TheGoodJoe:
So far, the World Cup has delivered in drama and we might be witnessing the Best World Cup ever.

Very soon hundreds of millions of eyes will beam on the match between Nigeria and Argentina. It is a do or die game for both sides and I hope Rohr puts aside any sentiment to go for blood.

Time for our Young stars to show the World that Super Eagles can roar.

forgiveness:


He can. He has played in that position for his club.

charlesemeka85:
and joel is not young and pacy?

charlesemeka85:
oga mistakes are bound to happen. the best and world class defenders do commit worst blunders than that of ebuehi. as it stands now he is the most assured player for that position. also i believe joel obi will do well in that position too if tested

tbaba1234:

He was spot on for the Croatia game.

TheSuperNerd:
Sadly it is also Iceland's motto. We are playing the game of our lives and this is why I believe the power of Naija will turn up in those boys come Friday. It is war.

odun360:
Nigeria’s 19-years old goalkeeper Francis Uzoho got everyone talking when he took to Facebook to celebrate his son’s 17th birthday yesterday report says.

In his post he wrote;
“Wow my second son Michael is 17 today. I seek for God’s blessings for him. Daddy loves you boy”. .

The goalkeeper, who might have forgotten that he is 19 years old and could not have a second son who is 17, immediately deleted the post.



http://www.reportminds.com/2018/06/nigerias-19-years-old-goalkeeper.html?m=1

lalasticlala

komekn:


Are you telling me Rohr selected a player with injury issues

forgiveness:


I have known that before now and I spoke about it while we played against England but I was rebuked sharply.

If Simon and Moses played on the wings at the same time, it is a whole different ball game entirely.

ChrisKels:


Na u give am injury wey make am unfit? Shut up if u no get wetin to talk. Na Balogun wey pass let fitness test. Ebuehi was never injured at any point. He only had a simple nose bleeding about 4 days ago

Fadiga24:


Abeg shut up, which Awaziem are you talking about?

ersonleads:

We can only win our next match playing 352
Was thinking he was gonna adapt to it in d second half. He should henceforth play omerou, ekong & balogun as 3 @ d back. Ndidi Mikel & iwobi @ d midfield (iwobi as ten, Mikel should support ndidi at blocking 4 to protect d back 3). Y ebuehi plays right wing back & moses plays left wing back. Nwankwo & iheanacho should play alternately upfront like dey did against Argentina in d friendly.

AIG07:
Rohr got it wrong from the word Go.

He thought we are still playing against African sides that is all strength and physicality. That was why he started Shehu.

Not a single cross came from his side. Moses did more of defensive work than attacking today no thanks to a poor fullback. I am pissed off.

Unlimited22:
So we'll play 10 against 11?

realpoacher:
If Egypt do not qualify from this Group A

Then they will really have no one else to blame than themselves



These Saudis are mince meat.... No bite... No attack! Just pass, pass and more aimless passing

joseph1013:


3 5 2
Kelechi and Iwobi to lead the line.
Moses Mikel Ndidi Ogu/Etebo Tyrone
Omeruo Ekong Balogun

We're not scoring goals.

Kelechi scores goals. We need him to play.

It's a wonder that since we played the 3-5-2 against Argentina, we've not tried to use the same personnel against other teams. We have not been scoring goals.

Those front two are especially important. They know how to score goals for the Super Eagles.

Rohr has to maximize our strength.

Mujtahida:

no.ndidi wears 4. omeruo wears 22. this are recent pictures. moreover why will they chose to post these pictures now and not before or shortly after the england game

joseph1013:

We need to find a way to play Kelechi in our team. We're assured of scoring goals, that much is certain.

It is the work of the coach to maximize a team's potential. Let's hope Rohr pull it off.

