The Super Eagles Must Improve Or Else...

After limping through to the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers play offs drawing 1-1 with Cape Verde, the Super Eagles need to improve drastically if it hopes to make it to the World Cup finals in Qatar next year.

The Super Eagles despite starting well against Cape Verde, scoring in the first minute through danger man Victor Osimhen and having the better of the first half chances and possession, could not build on their first half performance and get the second goal that would have confirmed their place in the play offs and calm the nerves of fans all over the world viewing the winner takes all match. 

The Super Eagles struggled to break down the well drilled Cape Verde team in the second half and even though Cape Verde didn’t create many chances throughout the game, there were a few nervy moments in that second half for the Super Eagles late on. 

But at this stage of the qualifiers, it is the results that matter and not how great the performance is. The Super Eagles needed a point to qualify for the next phase and a point they got. Job done.

However, now that they are through to the play offs, we need to examine their overall performance especially those of the past 2 months and begin to ask if the Super Eagles are moving in the right direction.

There is no doubt that winning 4 games, losing 1 and also drawing 1 out of 6 is not a bad score card by any standard. All the same, we need to look at it in the context of the quality of opposition. Liberia, Central Africa Republic and Cape Verde are hardly elite African teams but they all seemed to give Nigeria a game. 

Perhaps it is because Nigeria is one of the most respected teams on the continent and as a result, teams often raise their game whenever they take on the Super Eagles. In any case, the Super Eagles hardly displayed the organisation and tactical discipline other teams in the group showed.

Maybe it is Rohr losing his mojo, or the players are not following his instructions or the team is dependent on their individual quality to see out games. Whatever it is, this needs to change in the next phase as we could come up against the likes of Egypt, Algeria, Morrocco, Senegal and Cameroon in the play offs.

Many of these teams would be more ruthless when we are sloppy at the back and be well drilled defensively. 

Speaking of sloppy, Leon Balogun has been shaky at the back for the Super Eagles of late. I believe Rohr’s switch to a back 3 was made to protect his lack of pace. His mistake led to our loss to CAR in Lagos but he recovered in the second leg to open the scoring in Douala. He was also quite outstanding when the Eagles took on Liberia in Tangiers but his performance on Tuesday was again poor to say the least.

Questions should also be asked why out of the blue Ighalo is back in the team. He is no longer cutting it at the highest level anymore. He should not be strolling into the team on the eve of a tournament. This is disrespectful in my opinion to the players who have worked their way into the team since his departure. There are other strikers who should be given a chance. One of which is Cyril Dessers and even Sunday Awoniyi. 

Rohr speaking in his post match press conference said that he believes the Ighalo-Osimhen partnership will work. Meaning that he plans to use this 3-5-2 formation in the AFCON in January. The truth is that we have too many wingers in this team for Rohr to stick to this formation. 

Ademola Lookman who is also a winger is expected to complete his switch from England to Nigeria and could be available for the AFCON and World Cup play offs next year. 

This is not forgetting the likes of Chukwueze, Ejuke, Musa and so on who are creative options from the wings. 

The Super Eagles have always thrived playing in a 4-3-3 formation and while 3-5-2 is useful when playing against a more superior opponent, it will not suit some of the technically gifted players we have who play on the wings.

Football Still Remains A Uniting Sport

England and France yesterday went ahead with their international friendly match at Wembley after the deadly Paris terrorists attacks that claimed the lives of 129 people and injured hundreds more last Friday in a show of defiance, unity and respect between both nations.

The game ended 2-0 in favour of England with goals from Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur and Wayne Rooney of Manchester United. But it was a game where the score line or the performance was secondary.

It was a show of support by the English for their French rivals who were suffering at this time from the devastation of the attacks. 

England fans joined the French supporters in singing the national anthem. Flowers were laid by Prince William, French Manager Didier Deschamps, and Roy Hodgson.

The stadium was filled to capacity with 70,000 fans turning up to show support for the French. The game was attended by prime minister David Cameron, the Duke of Cambridge, the London Mayor and other dignitaries.

