Africa Football Discussion || Current Topic: Worldcup qualifiers - CAF.

[Lida93]

I’m so excited for the AFCON final today, Nigeria vs Ivory Coast. It’s going to be a tough one for Nigeria, coming up against the host nation. I hope Joss Poseiro will be fielding his best players in this fixture, there should be no room for mistakes. The weak links in the team should not start the game. Alex Iwobi wasn’t impressive at all in the game against South Africa, I would prefer if he is benched and Yusuf is brought in the starting lineup. Osimhen hasn’t had the goals in this tournament but I believe he’s going to score at least two goals for Nigeria against Ivory Coast.

Today’s match is going to be the most exciting match to watch since the beginning of the AFCON. Nigeria will be facing the host nation and it is going to be a tough one for them to face lots of Ivorians fans that will be coming to watch the match today in their hometown. Nigerians have played well till now even though others have seen it as a game of luck to have come this far, I believe luck still favours those who work towards achieving it. The lineup today should be the most excellent one and the Nigerian coach should have knows the best players to start with today.

Alex Iwobi is good and Yusuf is also a good player, although they play differently but they bought have their impact in the field when they’re playing, it is left for the coach to decide who befits to start the match first. Osimehn is a clinical striker and I am sure he will give the Ivorians defenders a tough time in the eighteen yard box. If he can’t score, he can make them conceive a penalty in their eighteen yard box. A talented striker he is, I expect him to be at its best form today.

I heard the host nation have mobilize their locals to fill up the stadium to cheer their players up. That's like home advantage strategy they are using there. Given the way they the host nation started this competition, I really want to commend them for coming thus far, they started on the wrong footing with so much inconsistency on their group stages but look at today they are in the finals with Nigeria. It's going to be a great game, people are all anticipating to hear the whistle for the match opening.

Tactically Nigeria's are good in defense and attack,  on the central midfield they don't really have much display there, I know they will be capitalizing on their hitman Victor osimhen to some magic upfront.

A host of fans can't put fear in the heart of Nigeria players as this ain't the first AFCON competition they are participating in.

Nigeria is already leading with a goal in the first half although there is so much tension building up among the two teams in the match with a lot of confrontations between the opponents and I think the officiating referee should take it upon himself to calm down the tempo.

So far, Ivory coast has been giving Nigeria series of counter attacks but are unable to convert their chances to the back of the net as the Nigerian defenders and goalie has been an obstacle to all their effort's.  Nigeria has relax with just as one goal and should Ivory coast keep possessing the ball they might be lucky to bring the game to a stalemate draw of 1:1.

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[Oluwa-btc]

I’m so excited for the AFCON final today, Nigeria vs Ivory Coast. It’s going to be a tough one for Nigeria, coming up against the host nation. I hope Joss Poseiro will be fielding his best players in this fixture, there should be no room for mistakes. The weak links in the team should not start the game. Alex Iwobi wasn’t impressive at all in the game against South Africa, I would prefer if he is benched and Yusuf is brought in the starting lineup. Osimhen hasn’t had the goals in this tournament but I believe he’s going to score at least two goals for Nigeria against Ivory Coast.

Today’s match is going to be the most exciting match to watch since the beginning of the AFCON. Nigeria will be facing the host nation and it is going to be a tough one for them to face lots of Ivorians fans that will be coming to watch the match today in their hometown. Nigerians have played well till now even though others have seen it as a game of luck to have come this far, I believe luck still favours those who work towards achieving it. The lineup today should be the most excellent one and the Nigerian coach should have knows the best players to start with today.

Alex Iwobi is good and Yusuf is also a good player, although they play differently but they bought have their impact in the field when they’re playing, it is left for the coach to decide who befits to start the match first. Osimehn is a clinical striker and I am sure he will give the Ivorians defenders a tough time in the eighteen yard box. If he can’t score, he can make them conceive a penalty in their eighteen yard box. A talented striker he is, I expect him to be at its best form today.