Naughtytboy:
completely uzoho is doing well, Leon balogun is exposing the young man too much

terzurum5:
Before Rohr ruins our World Cup

by Cosmas Odoemena

[img] [/img]

It happened again, the Super Eagles lost their match against the Czechs. Has luck deserted the Super Eagles? What is it that has changed in a team that had a good qualifying campaign?
After several warnings from some quarters against the use of Francis Uzoho as the first-choice goalkeeper of the Super Eagles the manager Gernot Rohr seems hell-bent on using him. To Rohr perhaps, it is Uzoho at all cost.


Our game against England could have easily been a draw if not for the young lad who made a schoolboy error which can happen at his age but which is unforgivable for a goalkeeper going to the World Cup. A ball that should have been punched out for a throwing Uzoho’s first instinct was to punch out for a corner. And that resultant corner kick was capitalized on to give England the lead. The second goal too was cheap.


After the first-choice goalkeeper Carl Ikeme was diagnosed with leukemia, Ikechukwu Ezenwa took Ikeme’s place and Nigeria qualified for the World Cup. But instead of keeping faith with Ezenwa, or looking for more matured goalkeepers he went for a young lad who is third-choice goalkeeper at the La Liga club Deportivo La Coruña, a club that has now been relegated.


I like Uzoho, but he should wait for his turn. He can’t be given a responsibility his young shoulders or rather hands can’t carry. Making him first-choice at the World Cup is just a crazy gamble. Up till now he can’t command his defence. How can he do that when his defenders are well older than him? It’s only natural for him to respect the older players to the team’s detriment. He should still be playing for the U-21.


The senior World Cup is for men, not for boys. Experience usually trumps youth. Even being the youngest team there is a disadvantage.


Well, I don’t know the magic Uzoho performs during trainings but it has yet to reflect during matches. As we say it here “na who pass na him know book.” Besides, we need a goalkeeper who keeps regularly for his club not a bench warmer.


Uzoho has not shown us why he should be ahead of Ezenwa. So much for Uzoho’s height advantage over Ezenwa. Of what good is height when it can’t be used to your advantage? What some goalkeepers lack in height they make up for in good instinct, good vision and good reaction time, positioning and good leadership to help organize their defence.


Uzoho is 19, Ezenwa is 29. I repeat, if Uzoho goes to be number one at the World Cup it means we are placing our fate on a young lad who has not kept in a competitive match, and who is third choice in his club!

Does it mean in a nation of more than 180 million people there aren’t good goalkeepers?
As I once said in a piece on the same issue “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know. Ikechukwu Ezenwa helped qualify us for the World Cup. He seems lucky and often trusts his luck in his rosary which he brandishes when we win. Successful teams do need luck too. The Super Eagles will surely need any kind of luck.”


Yes, there is an element of luck in life, football is not an exception. I prefer an “average” goalkeeper who keep regularly for his club and is so lucky that when he is on duty for some reason he is virtually on holiday, to a so-called “good” goalkeeper who when he is on duty he is kept busy all through. And at the end of the match you hear “Ah, if not for him the opponents would have scored 10 goals.”


But Ezenwa did creditably well against Cameroon at home and away. And also showed class against Algeria and Zambia. These are top-rated teams in Africa and moreover competitive matches.
Rohr is fixated on foreign-based players to the detriment of home-based players and our league.


If Ezenwa were playing abroad perhaps he would have been favoured. But remember that Vincent Enyeama was playing at home with Enyimba while he was our number one goal tender. This is the same club Ezenwa is playing for now. Rohr by his action is really affecting the psyche of the home-based players. Enyimba is the most successful club in Nigeria today.



We should believe it can produce at least one first-team player if not more in the Super Eagles as obtains in other great footballing nations.


Almost all the players going to the World Cup for Nigeria are foreign-based. This does not speak well of our league. Come to think of it, how many domestic league matches has Rohr watched? Rohr was nowhere for the CHAN Eagles. In the past it was suggested that any foreign manager that Nigeria contracts must help in developing our league. Those responsible should please advise Rohr before he ruins our World Cup.

Rohr has kept saying he will stick to the team that qualified us for the World Cup yet leaves out Ezenwa. But Ezenwa is the Super Eagles missing link.


