I am beginning to think that Ndidi and Mikel Obi are the hubs of this team...its like whey they play...everything falls into place..against Argentina it happened....lets see the outcome today to confirm this

4-2-3-1 all the way!

Who else notice croatia play 3-5-2 also

That match is a do or die Affair for both team

Still remembers when Obi Mikel was called SLOWBIE, the slowest thing after snail.
Omeruo was called a disaster waiting to happen.
Shehu was hailed as a rock of RB.
The heroes have turned to villains & vice versa.
Please pipu, we should always stand with our team. Enough of this pull him down thing.

gamaliel9:
I am beginning to think that Ndidi and Mikel Obi are the hubs of this team...its like whey they play...everything falls into place..against Argentina it happened....lets see the outcome today to confirm this

Mikel and Ndidi would likely play DM role today except if rohr doesn't want to play his likely starting 11 but he would definitely do that, there is need for team chemistry

Eleniyan15:



Mikel and Ndidi would likely play DM role today except if rohr doesn't want to play his likely starting 11 but he would definitely do that, there is need for team chemistry

Mikel does not play DM for Nigeria.

gamaliel9:
Lets see how this midfield will perform today...that was the combo against Algeria away..but it was not really a fierce battle...Happy to see What Ogu can add more to the team...I will like to see him take long range shots,lets see how it goes

Mikel did not play against Algeria away.

The midfield combo of Mikel-Ogu-Ndidi has only been used once against Argentina and it clicked then

kennysville:

Dstv will air it..... ss3 and ss9

What about a link on phone

comodo:
Still remembers when Obi Mikel was called SLOWBIE, the slowest thing after snail.
Omeruo was called a disaster waiting to happen.
Shehu was hailed as a rock of RB.
The heroes have turned to villains & vice versa.
Please pipu, we should always stand with our team. Enough of this pull him down thing.

no nigerian player has received the sticks especially on nairaland more than mikel, the sticks on onazi is still a very far cry compared to that of mikel. It however behoves on nigerian players to rise to the occasion when necessary as a lot of investment goes into the SE. This present team has so far received the best support ever from both govt and the private sector so there will be no excuse for any player whether he is fasting or or has not eaten at all for a year to go and fumble at the world cup.

forgiveness:


Victor Moses is what Hazard is to Belgium and what Neymar is to Brazil.

He's the best player in our team and he will not be benched if fit.

I saw Neymar against Croatia. He scored a goal out of nothing.

He should have passed the ball but he rather choosed to dribble which is selfishness to some here and he scored.

Victor Moses will start matches for us.

did Neymar start the game against Croatia?

Kog45:
Sir you are right.I had the same thought but coaches always have different views.

I hope you remember how we defeated Brazil at Atlanta. with the introduction of Teslim Fatusi,Wilson Oruma, Victor Ikpeba in the second half and Garba Lawal who started in the absence of Sunday Oliseh.

But in the final only Victor Ikpeba started ahead of unfit Emma Amuneke,meaning you don't change a team cos of 45 minutes performance.

I think you remember that Nigeria beat star studded France at their backyard with second team.Despite that victory the main team still remain with few introduction.

The Atlanta 96 you cited had a team and formation, Rohr doesnt have either, hence, our worries are justified. He has tried so many combinations to fashion out a suitable winning team, and among those combinations, the only one that came out top is the combination and formation against Argentina, why not stick with it so that the players understand and get used to it better before our first game?

Can you tell me Rohr's first eleven and formation?

safarigirl:
did Neymar start the game against Croatia?

help me ask am o!

Uhmmmm... I think we should cut Victor Moses some slack guys please. Please and please, let us throw our support behind him. England was his first game for us after he only rejoined the team in London. I believe he will step things up later today against Czech republic. Biko make una sheath your swords and lower your clubs on Victor Moses okay... Biko my people... Hon.Chriskels, Sir Kennysville, Sir DaveP, Sir Goke7 and any other I missed out on... Biko.... Spare Moses. He loves this team. He will only get better for the team. Abeg make una free am. We get match today abeg. Thank you...



Meanwhile, to answer Chriskels' observation on that one touch passing... I have this to say.

It is very simple really... That day on November 17th (abi?) Late last year against the Argentine Juggernauts that team had most of our pass masters in the team present.... This was why we produced passing magic in that game.

Onazi is no pass master. He is a midfield warrior, a destroyer and battle stopper.

Victor Moses, well, is more about skills, flicks, power dribblings runs and some one-two give and take passing approach... He is a player who loves to take on the opposition instead of passing rings around them.

Now enter the team we paraded that day from midfield to the attack...

Mikel Obi.... He is the passing lord of the team. Knows how to keep things simple even though he is a very capable dribbler himself. Some don't even know he dribbles better than Victor Moses... (We saw his dribbling on show again against England) Lol.
Mikel is that super blessed with skills but he is much more effective when he keeps things simple. His passing and Excellent vision is key to our passing game and one touch football... With just one pass, Mikel can wreck havoc even more than a dribble of one player or two players can.