There was of course, the outpouring of emotion by some fans who could not hold back the tears and even the players' resolve would have been tested to the limits by the occasion. A moment's silence was held before kick off with the players and match officials having joint photographs taken in a show of solidarity with the French.

The game in which the French FA turned down a request by the English to be called off turned out to be a spectacle not on the field of play but in the display of unity, love, respect and in its message to the world and the terrorists particularly- Terrorism will not win. Good will always triumph over evil.

Former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Lassana Diarra, lost his cousin in the attacks and was given a standing ovation when he came on for Yohan Cabaye. Athletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann was also applauded after his sister narrowly escaped being murdered by the extremists at the Bataclan concert were most of the massacre occurred.

In Germany, the friendly between Germany and the Netherlands was called off an hour before kick off due to bomb threats to the Hannover stadium where the game was supposed to be played. Police searched through the stadium for explosives but none has been found yet. 

The friendly between Belgium and Spain was also called off due to security concerns since some of the suspects were Belgian nationals. 

So far, investigations and raids are ongoing in France, Belgium and Germany with different levels of success. However, it is important to note that what has happened in France occurs on a regular basis in the Middle East, Asia and in Africa. And there has been debates concerning the degree of coverage by the media of the Paris attacks when compared to the attacks in other third world countries which may not get near as much coverage as the one in France.

This post is not meant for taking sides or adding to the debate that is currently raging especially on social media over the  media's failure to report extensively or show sympathy or empathy to other atrocities else where. 

I will however say this, the media should learn to as much as possible, give due and balanced reporting to atrocities done all over the world. As I write, there are reports of a terrorist activity here in Yola, Nigeria were a bomb went off and killed over 30 people at a Tipper Garage. It is not getting any serious coverage as it should on world media.

All in all, football has shown once again that it can unite people of different race, creed, belief and religion no matter the circumstance. It also has the power to send a strong message to those opposed to peace and liberty. The game between France and England last night is a testament to that fact.

Now that the Elections are over, can we have our football back?

The presidential elections have come and gone. General Muhammadu Buhari has emerged as winner of the elections and now the 'wind of change' will sweep the incumbent and outgoing president, Goodluck Jonathan out of office. 

I haven't published any posts recently because the mood of the nation was set on the conduct of the presidential elections. I doubt if anyone would have been willing to read any articles on football in Europe or anywhere else in the last couple of hours or days before the elections, Election Day proper and the days in which results were being collated. 

There was also excitement and tension in the land in anticipation of the announcement of the election results. Football to say the least, was the last thing in most people's minds. But now that the results have been announced, a winner has emerged which reflects the mood of the nation at this time as we grapple with the fall of the Naira and falling oil prices, we can now begin to relax.

And since the announcement, there has been celebrations all over the country, especially among president elect, Muhammadu Buhari's supporters. The celebrations are over or subsiding and we can now return our focus on other happenings around the world and football remains one of the pleasures  that can take our minds off the painful change that is coming for us Goodluck Jonathan supporters even though another round of elections are coming up  on the 11th of April with the Gubernatorial elections being the main event. 

While we were all awaiting the outcome of the election results, friendlies and Euro 2016 qualifiers were being played all around Europe. There were a few shocking results as Portugal lost at home in a friendly to Cape Verde Islands 0-2. Although the rest of the world may not  know much about the Cape Verde Islands, we in Africa know that Cape Verde is an emerging force in football in Africa at least and so, it may not be entirely shocking that Cape Verde shocked a mediocre Portuguese side who had Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench.

Spain were also defeated by the Netherlands 2-0 in Amsterdam in a result that may not be entirely shocking but what would be worrisome for Spain and Vicente Del Bosque is how they can return Spain to the level where they dominated the planet for 6 straight years with a team which is arguably the best in the history of the game at international level.

The English Premier league resumes this weekend with the Arsenal-Liverpool fixture at the Emirates being the pick of the pack. The game is expected to be entertaining. We hope the game will live up to the hype. Arsenal are favourites to win since Liverpool will be missing a few key players including Steven Gerrard and Martin Skrtel. Liverpool know however, that if they hope to force their way into top 4 reckoning, this is a game they cannot afford to lose. Manchester United will be expected to defeat Aston Villa at Old Trafford and if Liverpool lose, it might be extremely difficult for them to catch up even though United have tough games against Manchester City and Chelsea to come respectively after their game against Aston Villa.