Foreign managers have always worked against our league and this is hampering our progress. They use the home-based players for practice and discard them when the real thing comes for the foreign-based players who may be overrated. And we think karma can’t explain our present and past disastrous outings.

Dr Odoemena wrote this piece from Lagos.

www.dailytrust.com.ng

terzurum5:
Before Rohr ruins our World Cup

by Cosmas Odoemena

[img] [/img]

It happened again, the Super Eagles lost their match against the Czechs. Has luck deserted the Super Eagles? What is it that has changed in a team that had a good qualifying campaign?
After several warnings from some quarters against the use of Francis Uzoho as the first-choice goalkeeper of the Super Eagles the manager Gernot Rohr seems hell-bent on using him. To Rohr perhaps, it is Uzoho at all cost.


Our game against England could have easily been a draw if not for the young lad who made a schoolboy error which can happen at his age but which is unforgivable for a goalkeeper going to the World Cup. A ball that should have been punched out for a throwing Uzoho’s first instinct was to punch out for a corner. And that resultant corner kick was capitalized on to give England the lead. The second goal too was cheap.


After the first-choice goalkeeper Carl Ikeme was diagnosed with leukemia, Ikechukwu Ezenwa took Ikeme’s place and Nigeria qualified for the World Cup. But instead of keeping faith with Ezenwa, or looking for more matured goalkeepers he went for a young lad who is third-choice goalkeeper at the La Liga club Deportivo La Coruña, a club that has now been relegated.


I like Uzoho, but he should wait for his turn. He can’t be given a responsibility his young shoulders or rather hands can’t carry. Making him first-choice at the World Cup is just a crazy gamble. Up till now he can’t command his defence. How can he do that when his defenders are well older than him? It’s only natural for him to respect the older players to the team’s detriment. He should still be playing for the U-21.


The senior World Cup is for men, not for boys. Experience usually trumps youth. Even being the youngest team there is a disadvantage.


Well, I don’t know the magic Uzoho performs during trainings but it has yet to reflect during matches. As we say it here “na who pass na him know book.” Besides, we need a goalkeeper who keeps regularly for his club not a bench warmer.


Uzoho has not shown us why he should be ahead of Ezenwa. So much for Uzoho’s height advantage over Ezenwa. Of what good is height when it can’t be used to your advantage? What some goalkeepers lack in height they make up for in good instinct, good vision and good reaction time, positioning and good leadership to help organize their defence.


Uzoho is 19, Ezenwa is 29. I repeat, if Uzoho goes to be number one at the World Cup it means we are placing our fate on a young lad who has not kept in a competitive match, and who is third choice in his club!

Does it mean in a nation of more than 180 million people there aren’t good goalkeepers?
As I once said in a piece on the same issue “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know. Ikechukwu Ezenwa helped qualify us for the World Cup. He seems lucky and often trusts his luck in his rosary which he brandishes when we win. Successful teams do need luck too. The Super Eagles will surely need any kind of luck.”


Yes, there is an element of luck in life, football is not an exception. I prefer an “average” goalkeeper who keep regularly for his club and is so lucky that when he is on duty for some reason he is virtually on holiday, to a so-called “good” goalkeeper who when he is on duty he is kept busy all through. And at the end of the match you hear “Ah, if not for him the opponents would have scored 10 goals.”


But Ezenwa did creditably well against Cameroon at home and away. And also showed class against Algeria and Zambia. These are top-rated teams in Africa and moreover competitive matches.
Rohr is fixated on foreign-based players to the detriment of home-based players and our league.


If Ezenwa were playing abroad perhaps he would have been favoured. But remember that Vincent Enyeama was playing at home with Enyimba while he was our number one goal tender. This is the same club Ezenwa is playing for now. Rohr by his action is really affecting the psyche of the home-based players. Enyimba is the most successful club in Nigeria today.



We should believe it can produce at least one first-team player if not more in the Super Eagles as obtains in other great footballing nations.


