komekn:


Children are a blessing from God, indeed you are blessed with that privileged and amazing responsibility.

Congratulations !!!

Eseose9:


Congratulations sir

SerVik:

I think Mickael2 or goldfish80 once posted a link to an article on how Wales beat the ranking

Humility017:


you are very right....I don't really fear Germany that much...because they can loose to an Africa power house...I remember Ghana and Algeria almost won them the last time they played...

I fear France,Brazil and Spain more than anything...how i wish Ghana had qualified...they 're good in beating some of this European and south America teams...

Icon4s:


If you cannot beat a team ranked over 20 places below you there is no way your ranking points will rise.

Argentina lost 97points for the loss to Nigeria, even though they won their last S/American qualifiers and beat Russia.

Icon4s:


Please let's be factual when we say things.

The only European team Ghana has ever beaten is Czech Republic. While they have never beaten any South American team.

But as for Nigeria, for Europe we have beaten: Bulgaria 2X, Greece, Spain, Scotland, France, Bosnia and Luxemburg. While for South America we have beaten Argentina 2X.

Humility017:

how did they got to quarter final in 2010...
all their matches I have watched they have always prove difficult for south America teAms and some European power house

safarigirl:
Congratulations tbaba1234, at least Naijaphobia's son will now have iyawo-in-waiting

jotey:
my preferred group

Argentina

England

Denmark

Nigeria

on a serious note I want these teams especially England

junnyjake:
Watched Samuel Adegbenro play for Rosenberg today. Seems to be the Go-To man of the team.

terzurum5:

Congrats to Naijaphobia and tbaba1234. Your children will grow up to be great achievers.

goldfish80:
Congratulations to the sharp shooter himself Tbaba1234. More blessings

Icon4s:


They beat Serbia 1-0 (I have modified my earlier post to include Serbia), Lost to Germany and drew with Australia. In the 2nd round they beat USA after extra time and lost on penalties to Uruguay in the Q/final.
Nigeria has a far better record against European oppositions.

Certitude:

Even if you lost to a team at the top of the Ranking, the outcome is still the same...A lose is 0 and you would be gaining no point irrespective of the opposition....
Sir TheGoodJoe...though it's late, Happy Birthday sir..

Icon4s:


If you cannot beat a team ranked over 20 places below you there is no way your ranking points will rise.

Argentina lost 97points for the loss to Nigeria, even though they won their last S/American qualifiers and beat Russia.

terzurum5:

That guy has someting going for hm. Wish he adds consistency to his game.

Icon4s:
If we try to free our minds of bias we will understand this FIFA ranking thing more.

International friendlies carry 1point while for African teams WC qualifiers carry 2.5 points. Meanwhile some teams won their WC qualifying games while we drew. The Argentina game carried only 1 point there is no way you can rise above teams like Senegal that won 2 WC qualifiers games. Morocco beat CIV, Burkina Faso and DR Congo also recorded wins. These are the teams that gained points and then moved there positions up.
In other parts of the world teams like Australia, Sweden, Peru won WC qualifying games. But we drew. How do you expect us to move above them.

We dropped 9places because we failed to beat Algeria.

goldfish80:


The FIFA ranking system is deeply flawed and alot of countries have gamed the system to their advantage. Prime examples are Wales, Switzerland and Romania.
It's even laughable that Romania were seeded in pot 1 @ the last Euros... Hahaha

The template these countries followed was simple.
1) Avoid playing non - competitive games (friendlies)
2) Ensure you do well in continental qualifiers and world cup qualifiers

Funny enough, Nigeria cashed in with this model some years back. It was more like serendipity because this wasn't planned. Totally circumstantial

Remember in the mid 2000's Austin Eguavoen/Amodu Shuaib era. When the Nff couldn't organise friendly games, the Super Eagles always ranked inside the top 2 in Africa, most times even number 1. At the time, our national team was considerably weaker than Egypt, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Ghana in particular complained to high heavens, their protest birthed the friendly in Fulham and they proved they were the better team by beating the Super Eagles black and blue in London.