Alex Iwobi.... Another very capable dribbling wizard. Yet again he too knows how to keep things simple utilising more of his excellent vision and passing skills.With one pass he beat about four English players to locate Ighalo before finishing the chance himself... A chance he created with just one genius of a pass. Most times what it take dribbling 10-20 seconds to do... An ingenious pass will just take one second to do same thing. WRECK HAVOC. He is the other passing lord of the team. Against Argentina he was on song in the presence of other passing kings in the team.



Kelechi Iheanacho..... A forward he is but his style is more brains than brawn. A player who possesses very fine skills in his locker some of which he unleashed when necessary this past season for Leicester. Recall how he beat two players with just one skillful move with the ball to find Vardy easily who slotted in for a goal.

Nacho thrives much better too when he utilises his vision and passing accuracy to keep our moves flowing. He is also another passing lord and the only one among our forwards going to Russia who can pass with the intelligence of a midfield player even though he got the instincts of a striker. His passing was on shoe against Argentina and his Vision combined with that will also produce magic. See how easily he found Iwobi in the box for that equaliser against Argentina. Just accurate.

Even for the third goal, his passing is so good that even a mistake of a touch from him resulted in Idowu's goal. Against DRC where he did nothing much, but it was his vision and quick thinking again that made him pick out Ekong for that goal after Onazi rolled it in cheekily from that freekick. He beat the keeper and defenders to get to the ball first and rolled it into Ekong's path for the easiest goal Ekong may ever score.
In a nutshell, Nacho's passing intelligence is never in doubt. It is one of his top attributes.


Wilfred Ndidi..... The midfield anchor famed for his tackling and ball winning prowess is also growing into a very capable passer. He wins the ball with admirable ease and knows how to use his vision to locate a team mate in the forward areas who can begin an attack and that again is another hallmark of a pass master. He is still not perfected in the passing art but for the Super Eagles he plays a vital role in this regards... Ndidi has beautiful skills also and apart from his ball winning intelligence, he has a good range of passing both long and short. How he found Nacho down that right channel leading up to that second goal against Argentina was class. He did this after winning the ball so easily off two opponents.
Also against Cameroun, in jersey no.4, Ndidi was on the right channel and waltzed his way passed one or two players with simple step overs and found Mikel in space with a fine pass.. That move also involved Simon Moses... The intricate passing among Simon, Ndidi and Mikel was beautiful to see... So beautiful in fact that a goal to seal it was all it cried for... But alas it was blasted over from Victor Moses I believe. But again that was a glimpse into what our passing game can produce.

Passing rings around our opponents will always see us create gaps for ourselves in opposition areas that we can exploit with purposeful movements as we saw for that third goal against Argentina...

And it involved all the best passers in the Super Eagles (Mikel, Iwobi, Iheanacho and Ndidi).......

It was from Ndidi to Nacho to Mikel to Iwobi to Nacho again and then to Idowu who finished superbly.


Fact is when we have our finest ball players and pass masters on the field, we get to see more of that third goal movement often... It is the simple truth.



John C. Ogu.... John Ogu may be more known for his calm midfield plays and his long range shots but look again... Even in Isreal, he is renowned for his passing range. Ogu possesses some very very good passing sense coupled with his positional discipline. Which makes him able to cover and win balls before locating a Mikel who then goes on to find the others in the final third... Ogu's passing may have gone unnoticed in that game against Argentina because he was doing his thing more deeper in midfield... But he was the one to bring out the ball from defence to find Mikel or Ndidi ]most times... His simple and calm way of doing things as regards passing makes him almost invisible to guys watching on TV but very very valuable to the team's passing game. He is one of the finest/top passers in the team too. Always calm and assured in his passing to locate the nearest man.





Conclusion:

Against Argentina, we paraded most of the team's finest pass masters... Four of them being undisputed pass kings in the team... Mikel, Iwobi, Iheanacho, Ndidi... And the fifth , Ogu being one of top passers from outside the top four passers in the team currently.

Other fine passers in the team include Balogun, Simon Moses (missing due to injury), Uzoho (yep, his passing from the back has been very good.. Very assured), Ebuehi, Ekong, Awaziem.


The others are between basic and good. Yes even an Etebo that came in against England is not that much of an excellent passer. He just sticks to the basics and can come good when he is on his good day. Onazi has more in his passing locker compared to Etebo. But Onazi is also not among our top or finest ball passers/ball players.




This is my humble submission. All players have important roles to play in the team. We need the warriors (Onazi, Etebo), the orchestra maestros (Mikel, Iwobi), the dazzlers and game shakers (Victor moses), the die hards (Ndidi), the intelligent marauders (Iheanacho), the rocks (Balogun, Ekong) and much more...

I only just focused on our passing game seen against Argentina just to highlight the players and role players that particularly bear that strength of the team.

Just like how Simy and Ighalo offer more in a top big target man set-up compared to Nacho.