I heard the host nation have mobilize their locals to fill up the stadium to cheer their players up. That's like home advantage strategy they are using there. Given the way they the host nation started this competition, I really want to commend them for coming thus far, they started on the wrong footing with so much inconsistency on their group stages but look at today they are in the finals with Nigeria. It's going to be a great game, people are all anticipating to hear the whistle for the match opening.

Tactically Nigeria's are good in defense and attack,  on the central midfield they don't really have much display there, I know they will be capitalizing on their hitman Victor osimhen to some magic upfront.

A host of fans can't put fear in the heart of Nigeria players as this ain't the first AFCON competition they are participating in.

Nigeria is already leading with a goal in the first half although there is so much tension building up among the two teams in the match with a lot of confrontations between the opponents and I think the officiating referee should take it upon himself to calm down the tempo.

So far, Ivory coast has been giving Nigeria series of counter attacks but are unable to convert their chances to the back of the net as the Nigerian defenders and goalie has been an obstacle to all their effort's.  Nigeria has relax with just as one goal and should Ivory coast keep possessing the ball they might be lucky to bring the game to a stalemate draw of 1:1.

The Comeback shows that the midfielder's of Nigeria are bad at keeping possession and also controlling the tempo of the game. I do think its time to bring Alex Iwobi outnof this game because he is currently absent yet in this Fvckn game till this moment.

Wonder what they can't just hold down that one goal until the ninty minutes of the game. That goal sucks. Them Ivorians are currently playing better than Nigeria in this second half. They've made good forward passes and has attacked with a better precision. Game could finally get on to be decided during the penalties but I don't think I want that. Can they win it successfully that way? They should give us a goal before the game comes to an end.

[Frankolala]

I’m so excited for the AFCON final today, Nigeria vs Ivory Coast. It’s going to be a tough one for Nigeria, coming up against the host nation. I hope Joss Poseiro will be fielding his best players in this fixture, there should be no room for mistakes. The weak links in the team should not start the game. Alex Iwobi wasn’t impressive at all in the game against South Africa, I would prefer if he is benched and Yusuf is brought in the starting lineup. Osimhen hasn’t had the goals in this tournament but I believe he’s going to score at least two goals for Nigeria against Ivory Coast.

Today’s match is going to be the most exciting match to watch since the beginning of the AFCON. Nigeria will be facing the host nation and it is going to be a tough one for them to face lots of Ivorians fans that will be coming to watch the match today in their hometown. Nigerians have played well till now even though others have seen it as a game of luck to have come this far, I believe luck still favours those who work towards achieving it. The lineup today should be the most excellent one and the Nigerian coach should have knows the best players to start with today.

Alex Iwobi is good and Yusuf is also a good player, although they play differently but they bought have their impact in the field when they’re playing, it is left for the coach to decide who befits to start the match first. Osimehn is a clinical striker and I am sure he will give the Ivorians defenders a tough time in the eighteen yard box. If he can’t score, he can make them conceive a penalty in their eighteen yard box. A talented striker he is, I expect him to be at its best form today.

I heard the host nation have mobilize their locals to fill up the stadium to cheer their players up. That's like home advantage strategy they are using there. Given the way they the host nation started this competition, I really want to commend them for coming thus far, they started on the wrong footing with so much inconsistency on their group stages but look at today they are in the finals with Nigeria. It's going to be a great game, people are all anticipating to hear the whistle for the match opening.

Tactically Nigeria's are good in defense and attack,  on the central midfield they don't really have much display there, I know they will be capitalizing on their hitman Victor osimhen to some magic upfront.

A host of fans can't put fear in the heart of Nigeria players as this ain't the first AFCON competition they are participating in.

Nigeria is already leading with a goal in the first half although there is so much tension building up among the two teams in the match with a lot of confrontations between the opponents and I think the officiating referee should take it upon himself to calm down the tempo.