As the EPL begins to reach its climax, the fate of teams who are battling relegation and those seeking a place in Europe's premier club competition, the Champions League, might be cemented after this weekend's round of matches.

Welcome back EPL !

Can Nigeria make its dominance in Youth Tournaments count?

The Flying Eagles of Nigeria on Sunday night defeated hosts, Senegal, in the final of the African U-20 Youth championship 1-0 to claim Nigeria's 7th championship title in the prestigious competition since its inception in 1979.

Bulbwa's excellent finish in the first half was enough to give Manu Garba's team the victory in a pulsating game.

The Nigerian team leaves the tournament unbeaten in 5 matches after defeating their hosts in the opening match 3-1, thrashed Congo 4-1, held to a 2-2 draw by the Ivory Coast and defeating the black satellites of Ghana 2-0 in the Semi final.

The Flying Eagles will now go on to play Brazil, North Korea and Hungary in the group stage of the FIFA World Youth Championship to be held in New Zealand in May this year.

While Nigeria's victory in Senegal was sweet, the big question remains: can we transmit this success in age grade competitions to the Super Eagles where victory in tournaments really counts?

It's a question that only time will tell at this point as we start the rebuilding process of restoring our national team to the top of African football. Our success in the AYC competition with 7 titles is in stark contrast to the Super Eagles who have only won 3 African Cup of Nations titles.

The primary aim of age group tournaments is not to attain victory in a competition rather, it is to discover and develop raw and exceptional talent that could go on to replace tired and ageing players in the national team.

This over the years, unfortunately, has not been our primary aim and as a result, it has affected the Super Eagles. The Super Eagles have failed to dominate Africa over a sustained period the way countries such as Egypt and Cameroun have. 

Though Nigeria failed to defend her AFCON title which she won in Tunisia in 1994 in South Africa in 1996 because of a last minute withdrawal from the tournament as a result of a dubious political statement by the country's then dictator, General Sani Abacha, Nigeria has failed to put up any serious title defence after becoming champions of Africa. In 1982, Nigeria was knocked out in the first round of the African Cup of Nations. While Stephen Keshi's AFCON winning team of 2013 failed to even qualify for the tournament in Equitorial Guinea where they were supposed to be the defending champions.

You would suspect that if there was a fluid progression of players from the U-17, U-20 and U-23 junior teams to the Super Eagles, the way Keshi's squad struggled for form during the last AFCON qualifiers would have been avoided.

The mere fact that since Keshi took over from present U-23 coach, Samson Siasia, he has not been able to discover one natural right back for the national team let alone a back up, shows a flaw in the way we run our teams. Efe Ambrose a centre back by trade filled that void pretty well since Nigeria was not regarded as a force to be reckoned with after we failed to qualify for the AFCON of 2012. We carried the element of surprise and probably the tag as dark horses albeit one of the favourites in South Africa in 2013 where we peaked after the group  stages and at the right time. Before anyone could take notice, we were already champions.

After the World Cup, teams did their homework on Nigeria and they spotted one or two vulnerabilities in Keshi's squad which they exploited ruthlessly. The end result was we were bundled out during the qualifiers. That we failed to qualify for AFCON isn't new but the performance of the team throughout the qualifiers was not the stuff you would expect from a reigning champion.

Nigeria has failed to replace players like Okocha, Yekini, and even Stephen Keshi himself with equally outstanding players after they quit the game.This may be where our problems lie. Even though we have won a lot of bronze and silver medals at AFCON, Nigeria has failed to defend her title or even retain it. This complaceny has to end.

We should look at in form players when selecting players for the national team. There must be a system put In place to monitor the progress of youngsters as they climb up the ladder. The Nigeria Football Federation should collaborate with corporate sponsors and establish football academies to complement the few already existing ones in the country. 

Moreover, a paradigm shift must be made by the NFF with emphasis from winning at all costs at age grade competitions to talent pursuit and discovery so that the senior national team can be competitive.