Italy U-20 vs Nigeria U-20…

[anointed]

These guys might be lacking some finesse but they just kept it easy and simple, especially at the back.

I'm amazed a Ladan Bosso side could be composed and efficient like this. And that Sarki bobo...was hilarious the way he kept decimating the Italian left back. With fine tuned delivery, he could be something soon.

[lacidi]

Midfielders hustled for sure. Final passes are still an issue. Overall solid performance against a good Italian side, which I am not sure played up to expectations today.

How many final passes did Italy midfield make today? Italy did not play up to expectations because they were outplayed

[Gotti]

Well played FE. I had written them off after the first half, bit they came back strong to serve me humble pie!

Why? Game was Even Stevens in the first half…

[Tobi17]

Some of these boys will definitely transition to the senior NT after this tournament, especially Eletu, Benjamin Fredericks, Daga and Ogwuche.

[anointed]

Is the game over? What was the score? Some of us gat gaddem jobs, you know.

Rivers United lost as usual

[mcal]

This Sarki guy...I'm sure some scouts are watching him. He's a speedster but a kinda potential upgrade on Pius Ikedia.

...headless chicken speedster. I think he can improve under better coach. Runs well with ball but decision...

[Tobi17]

Midfielders hustled for sure. Final passes are still an issue. Overall solid performance against a good Italian side, which I am not sure played up to expectations today.

How many final passes did Italy midfield make today? Italy did not play up to expectations because they were outplayed

Ebenezer Akinsanmiro would have for sure improved the midfield especially in the final third, but I like how the players work so hard for each other.

[Adisboy]

If only they had intelligent forwards. The defense is VERY GOOD. A key ingredient to going far in tournaments. The midfield has some gems like Eletu & Daga. Nnadi no be am. But the forwards na wa. They are just hit & miss.

[Robotnik]

Is the game over? What was the score? Some of us gat gaddem jobs, you know.

There was a winner and a loser

They struggled, but the general feeling is that people are happy with the performance.

[metalalloy]

Is the game over? What was the score? Some of us gat gaddem jobs, you know.

2-0 to Ghana.

[Dammy]

The NFF hardly prepares our national teams outside of the SE for major competitions. The Flying Eagles only played 2 friendlies before AFCON, both at the instance of our opponents,Zambia on a West African tour and the other one in Egypt, a hurriedly arranged practice match against another qualifier.
For the WC, it was the same thing, another hurriedly arranged friendly against Colombia.
Little Dominican Republic played SIX U20 international friendly matches before the World Cup to prepare their team.
We do little in terms of preparation but have high expectations at the tournament.

[1naija]

We have $500k x N750 /$1.

That's Federal allocation for some states right there.

Is the game over? What was the score? Some of us gat gaddem jobs, you know.

Rivers United lost as usual

[1naija]

All these because I gat a gaddem job like regular people my age (25)? Perhaps I should be allergic to getting a job like Kongi and bigpokey so I can sit home all day and all night watching TV.

Is the game over? What was the score? Some of us gat gaddem jobs, you know.

2-0 to Ghana.

[olu]

Job well done. This victory was more of a team effort than individual brilliance which is good to see. The strength of this team is in its defensive discipline which is uncommon for Nigerian youth teams. If our front three players can be a little more composed, we can be deadly on the counter.

[Tobi17]

I could make do with a defensively solid and tactically compact Nigerian team with no flair than one with all the flair yet are complacent

[1naija]

But why did Tony the Paper Tiger Killer start the game thread knowing he will be deep asleep (due to old age) during the game?

[olu]

I hope Eletu recovers intime for the subsequent games. He's looked solid so far. Daga is solid as well and has a lot of upside. Like others have said; Eletu, Daga, and Fredrick are the 3 in this team to keep an eye on.

Bameyi and Agbalaka are both good defensively, but are both still very raw, and could offer more going forward. However, not every team needs two FBs that bomb forward all the time. For a team that is probably going to sit back against skillful teams, it helps to have defenders that don't bomb forward all the time.

[Gotti]

This Sarki guy...I'm sure some scouts are watching him. He's a speedster but a kinda potential upgrade on Pius Ikedia.

Sarki is one good decision making away from a top tier player, his speed reminds me of prime Musa (when he was actually decent).

He laid on a great pass on the final breakaway that should’ve led to a 3d goal, but for the terrific play by the Italian GK…

[olu]

Btw, Akinsanrimo was on the bench today in the Coppa Italia final game. Keep in mind that he's not even been in the U19 side for a full season. Will be interesting to see whether he goes out on loan or stays at Inter long term. Hope it's the later.

Akinsanrimo and Ideho could definitely have helped this team. Since better decision making in the final third is what this team needs. Going forward I will start Umeh as CF. I think he offers more than Fago.

[Gotti]

Btw, Akinsanrimo was on the bench today in the Coppa Italia final game. Keep in mind that he's not even been in the U19 side for a full season. Will be interesting to see whether he goes out on loan or stays at Inter long term. Hope it's the later.

Akinsanrimo and Ideho could definitely have helped this team. Since better decision making in the final third is what this team needs. Going forward I will start Umeh as CF. I think he offers more than Fago.

Ideho arrived in the Abuja camp still injured from his club spell…
He trained alone for a few days and then went off to Holland for his summer break, instead of back to Arsenal.

[vancity eagle]

Impressed by:
Aniagboso (GK)
Fredrick (CB)
Ogbuche (CB)
Daga (CM)
Eletu (CM)
Sarki (RW, sub)

Honestly seems like a good thing for the national team that the forward line looks like the weakest.

I was just going to say.

Defence and midfield are the strength of this team. The forward line is mediocre, but in terms of SE, this is a good thing.

[vancity eagle]

Let’s be honest, Bosso really worked on the boys. It showed.

Yet some people were calling him corrupt for not including some foreign based players like Ideho. It’s obvious he had his plan on how he wanted his team to play and players that fit in.
This is a confidence booster for the team.

But his forwards are the worst part of this team.

They could have used better forwards/wingers.

[Purity]