good form, anyway, so why are you shoehorning him into the team, specifically in a role where won't succeed even at full powers. Again, bench option until he restores his club form at least.

Lookman is hard to judge because objectively, he created many chances, but it seemed like he should have been much more dangerous. It is incredible that he only tested Williams once, given the kind of space SA granted him.

Osayi was on the wrong side and it showed, btw. He had no interest in crossing with his left despite getting himself in great positions. Again, for most of the match, they played with a striker who is known for scoring crosses and the fullbacks were a central defender that cannot cross and a right footed player on the left. What sense does this makes?

[ohenhen1]

Some of you fans are part of the problem. Finidi must stay. You think it is easy to coach a team. Especially players that are not discipline enough to come to camp early. Iwobi got to camp and got two training sessions with the team. What did you expect? Hugo Broos has been coachiing SA for years. You expect to hire a coach in the middle of world cup qualifications and expect him to perform magic. You are not serious. Go ahead fire Finidi. Once Finidi goes. Who is going to take the job and perform miracle? The reality is Nigeria is in trouble. What we should do is help Finidi. I personally think it was a mistake to play Iwobi. We also need to schedule more friendlies. And the players need to come to camp early.

[Cellular]

Alhassan Yusuf was very good today, when he came in.

Yes he was. I was nervous because he has made costly mistakes in the past, but he showed up today.

He made one mistake.
A blindside tackle at the AFCON. A tackle that would have been avoided if a teammate let him know that there was a man at his blindside.

If we are to win games on a consistent basis, we need mobile midfielders who can tackle and release ball quickly. Guinea exposed this... but we shocked it off to it being a friendly.
In Alhassan he brings energy. He is not afraid to show for the ball, and he is capable of threading a pass.
I also like that he recognizes who should receive the ball immediately.

Any notion of Wing-Play by Finidi should be DEAD! He needs to find the midfield pairing and alignment that works.

Chairman, it was more than one mistake O!

Watch the opening match against EG again. Yes, the match everyone hailed him for. Even in the AFCON final when he came on, he made costly mistakes, but that game get as e be for everyone.

Like I said, he was good today, but you cannot afford him and Iwobi on the pitch.

Two midfielders that can't score or assist at a reasonable level.

Ndidi, Onyedika, Onyeka and Dele =-Bashiru look the part.

My Oga, maybe I don drink Alhassan koolaid but I didn't see the mistakes you speak about.

I also don't agree with you regarding Iwobi. He was one of the few players that was willing to move the ball quickly and pass to an open man. Did you see the number of times Osayi ran anticipating a pass from Lookman only for Lookman to overlook him and keep the ball? Did you also see the number of times when Alhassan passed the ball with pace and moved it about without dwelling on the ball?
The two blackholes today were Lookman and Iheanacho. E get one pass he was supposed to make and he didn't make it and I begin wonder what in the world is he still doing on the pitch.

Anyway, I am biased. I like certain type of players... guys that are quick thinkers. Pass the ball... don't dwell on it. Present yourself for the pass... make runs...

The good thing is that we have players who can do those things... the only thing is that they don't get to start and play together.

[Cally]

Will take the point.

We are still in 5th place

But still a victory within the leaders.

No margin for error going forward.

Finidi's showing today can be excused as it was his first competitive game.

No excuse for starting Onuachu or Iheanacho in the next game.

Iwobi should drop to the bench if Dele-Bashiru is fit. Ndidi, Onyedika and Dele-Bashiru can handle the middle.

Empty vessels make the most noise. You can do a million posts here calling Iwobi up and down, he still was the best contributor for Nigeria in this game. You choose to close your eyes, block your ears, and keep repeating lies to yourself. Presently, no other AM currently playing for Nigeria has been able to help open up defences like Alex. You can drop him and play whoever you want, then you will know how far. The young man was all over the pitch willing his team forward, yet you can't stop calling his name.

Is everything OK?

Please get help if you necessary.

As for the game, I have no power to drop or select anybody, but I will call it as it is. You can take that to the bank.

I don't need help, I'm good. Just called what I saw just like you did.

[Cally]

Alhassan Yusuf was very good today, when he came in.

Yes he was. I was nervous because he has made costly mistakes in the past, but he showed up today.

He made one mistake.
A blindside tackle at the AFCON. A tackle that would have been avoided if a teammate let him know that there was a man at his blindside.

If we are to win games on a consistent basis, we need mobile midfielders who can tackle and release ball quickly. Guinea exposed this... but we shocked it off to it being a friendly.
In Alhassan he brings energy. He is not afraid to show for the ball, and he is capable of threading a pass.
I also like that he recognizes who should receive the ball immediately.

Any notion of Wing-Play by Finidi should be DEAD! He needs to find the midfield pairing and alignment that works.

Chairman, it was more than one mistake O!

Watch the opening match against EG again. Yes, the match everyone hailed him for. Even in the AFCON final when he came on, he made costly mistakes, but that game get as e be for everyone.

Like I said, he was good today, but you cannot afford him and Iwobi on the pitch.

Two midfielders that can't score or assist at a reasonable level.

Ndidi, Onyedika, Onyeka and Dele =-Bashiru look the part.

My Oga, maybe I don drink Alhassan koolaid but I didn't see the mistakes you speak about.

I also don't agree with you regarding Iwobi. He was one of the few players that was willing to move the ball quickly and pass to an open man. Did you see the number of times Osayi ran anticipating a pass from Lookman only for Lookman to overlook him and keep the ball? Did you also see the number of times when Alhassan passed the ball with pace and moved it about without dwelling on the ball?
The two blackholes today were Lookman and Iheanacho. E get one pass he was supposed to make and he didn't make it and I begin wonder what in the world is he still doing on the pitch.