Nigeria have enjoyed from this flawed system in the past. We shouldn't complain now.
.............

link to how Wales beat the FIFA ranking prior to the last Euros. Enjoy

http://www.football365.com/news/how-wales-beat-the-fifa-rankings-system

BascoVanVeli:


What about their 3 prior draws before that? Argentina's last 6 matches equal 2 wins 3 draws and 1 loss.

comodo:
Rohr, Nigeria Need A Unique Style Of Play Like “Palmwine Football” In Russia 2018
November 23, 2017018

With Russia 2018 around the corner, now is the time to start thinking about marketing Nigerian football as a premium product

Being a 57 year old nation, it is time for Nigeria to grow up and take her place at the country of mature countries. Nowhere is this more pertinent than on the football pitch where we have shown that we can compete with some of the best in the world.

Our national team the Super Eagles have been on the verge of achieving greatness for about two decades now but at no stage have they really shown that they are set to join the elite band of sides that have won the World Cup before. We may dazzle, flatter to deceive and now and again come up with brilliant results like our recent victory over Argentina but are nowhere near as good as the likes of Brazil, Germany, Italy, France, Holland, Argentina or Spain.

If we want to make this quantum leap, it is time among other things to work on our own unique brand of football and start selling it as a global brand. Brazil plays Samba Football, the Dutch gave us Total Football and Spain gave us Tika-Taka and I believe it is time for Palm Wine Football to make its way up there with them.

First of all, we have got to stop celebrating this win in a mere friendly and learn the lessons from the game. Argentina exposed a lot of flaws in our Eagles rear guard and we should be more interested in fixing before next June.

Nigerian football is based on pace, quick counter-attacks, physicality and athleticism and it is now time to turn this into a global brand. It is time the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) packages this Palm Wine Football into a global brand as Rinus Michels did with Total Football and let it sell like a premium product.

Can you just imagine how many jerseys, kits, and memorabilia the NFF would sell globally if it could attract neutrals to fall in love with Nigerian football? Back in the 1990s when the likes of Austin Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, George Finidi, Taribo West, Daniel Amokachi, Sunday Oliseh, et al wooed the world, it was common to see our green-white-green jerseys being worn by Europeans.

Today, that rarely happens but with the current crop of players at Gernot Rohr’s disposal, we may be on the cusp of something great. When I look at the likes of Mikel Obi, Victor Moses, Henry Onyekuru, Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Nwakali, Tyronne Ebuehi, William Ekong, Alex Iwobi, Francis Uzoho and Brian Idowu, I see a group of players who could become household names after Russia 2018.

Given the pace with which our Eagles launch counter-attacks and the devastating pace with which we can get the ball from box-to-box, we have a brand which appears unique to us.

When you add the physicality of Mikel Obi, Odion Ighalo and Leon Balogun into the mix, we can conjure a unique brand that will be as globally as popular as Samba or Total Football.
To make this work, however, a successful Eagles team is compulsory and I believe that at the very least, the team needs to get to the final of Russia 2018 to be taken seriously.

We are known for pace, strength and flair but we have got to add winning to the mix, which is why we simply have to make getting to the last four of next year’s World Cup a national objective.

I love the fact that we have some exciting young players full of flair coming through at the moment. Onyekuru, Nwakali, Iwobi, Ighalo and Ebuehi are players who can thrill audiences with clever one-twos on the edge of the area, dragbacks, Cruyff turns, nutmegs, back heels, etc, Add Mikel’s long rang passing to what they offer and we are in fact a very entertaining side.

All we need on top of wining is an appealing kit that fans will be happy to go out and purchase. No one wants to wear a kit that looks awful, so Nike need to be keyed into the agenda as well.

We maybe on the cusp of something historic here. Just imagine what good it would do for our national psyche if we could sell a brand of football to the international community. The feel good factor would almost certainly spread throughout every other aspect of our national life and serve as a catalyst for economic regeneration.

owngoalnigeria.com

tbaba1234:

Ameen, thanks.

TheGoodJoe:


Fabian Delph and Mangala are still learning at Manchester City. So Shehu is not too old to learn. Make a move for a big club is the best move. If he succeeds, he reaches for the stars. If he does not, he still ends up an improved player and become a key player to a mid table team.