So far, Ivory coast has been giving Nigeria series of counter attacks but are unable to convert their chances to the back of the net as the Nigerian defenders and goalie has been an obstacle to all their effort's.  Nigeria has relax with just as one goal and should Ivory coast keep possessing the ball they might be lucky to bring the game to a stalemate draw of 1:1.

The Comeback shows that the midfielder's of Nigeria are bad at keeping possession and also controlling the tempo of the game. I do think its time to bring Alex Iwobi outnof this game because he is currently absent yet in this Fvckn game till this moment.

Wonder what they can't just hold down that one goal until the ninty minutes of the game. That goal sucks. Them Ivorians are currently playing better than Nigeria in this second half. They've made good forward passes and has attacked with a better precision. Game could finally get on to be decided during the penalties but I don't think I want that. Can they win it successfully that way? They should give us a goal before the game comes to an end.

Nwobi is like short one to the Nigeria players. I don't know what is happening to the Super Eagles today, I am not seeing that zeal and passion on them to win this game. This is because they are not putting on much effort like the way that they played in the semifinals.

Imagine Ivory Coast is in charge of the game, and they have being mounting pressure on Nigeria defense.

Ivory  Coast has scored the second goal. It is 2-1 against Nigeria.

[Rruchi man]

The Comeback shows that the midfielder's of Nigeria are bad at keeping possession and also controlling the tempo of the game. I do think its time to bring Alex Iwobi outnof this game because he is currently absent yet in this Fvckn game till this moment.

Wonder what they can't just hold down that one goal until the ninty minutes of the game. That goal sucks. Them Ivorians are currently playing better than Nigeria in this second half. They've made good forward passes and has attacked with a better precision. Game could finally get on to be decided during the penalties but I don't think I want that. Can they win it successfully that way? They should give us a goal before the game comes to an end.

I blame Iwobi always, he quickly forgets himself. This is our worst game, and it is such a pity that we are  playing it at the finals when we really need to win. Lookman has not been his best, I think the pressure on him to be the highest goal scorer made him make many wrong choices in the game. Nigeria are now behind Ivory Coast. Haller with a very good goal against Nwabali.

Nigeria have really played poorly in this second half, the confidence that they have that they would have been able to defend one goal was what made Nigeria to relax and give Ivory Coast the many chances.

[iBaba]

The Comeback shows that the midfielder's of Nigeria are bad at keeping possession and also controlling the tempo of the game. I do think its time to bring Alex Iwobi outnof this game because he is currently absent yet in this Fvckn game till this moment.

Wonder what they can't just hold down that one goal until the ninty minutes of the game. That goal sucks. Them Ivorians are currently playing better than Nigeria in this second half. They've made good forward passes and has attacked with a better precision. Game could finally get on to be decided during the penalties but I don't think I want that. Can they win it successfully that way? They should give us a goal before the game comes to an end.

I am really disappointed at the way the Super Eagles players are playing this game right now. This is the African Cup of Nations finals we are talking about, and all we have to do is to be defending at this time? That's not enough. We need more goals now, shown to Nigerians. They need to wake up, or else they will get it wrong this time around.

The defensive game is not going to help at all. Our players need to push out, strengthen the midfield, and tackle at this crucial time. Otherwise, with the way this game is going and considering the level of pressure Nigerian footballers are facing, they may not survive the heat from Cote d'Ivoire right now. So, if Nigeria wants to win this match, they have to tighten up, push out the ball, and make some goals while maintaining defensive positions at the same time.

To be sincere, the level of relaxation that the Nigerian players are displaying in this game is not quite all right. A 1-1 scoreline is a bad situation for the Nigerian players now that they have to face reality with a two goals to one deficit. It is at this point that they need to push out and make goals, but it may be too late for them because Cote d'Ivoire will also tighten their defense now that they are already a goal ahead of the Super Eagles, especially with very early 20 minutes left to the injury time of the final lap of the game.

All Cote d'Ivoire needs to do right now is to get the fans club to keep cheering the players on the field. They also need to waste more time to frustrate the Nigerian players further, thus maintaining the goal position they have already to win this AFCON 2023.

