Iheanacho breaks hand on Nigeria duty
By Rob Dorestt

Kelechi Iheanacho has scored six goals since joining Leicester

Leicester City expect Kelechi Iheanacho to be available on Saturday against Brighton despite breaking his hand.

The forward suffered the injury while on international duty with Nigeria and he was not named among the substitutes for their 2-0 defeat to Serbia in Barnet on Tuesday.

He fractured the first metacarpal in his right hand and will be further assessed by Leicester's medical staff before returning to training on Thursday.

The 21-year-old joined the Foxes from Manchester City in August 2017 on a five-year deal.

Since then he has made 15 Premier League appearances scoring one but has managed four goals in five FA cup matches.


Source: http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11712/11307376/leicester-citys-kelechi-iheanacho-breaks-hand-playing-for-nigeria


Russia 2018 WC Countdown: 77 days 19 hours 29mins to go

Hopefully, he meant to say a decision needed to be made finally about Musa, and given him 90 minutes game time will be the best way to assess him going forward. I really do hope he was sarcastic that way.

darkelf:
Just listening to amaju pinnicks interview on brila fm

He said that Ahmed Musa playing for 90mins was one of the high points of the game.

SMH. Someone whose continual invitation is shrouded in mystery.

My elders in the house, who can explain why we keep giving invitations to this guy?

Joebie:
haha.. I had said you keep posting LIKE you have an agenda.. I went on to say you might have something to gain.. Does that sound to you like I know for sure..

just like suspecting a child that he steal meat from stew pot, and the child in response says, "prove it".
forgiveness did a similar thing the other day.

Doing a lot of talking but in actual fact you are saying nothing, that = EVASION.

how many contributors?
let me help you with the answer... ONE

darkelf:
A contributor on brila just said he doesn't expect much from this team.

He said that he has his eyes set on Qatar 2022 and not this coming WC in Russia because it is a team for the future

He finally posited that we shouldn't expect much from this team and that we can only manage to survive the group stage in the WC

How many minutes did Ebuehi play against Argentina compared to Shehu?
How about the Serbia friendly?
you are only judging Ebuehi based on yesterday's game. How is Shehu better than Ebuehi? Explain

komekn:


Remember when I said Shehu is better defensively and Ebuehi is better going forward. I was told I am out of touch.

Fans will always be fickle now they are saying something else. I said that Aina both or somewhere in between.

And he is only getting 5 or 10 minute cameo

Okay I am coming to UK.. I'm going to find a lawyer and I will gather all the evidences.. are u ready? lol

komekn:


Doing a lot of talking but in actual fact you are saying nothing, that = EVASION.

UNTRUE

Over both games I will give him a C.

Goke7:


Call me whatever, Joel was a flop period

On item 1. He has been pretty good in Torino's colors lately. And also did very well when he played for Nigeria in the past.. The judgements were based on those facts. Another fact is he is playing in the highest level (comparing him to other midfielders in the SE fold, and in fact all Nigerian midfielders abroad). I will not say he is overhyped. I will say we have very high expectations of him. And I've not given up on him.. we will have to get our midfield combinations right..

On item 7. they've always had the right to do so before the Serbia, Poland friendlies.. and they have been exercising their rights.. doesn't change anything.

MetalJigsaw:
Lessons learnt from Nig vs Srb

1) Joel is over hyped. People of this thread can over hype for Africa and the universe. I'm not saying you he guy is bad but simply overrated on this thread

2) Without Mikel, our Midfield is totally empty no matter who is deployed.

3) Moses is a catalyst. We lacked fire power, threat and creativity in the final third as soon as he left.

4) If e no be Ekong-Balogun, e no fit be like Ekong-Balogun

5) We don't have a Left Back yet. Idowu was below par/ average again. The 3-5-2 formation is where he can thrive. Although he's not bad for a bench candidate

6) Uzoho deserves to be number one in Russia.
aAmong Ezenwa and Akpeyi

7) Those who clamour for Ajagun, Aluko and some notable AMs have the right to do so.