Anyway, I am biased. I like certain type of players... guys that are quick thinkers. Pass the ball... don't dwell on it. Present yourself for the pass... make runs...

The good thing is that we have players who can do those things... the only thing is that they don't get to start and play together.

Spot on!

[fabio]

The two players on the pitch whose finishing were piss poor, were the two players who came very late to camp. It was quite obvious.

[aruako1]

Some of you fans are part of the problem. Finidi must stay. You think it is easy to coach a team. Especially players that are not discipline enough to come to camp early. Iwobi got to camp and got two training sessions with the team. What did you expect? Hugo Broos has been coachiing SA for years. You expect to hire a coach in the middle of world cup qualifications and expect him to perform magic. You are not serious. Go ahead fire Finidi. Once Finidi goes. Who is going to take the job and perform miracle? The reality is Nigeria is in trouble. What we should do is help Finidi. I personally think it was a mistake to play Iwobi. We also need to schedule more friendlies. And the players need to come to camp early.

The only way to help Finidi is to acknowledge that he has been poor. He needs to work with his team on their play off the ball...that was what Peseiro got right.

[Shadams]

The two players on the pitch whose finishing were piss poor, were the two players who came very late to camp. It was quite obvious.

Ironically, they were also at the heart of some of the major moves in the final third; quite unfortunate. I would have brought Lookmon in for the second half, but I am sure Finidi would have been nailed for that too.

[Siddonlook11]

Btw ,,big up to the person that mentioned the fifa plus link worked like a charm very smooth and clear. thank you.

[truetalk]

Alhassan Yusuf was very good today, when he came in.

Yes he was. I was nervous because he has made costly mistakes in the past, but he showed up today.

He made one mistake.
A blindside tackle at the AFCON. A tackle that would have been avoided if a teammate let him know that there was a man at his blindside.

If we are to win games on a consistent basis, we need mobile midfielders who can tackle and release ball quickly. Guinea exposed this... but we shocked it off to it being a friendly.
In Alhassan he brings energy. He is not afraid to show for the ball, and he is capable of threading a pass.
I also like that he recognizes who should receive the ball immediately.

Any notion of Wing-Play by Finidi should be DEAD! He needs to find the midfield pairing and alignment that works.

Chairman, it was more than one mistake O!

Watch the opening match against EG again. Yes, the match everyone hailed him for. Even in the AFCON final when he came on, he made costly mistakes, but that game get as e be for everyone.

Like I said, he was good today, but you cannot afford him and Iwobi on the pitch.

Two midfielders that can't score or assist at a reasonable level.

Ndidi, Onyedika, Onyeka and Dele =-Bashiru look the part.

My Oga, maybe I don drink Alhassan koolaid but I didn't see the mistakes you speak about.

I also don't agree with you regarding Iwobi. He was one of the few players that was willing to move the ball quickly and pass to an open man. Did you see the number of times Osayi ran anticipating a pass from Lookman only for Lookman to overlook him and keep the ball? Did you also see the number of times when Alhassan passed the ball with pace and moved it about without dwelling on the ball?
The two blackholes today were Lookman and Iheanacho. E get one pass he was supposed to make and he didn't make it and I begin wonder what in the world is he still doing on the pitch.

Anyway, I am biased. I like certain type of players... guys that are quick thinkers. Pass the ball... don't dwell on it. Present yourself for the pass... make runs...

The good thing is that we have players who can do those things... the only thing is that they don't get to start and play together.

Spot on!

I won't call it an ideological difference as I like these players as well they help with a quick transition from the back. There have been other types of effective midfielders that (seemed to) dewll on the ball, like Riquelme.

The problem is when you have AMs that don't have a shot to keep the defence and GK honest, don't score, or don't assist at a high rate. It is like a guard in basketball that cannot shoot.

It will be costly playing two of these midfielders in the same game, which is why a CM spot where you can help with quick transitions might be the sensible spot.

[YemiBrazil]

Na very very jobless Uncle 1naira mentioned the link. A terrble kid has his good day too. Kudos to him.

Btw ,,big up to the person that mentioned the fifa plus link worked like a charm very smooth and clear. thank you.

[Cellular]

The two players on the pitch whose finishing were piss poor, were the two players who came very late to camp. It was quite obvious.

Ironically, they were also at the heart of some of the major moves in the final third; quite unfortunate. I would have brought Lookmon in for the second half, but I am sure Finidi would have been nailed for that too.

He would have been fired on the spot.

[Tobi17]

At least we created some brillant attacking moves that were unfortunately frittered away by woeful finishing, that's something positive to build on.

[1naija]

Na very very jobless Uncle 1naira mentioned the link. A terrble kid has his good day too. Kudos to him.

Btw ,,big up to the person that mentioned the fifa plus link worked like a charm very smooth and clear. thank you.

[1naija]

The two worst players on the pitch today were iheanacho and Onuachu.

Lookman was not very effective either. He needs an Osimhen type player to be effective.

The two players on the pitch whose finishing were piss poor, were the two players who came very late to camp. It was quite obvious.

[Lolly]

The two players on the pitch whose finishing were piss poor, were the two players who came very late to camp. It was quite obvious.

And they were the same ones who created chances for themselves and others.

I see how we are trying to shift the blame away from the one who selected the lopsided starting eleven.

[ugly boy]

Finidi is a criminal. He invited injured players so he can replace them with local player
He starts foreign players who are clubless like Ihenacho, Ndidi while sitting ballers like Boniface on the bench. No wonder Nathan excused himself. Finidi was installed by the SPIVs in NFF