Almost all the players going to the World Cup for Nigeria are foreign-based. This does not speak well of our league. Come to think of it, how many domestic league matches has Rohr watched? Rohr was nowhere for the CHAN Eagles. In the past it was suggested that any foreign manager that Nigeria contracts must help in developing our league. Those responsible should please advise Rohr before he ruins our World Cup.

Rohr has kept saying he will stick to the team that qualified us for the World Cup yet leaves out Ezenwa. But Ezenwa is the Super Eagles missing link.


Foreign managers have always worked against our league and this is hampering our progress. They use the home-based players for practice and discard them when the real thing comes for the foreign-based players who may be overrated. And we think karma can’t explain our present and past disastrous outings.

Dr Odoemena wrote this piece from Lagos.

www.dailytrust.com.ng

Icon4s:
I think Nigerian fans all over the World have cause to worry. And the team deserves all what critisms it will receive from now till 16th June.

Areas to worry about:

The front line is still blunt. Ighalo has underlined his inability to effectively lead the attack. His positioning has always let him down plus he does too much outside the dangerous areas. Nwankwo is like a fresh breath of Air. We need to see more of him. Also Rohr needs to find how to effectively utilize Iheanacho. He also is key to our campaign

The backline is still shaky. There have been occasional moments of indecisions especially between the CBs and also wrong/misplaced passes.Conceding goals in almost every game says alot about the defense.

The midfield is not doing enough to support the attack. Mikel is yet to hit gear.

Rohr feels more comfortable with a back 4 formation but his team seems to play better with the formation that has a back 3. He needs to decide from now till June 16 which he will adopt as the baseline setup as limited number of substitutions affects your tactical switch.


Some positives:

Iwobi: He, and not Mikel or Moses, seem to be the main actor on the pitch. He is the New orchestra leader. His switch from LAM to RAM to CAM and to CM underlines his status as a Super utility player to this team. My hope here may just be that his high work rate does not lead to us losing him to injury.

Ogu: He is a player that can easily switch positions (from DM to CB) when we switch tactics. He spares Rohr one substitution spot. Players like this are always so valuable to a team.

Uzoho: He has continued to grow in confidence and made some important saves in our last few games. His positioning has been his major strength. He, however, needs to do more in commanding his area.

The last 3 results do not look good for us as a team that wants to take the world by storm. But, I still have hopes in this team.

We are Nigeria! And we rise to the occasion when the need arises. That is the naija spirit.

TheSuperNerd:
Ighalo had two shots on target in the first half. I give him kudos for especially pulling off that first save from the Cezch keeper. But the best chance he had came in the second half and he played a silly tame shot. He blew it. Ighalo had three shots in all... All on target but one was so weak and silly (that was the third in the second half). In the first half, he did well getting that shot off and his second also was saved before the ref called for an infringement.

Ighalo may have bagged a goal today if Idowu had the sense to feed him on two occasions. Idowu killed off two of our attacking chances. Sad.

But this is not to exonerate Ighalo. He did have chances and could not bury them. Also, he is not mobile enough. I really am scratching my head on him because he is our starting 9 going to Russia... Unless...

Martz101:


i see nothing wrong with ighalo...even the goal against England he hit the bar from a difficult angle before iwobi scored.

with the 4-2-3-1...i have a feeling Mr rohr is playing mind game with our opponent scout.

tbaba1234:


Balogun was the only defender playing against England.. Ekong was suspect in the first.

komekn:


His Uncle is JJay Okocha he got into the SE before he had played one senior professional game for Arsenal.

However, Sone Aluko, Hope Akpan, with outstanding performances for the SE have been dropped, set aside and forgotten.

Add to that Aina set aside for a player that has failed to meet the standard at low club level..

THATS GREAT INSPIRATION for future Nigerian origin players.

Nigerian origin players know they face discrimination from thier white peers but the discrimination from your own people is much MORE PAINFUL.

NUFF said