8.) Rohr already knows his team 95 percent. Its evident as agu and Ajayi could only come in in the last few minutes.

9) Ighalo surely deserves to be our number one striker in Russia. Just put Mikel behind him and he won't lack the ball.

10) Iwobi is useless as a winger. He can only thrive in a more central position, and he can give you goals or assists. A talented player though but still has a lot to learn.
Moses Simeon is still the beat man in the Wing position alongside V. Moses.

11) Tyronne, a very talented player but really inexperienced and very soft/ light. Shehu still has a claim.

12) 3-5-2 and 4-2-3-1 is the most suitable and ideal for our team- To pack the midfield

Gernot Rohr, I hope he takes note.

Joebie:
Even Aina is better than Echiejile at LB.. Rohr said Aina, Idowu and Ebuehi are Echiejile's competition at LB

I posted the quote here.. you guys should keep praying for Echiejile

we've seen aina in two games and he was not impressive, For Rohr to admit that Echiejile is still in competition, it says a lot that the LB is still not sorted despite the all the names that have been called.

we seem to forget that aina, idowu and ebuehi are still very young players that if not the lack in depth we have in the squad, they stand no chance in our senior side, that's how bad things are currently

Joebie:
UNTRUE

Over both games I will give him a C.

a C is not good enough at all for a player of that calibre and after all the noise especially with few days left to the world cup

Nice post..
Uzoho will improve.. as well as our defense

TheSuperNerd:

Nigeria 0-2 Serbia: Hot talking points

Gernot Rohr suffered only his second loss in 14 matches as Super Eagles coach when Nigeria went down 2-0 to Serbia in London on Tuesday.

Beyond the result, there was plenty to unpack in this unexpected capitulation, with the West Africans learning some tough lessons with the World Cup less than three months away.

Here are the hot talking points from Nigeria's Serbian setback as the Road to Russia continues.




Nigeria's passing must improve

It's hard to remember too many occasions against Serbia in which Nigeria managed to string more than three passes together.
Without captain John Mikel Obi for the second game in succession, the Nigerians looked like they had no concept of the basic fundamentals of a passing game.

Moves constantly broke down, especially under high pressing, because players appeared unable to pick out a teammate under pressure.

It's not just the player in possession who was to blame, with a lack of movement off the ball also limiting options.
We have seen this team pass the ball better, against African opposition and against Argentina, but without Mikel, they lacked cohesion and confidence with the ball at feet.

When his team gets back together in May, Rohr will have to fashion out a way to have his players keep possession better, move the ball better and create chances.




Rohr shows flexibility with tactical tweak

Tuesday's starting XI represented something of a surprise as Rohr diverted from his usual approach.
In his previous 13 games with Nigeria, the German tactician has always started with a leading big man flanked by wide forwards in what was essentially a 4-2-3-1.

That line-leading position has been played by Odion Ighalo, Kelechi Iheanacho and Anthony Nwakaeme.

Against Serbia, however, he chose to go with Ahmed Musa in that central position in a more traditional 4-3-3. It would seem to appear that the Nigeria coach wanted to see if he could exploit the somewhat slow Serbian defence with pace and a bit of guile.

Musa's pace did trouble Branislav Ivanovic and his partners, but the trouble was that in deploying Wilfred Ndidi as the most advanced midfielder, Rohr sacrificed a creative link to those forwards.

Perhaps Joel Obi would have been better served up there, even though he misplaced a slew of passes by trying to do too much.
Could have also have deployed Alex Iwobi in this role?
Rohr ultimately discarded the experiment after 45 minutes, replacing Victor Moses with Ighalo and reverting to type.




Iwobi can be Mikel 2.0

Iwobi may not have been detailed to play there, but the Arsenal man regularly nipped centrally, to orchestrate play. He skipped away from opposing players with fancy footwork, played combination balls and generally conducted proceedings.