Czech is a crappy team so we shouldn't find it hard breaking them down. Any player that performs today might as well flop against Croatia. I would not be sold on shehu starting ahead of ebuehi even if he puts in a good shift cos it will be what it is; a facade. Rohr had better learn to be flexible else our chances of qualifying from that group will remain an incredible travesty.

krattoss:
I prophesize that after today's match, vic Moses haters I'll be humble

Exactly my prayers. I want a better Moses because that talent is there but if he isn't ready to give it his all, he should fvck off.

I don't know what some of you are saying about Rohr and conservative football.

Rohr kept faith with Joel and Onazi the last three games, but he has dropped them for Ndidi and Ogu......the only person I can complain about is Ighalo.....but he may drop him against Croatia if he fails to perform today.

Rohr takes his time to make decisions

While some people are underating our chances, the special one thinks otherwise.

''In group D the first place will be taken by the kid (forward of Argentina's national team Lionel Messi,ed ). Second place ... Very difficult choice, but I put on the African team - Nigeria,'' Mourinho told Russia Television network RT.

Eleniyan15:



Mikel and Ndidi would likely play DM role today except if rohr doesn't want to play his likely starting 11 but he would definitely do that, there is need for team chemistry

Mikel cannot be DM if Ogu is starting

The statement is vague. That means it's not clear enough. Besides, Shehu came to the Turkish Super Lig on MatchDay 19.. Abi you no know wetin vague mean?
I have rendered you the liar but you are still looking for ways to score cheap points

forgiveness:



Hahahahahaha! You don turn to NEPA, on and off.



You don testified and agreed as the first witness na, say 'It could be misleading because it is PRETTY VAGUE' in your voice.

Case don finish and closed tey tey na.

Next time. Ndo! Hahahahahaha!

I am not sold on John Ogu he is too slow for my liking. I dont know why I feel he is a time bomb.

My opinion though

Goke7:


a very mobile attack, one touch, no time wasting, no yeye dribbling but goals

The line up I want against Croatia
Run them down

Good News to GO-Getters.

Goke7:


help me ask am o!

they are talking as if we are trying to remove Victor Moses from the team when some of us are only saying he should start from the bench

Is Moses too big to start from the bench? If Mikel can be benched in some matches, mbok, who is Moses?

Today I know this self-proclaimed saint ("by faith") called forgiveness has no humility to admit when he is wrong. He would go on arguing pointlessly and looking for ways to pick faults in your argument instead of admitting the truth that is staring at his face. na wa!!!
Truly, by their fruits you shall know them.

ChrisKels:
I am not sold on John Ogu he is too slow for my liking. I dont know why I feel he is a time bomb.

My opinion though

but you are sold on Ighalo?

Abi you are sold on headless chicken, Moses? You sef, you get your own wahala.

Morocco looks threatening. The boys dey ball. The way they interchange passes. The way a free player opens up space for the man with the ball to pass the ball freely is delightful. I saw their game against Serbia and Slovakia, I was wowed.

But we showed something better than that against Argentina with the right players and formation.

JoebieII:
Today I know this self-proclaimed saint ("by faith" called forgiveness has no humility to admit when he is wrong. He would go on arguing pointlessly and looking for ways to pick faults in your argument instead of admitting the truth that is staring at his face. na wa!!!
Truly, by their fruits you shall know them.

you must be confusing forgiveness with humility

You really get time

safarigirl:
they are talking as if we are trying to remove Victor Moses from the team when some of us are only saying he should start from the bench

Is Moses too big to start from the bench? If Mikel can be benched in some matches, mbok, who is Moses?

Weapon of Mass Destruction!

tbaba1234:


Mikel does not play DM for Nigeria.

But that doesn't mean he can't play it Tbaba.

Btw mikel and Iwobi who do you think can get the job done against croatia in the advance role!!

Let see what rohr is up to today.

safarigirl:
but you are sold on Ighalo?

Abi you are sold on headless chicken, Moses? You sef, you get your own wahala.

Me Ighalo? God forbid. Abeg go back hundreds of pages back to read my view about Ighalo.

I know what Moses can do, im not just impressed with his attitude. Dude is a baller, if he plays for the team, we would be devastating. I love everything about him but his attitude.

ChrisKels:
I am not sold on John Ogu he is too slow for my liking. I dont know why I feel he is a time bomb.

My opinion though

He's too slow yes but better at positional play and good pass rate than Joel and Onazi workaholic that runs tirelessly creating space for opposition to punish and plays long passes to no one in particular as well as creating assist for opponents and marking team mates.
Oga I prefer Ogus' one leg to both legs from both players

ChrisKels:
Morocco looks threatening. The boys dey ball. The way they interchange passes. The way a free player opens up space for the man with the ball to pass the ball freely is delightful. I saw their game against Serbia and Slovakia, I was wowed.

But we showed something better than that against Argentina with the right players and formation.

Morocco has been very impressive.

ChrisKels:
I am not sold on John Ogu he is too slow for my liking. I dont know why I feel he is a time bomb.

My opinion though

If you slow and your positioning is good am 100% sure you will enjoy your game as a dm , look at onazi and joel they were running like headless chicken