The trouble was, he was not supposed to be there, and kept bumping into the hapless Wilfred Ndidi. It was an impressively exquisite performance of ability, skill...and ill-discipline.

Over two games, the Super Eagles suffered from not having a player with the authority to control the play, to stabilise the game and ease pressure under unrelenting attacks.

That player is usually Mikel. On Tuesday, Iwobi showed that while he does not have Mikel's calm maturity to stabilise the play - at least not yet - he does have the ability to dictate play.

His quick passing, close control, skilled getaways from tight marking and combination passing were not perfect, but they provided a glimpse into what is possible if he were to be employed in this role.

On Tuesday, he showed tactical indiscipline by drifting inside too often rather than stretching the play.
However, it's not impossible that Rohr might opt to use Iwobi inside and employ Moses Simon and Moses in wide areas to offer pace on the flanks.
Lack of success aside, Rohr's choices showed that the coach is actively exploring the possibility of surprising some of his opponents.

This certainly bodes well for the hopes of a multifunctional player like Joel Obi to gatecrash the Russia party.





Uzoho isn't yet ready

Francis Uzoho: Talented? Yes. Future prospect? Yes. Current first choice? Absolutely not!

The wonderkid is growing in stature, but as expected, Uzoho is nowhere near ready to be the Super Eagles' number one goalkeeper going into the World Cup.

After 225 minutes of football, the 19-year-old still looks like the inexperienced goalkeeper that he is.

He mistimed crosses, misjudged balls and for the second time in two games, showed butter fingers as he let an effort slip under him and over the goalline.

Fortunately, there was no goalline technology to rule the effort in.

One area he did excel in was shot-stopping. On the occasions when he faced down strikers one on one, Uzoho read the threat brilliantly and smothered efforts with panache and confidence.

It would appear Uzoho is heading to Russia with the Super Eagles, and while he deserves to make the trip, he'd be a clear weak link if he starts.


Source: http://kwese.espn.com/football/blog-football-africa/story/3434536/nigeria-0-2-serbia-hot-talking-points?device=featurephone

Russia 2018 WC Countdown: 78 days 1 hour 3 mins to go

Good.. so that was my point.. we had very high expectations of him.. and a C is not a flop.

Goke7:


a C is not good enough at all for a player of that calibre and after all the noise especially with few days left to the world cup

Rohr made a point that we had a problem at LB although Echiejile had been in the team with all his experience.. does that not tell you something?
Well we are not going to have an Alaba before we conclude the LB is sorted out. At the end of the day, the better player gets to play.

Goke7:


we've seen aina in two games and he was not impressive, For Rohr to admit that Echiejile is still in competition, it says a lot that the LB is still not sorted despite the all the names that have been called.

we seem to forget that aina, idowu and ebuehi are still very young players that if not the lack in depth we have in the squad, they stand no chance in our senior side, that's how bad things are currently

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/mar/28/world-cup-power-rankings-spain-back-at-the-top

Check out the latest world cup power rankings, we are down 1 spot to 8th.

Joebie:
Rohr made a point that we had a problem at LB although Echiejile had been in the team with all his experience.. does that not tell you something?
Well we are not going to have an Alaba before we conclude the LB is sorted out. At the end of the day, the better player gets to play.

but all the players who have been tested so far are still not convincing yet so the battle continues

Joebie:
Good.. so that was my point.. we had very high expectations of him.. and a C is not a flop.

with the those foul throws? haba

Joebie:
one thing I agree with you especially in your write up.
based on our personnel, 3-5-2 might be our best bet.. Now i'm talking about our personnel in the bench as well. Although Ebuehi is also solid as a full back when fully fit, he is a beast going forward. We may be tempted to convert Awaziem to a LB.. not tried and tested there in SE colors but he has excelled there ONCE at club level. So many makeshift decisions can prove costly. Hence, we need to start focussing on the two or three formations we would like to play going forward, and 3-5-2 should be one of them.

Actually, I believe in an all out attack. If we will be very honest with ourselves, 3-5-2 has been the formation that brought out the best in all of our players especially the players who shone like a million stars. This formation is highly effective and productive. In it, we got to see smooth and swift counter attacks and overall, the team was a beauty to watch. Playing lone strikers in front requires a skill set called smooth ball distribution which i find lacking each time mikel is not on the pitch.
Hence the call for Rohr to start looking at getting a replacement for Mikel. Iwobi is a natural replacement for me. And this simply means that once he is being drafted to the creative midfield position, an equally cerebral player is needed to take his place on the left. The player best suited to take Iwobi's position on the left in my opinion is Onyekuru( thats probably after Mikel must have been subbed)

My worries right now is central midfield and the attack lines. Playing Ighalo as a lone striker with no one to supply the right timeous passes is plain useless and this is what makes him look like he is useless upfront. If this isnt sorted out before the next friendly, I can promise you that we will only be playing 1 nil wins or 2nil loss with no clear cut direction.

Goke7:


we've seen aina in two games and he was not impressive, For Rohr to admit that Echiejile is still in competition, it says a lot that the LB is still not sorted despite the all the names that have been called.

we seem to forget that aina, idowu and ebuehi are still very young players that if not the lack in depth we have in the squad, they stand no chance in our senior side, that's how bad things are currently

Sir,it's simple,when Shehu got injured who replaced him?Ebuehi and when Idowu was substituted who came in for him?Aina,this is to tell you Echiejele is behind,so making the team look dicey for him.

Sir,what do you mean by lack of depth in our team,are you saying Idowu,Ebuehi and Aina are not good enough for the team.

kennysville:



Actually, I believe in an all out attack. If we will be very honest with ourselves, 3-5-2 has been the formation that brought out the best in all of our players especially the players who shone like a million stars. This formation is highly effective and productive. In it, we got to see smooth and swift counter attacks and overall, the team was a beauty to watch. Playing lone strikers in front requires a skill set called smooth ball distribution which i find lacking each time mikel is not on the pitch.
Hence the call for Rohr to start looking at getting a replacement for Mikel. Iwobi is a natural replacement for me. And this simply means that once he is being drafted to the creative midfield position, an equally cerebral player is needed to take his place on the left. The player best suited to take Iwobi's position on the left in my opinion is Onyekuru( thats probably after Mikel must have been subbed)

My worries right now is central midfield and the attack lines. Playing Ighalo as a lone striker with no one to supply the right timeous passes is plain useless and this is what makes him look like he is useless upfront. If this isnt sorted out before the next friendly, I can promise you that we will only be playing 1 nil wins or 2nil loss with no clear cut direction.

And this is why I also asked a few weeks back that how can 3-5-2 be neutralized so we can start working on countering the antedote.

Joebie:
Good.. so that was my point.. we had very high expectations of him.. and a C is not a flop.

Sir am not really impress with Joel Obi though i don't have any high expectation on him cos i watched him closely this season and i said it here that Joel of today is not the same Joel of Inter,funny enough some even rate him than Mikel.

Kog45:
Sir,it's simple,when Shehu got injured who replaced him?Ebuehi and when Idowu was substituted who came in for him?Aina,this is to tell you Echiejele is behind,so making the team look dicey for him.

Sir,what do you mean by lack of depth in our team,are you saying Idowu,Ebuehi and Aina are not good enough for the team.

they are all inexperienced Sir and it showed in our last two games, it's left to the coach to decide what's best. I watched a Rohr's interview shortly after our game with Poland and he admitted he has options for the LB to pick from and from his body language, that position is still a concern for him. He even went on to admit that the SE no longer have quality these days like in the nineties which is a fact no one can contest. He said he is laying more emphasis on collective team work rather than individual efforts. Finally he admitted that only moses and mikel are the game changers in the team with support from iwobi, nacho and Ighalo. The man surely knows the degree of quality in the squad.

Oasis007:


Rohr can't be stupid to play an unfit Player jez because it's a friendly Game. Also he won't be a Fool to play an unfit Player for 90mins while a fit Player is on the Bench!

If person talk now they will say person dey defend Ebuehi but when you guys overlook certain realities it somewhat mischievous. Have you never been sick? Is recovering a one time thing? Please tell me what happened to Beckham and Zidane in 2002?weren't they declared fit by their respective teams. But was their performance up to their usual standards?So someone will just come criticising Zidane that 'ohhhhhh he was fit, the coaches or whosoever said he was fit. He played 90 minutes. He was woeful'. If the person doesn't take into cognizance Zidane's fitness issues then he is sidestepping reality and should be rigorously opposed.

Pray tell me without going online the kind of injury Ebuehi had and where that part is located in the human body?

Ebuehi didn't perform. No one can deny that. But to totally exclude the fact that he has been unfit for two weeks now is to be unfair. That little doubt(as in his fitness issue) should necessarily be called into view as a possible reason why he underperformed.

Was Iwobi not on together with Mikel in that Argentina match?
Talking 3-5-2, Iwobi and Ihanacho will make a great pair upfront.. I'd go with the unpredictable false nines. When Mikel is not on, of course Iwobi can drop there, and maybe Ighalo step in. Ighalo has great work rate.. I can't take that away from him. But the Iheanacho-Iwobi pair upfront will definitely produce goals especially having the luxury of Mikel behind them.

Onyekuru would be a pretty good add-on.

I'm about to post Amunke's take, in the aftermath of the Seribia encounter.

kennysville:



Actually, I believe in an all out attack. If we will be very honest with ourselves, 3-5-2 has been the formation that brought out the best in all of our players especially the players who shone like a million stars. This formation is highly effective and productive. In it, we got to see smooth and swift counter attacks and overall, the team was a beauty to watch. Playing lone strikers in front requires a skill set called smooth ball distribution which i find lacking each time mikel is not on the pitch.
Hence the call for Rohr to start looking at getting a replacement for Mikel. Iwobi is a natural replacement for me. And this simply means that once he is being drafted to the creative midfield position, an equally cerebral player is needed to take his place on the left. The player best suited to take Iwobi's position on the left in my opinion is Onyekuru( thats probably after Mikel must have been subbed)

My worries right now is central midfield and the attack lines. Playing Ighalo as a lone striker with no one to supply the right timeous passes is plain useless and this is what makes him look like he is useless upfront. If this isnt sorted out before the next friendly, I can promise you that we will only be playing 1 nil wins or 2nil loss with no clear cut direction.

Amuneke: Effective Serbia Deserved Victory Over Disorganized Super Eagles

March 28, 2018 8:35 pm
Amuneke: Effective Serbia Deserved Victory Over Disorganized Super Eagles


By Johnny Edward:

Emmanuel Amuneke has stated that the Super Eagles deserved to lose Tuesday’s friendly against Serbia at the Hive Stadium, reports Completesportsnigeria.com.

Got something to say? The let your voice be heard! Back Pass - Sport related topics only*
A second-half brace from Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic gave Serbia a 2-0 win over Nigeria after the Super Eagles’ 1-0 victory over Poland last Friday in Wroclaw.

The defeat was the first for the Super Eagles in three friendly games under Gernot Rohr.

“The Serbians deserved their win as we were so disorganized in the midfield and the defence,” former Super Eagles star Amuneke told CSN.


“They (Serbians) were very effective in their possession and were better that our team when they were regrouping.

“For many of us watching with keen interest, it was not clear which roles the trio of Wilfred Ndidi, Ogenyi Onazi and Joel Obi were playing.”

On Francis Uzoho who failed to keep a clean sheet in his second start for the three-time African champions, former Nigeria U-17s and U-20s coach Amuneke said: “Players get stronger when they play in games like this and I believe he needs more of these games to improve.”

CSN

Goke7:


they are all inexperienced Sir and it showed in our last two games, it's left to the coach to decide what's best. I watched a Rohr's interview shortly after our game with Poland and he admitted he has options for the LB to pick from and from his body language, that position is still a concern for him. He even went on to admit that the SE no longer have quality these days like in the nineties which is a fact no one can contest. He said he is laying more emphasis on collective team work rather than individual efforts. Finally he admitted that only moses and mikel are the game changers in the team with support from iwobi, nacho and Ighalo. The man surely knows the degree of quality in the squad.

They are inexperience?but do we have any experience LB better than the trio.

I'm a great apostle of experience but when experience lacks the required quality then is meaningless.

Elderson for now lack the quality despite his experience.

If we want to base it on experience Omeruo should be our number one CB but is number four behind Balogun, Ekong and Awaziem.

I think we need to sort out our midfield combinations.. I think he did well against Poland though.

Kog45:
Sir am not really impress with Joel Obi though i don't have any high expectation on him cos i watched him closely this season and i said it here that Joel of today is not the same Joel of Inter,funny enough some even rate him than Mikel.

May I ask, when last did we play a 4-3-3 before the last friendlies? How many times hve we tried it under Rohr?

somehow:
You surely have reading issues sir, no pun intended. read slowly what you quoted again sir.

How can you misinterpret 2 comments within minutes of eachother in the quest to reply everything!

Just an aside:
Please where's the pun in what you said? I get confused when people say no pun intended and somehow (now this is the right time to say no pun intended cos I'm making a word play put of your moniker) I read and don't find even the faintest hint of a pun and I'm like wtf. I guess you don't know what a pun is. On the whole you surely have issues with puns (pun intended)

TheSuperNerd:
Super Eagles Coach Rohr Reacts To Display Of Showboating Iwobi Against Serbia




Gernot Rohr has reacted to the performance of Arsenal winger Alex Iwobi in Nigeria's 2-0 loss to Serbia at the Hive Stadium on Tuesday night.

Though the Hale End Academy product was praised by Rohr, the German manager also suggested that he was showboating, particularly in the second half, adding that the Super Eagles prefer to play as a unit.

''With us all the time he’s very good, already in Poland and he was fantastic tonight," Rohr told Evening Standard.

"Perhaps some times [he did] a little too much individually, he wanted to make a show. We prefer collective football.
''But when he can eliminate his opponent it’s very good. He’s with us all the time in confidence. He’s free when he has the ball.

"I don’t know what the tactical options of Arsene Wenger are when he’s with Arsenal but with us he’s free offensively and he can show all his qualities."

Iwobi was replaced by Junior Ajayi with two minutes left on the clock, the Gunners number 17 was substituted on the hour mark in the 1-0 win over Poland last Friday.


**Igho Kingsley


Source: http://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=27140


Russia 2018 WC Countdown: 77 days 19 hours 35 mins to go

Wish he said the same thing of Victor moses

safarigirl:
Ebuehi was not fully fit and he was used because Shehu was out with am injury as well.

So starched up in thinking. As if Shehu was fit. When I say an unfit player can be fielded they screamed no as if situations in life are always perfect.

There's nothing more infuriating than discussing with someone who will say a thing and stick to it regardless of extenuating factors. It's like hitting one's head on a brickwall. That's why I just let him pass abeg.

you guys are just somehow hahaha

Mujtahida:

Just an aside:
Please where's the pun in what you said? I get confused when people say no pun intended and somehow (now this is the right time to say no pun intended cos I'm making a word play put of your moniker) I read and don't find even the faintest hint of a pun and I'm like wtf. I guess you don't know what a pun is.

Goke7:


we've seen aina in two games and he was not impressive, For Rohr to admit that Echiejile is still in competition, it says a lot that the LB is still not sorted despite the all the names that have been called.

we seem to forget that aina, idowu and ebuehi are still very young players that if not the lack in depth we have in the squad, they stand no chance in our senior side, that's how bad things are currently

They are making it easy for Echiejile, I wont be surprised to see him in Russia