[SatoPrincess]

This is one of the saddest days of my life. As a Nigerian, I’m shattered. I truly hoped that this wouldn’t be the result. In the beginning, not many (Nigerians) gave the Super Eagles a chance to make it to this point but we did. I’m proud of what we have accomplished this far. We will try again next year. Congratulations to Ivory Coast. They were really good today, a victory well deserved.

[GiftedMAN]

This is one of the saddest days of my life. As a Nigerian, I’m shattered. I truly hoped that this wouldn’t be the result. In the beginning, not many (Nigerians) gave the Super Eagles a chance to make it to this point but we did. I’m proud of what we have accomplished this far. We will try again next year. Congratulations to Ivory Coast. They were really good today, a victory well deserved.

Not just you I believe every Nigerian is saddened by the outcome of the match right now but what can we do the game is over and the host nation which played a better football tonight won. All we gat to do right now is to console ourselves and say good words to the entire team and stop playing the blame game which has started already, believing that the boys tried their best to get to this point and losing at the final stage shows that we need to go back to the drawing board and improve our performance cause the team were very poor in their performance tonight. Big congratulations to the host nation Ivory Coast, they are the second nation to host and win the nation cup after Egypt.

[Iroh]

I didn’t think, I believed it. I just didn’t see CIV by any chance beating football giants like Africa. Though, there story might be beautiful, being the host, qualifying as best losers of the group stage and managing it to the finals, they have more than enough reason to want and hope to win this one but, against a team like Nigeria, they’ve got to bring there best game on.

I guess they did bring out their best game in the second half and scored two goals to have them win the game and ultimately, the tournament. I did think Nigeria would have won the game but the better side won the game.
I guess this makes their journey from being the best losers in the group stage to tournament winners quite a beautiful journey and apparently, they did have enough reason and drive to want to win this one.

Nigeria majorly stepped up the pressure when they conceded the second goal. They did all they could to equalize and I would applaud their efforts although they didn’t yield the desired effect.

[Hyphen(-)]

This is one of the saddest days of my life. As a Nigerian, I’m shattered. I truly hoped that this wouldn’t be the result. In the beginning, not many (Nigerians) gave the Super Eagles a chance to make it to this point but we did. I’m proud of what we have accomplished this far. We will try again next year. Congratulations to Ivory Coast. They were really good today, a victory well deserved.

That’s football, it’s either you win or you lose in a final match.
The players did their best from the beginning of the tournament till this stage, they all played with their heart to represent the nation, and it ended like this, it is not a bad one in my opinion.

It is always hard for against a host team that is also the best loser in a tournament, Ivory Coast deserves the victory because they played well throughout the tournament.

But some players in Nigeria did not play well today especially Iwobi, and Ola Aina but we can’t do anything about it.
In the end, Kudos to the coach and his team, they did well.

Congratulations to Ivory Coast 🇨🇮, and goodbye AFCON.

[gabbie2010]

This is one of the saddest days of my life. As a Nigerian, I’m shattered. I truly hoped that this wouldn’t be the result. In the beginning, not many (Nigerians) gave the Super Eagles a chance to make it to this point but we did. I’m proud of what we have accomplished this far. We will try again next year. Congratulations to Ivory Coast. They were really good today, a victory well deserved.

I believe your expectations from Super Eagle was high before the match unfortunately they really disappointed all their fans honestly Nigerian doesn't deserve to win with the kind of abysmal performances from their attack to their midfield and their defence was shaky not as solid like their previous matches, it was obvious the Ivorians were more determined they were all over the field and dominated from the start from finish thus they really deserve the Cup and congratulations to the Ivorians for achieving the feat having qualified as a best loser luckily rose up to win the trophy.

[Smartvirus]

I didn’t think, I believed it. I just didn’t see CIV by any chance beating football giants like Africa. Though, there story might be beautiful, being the host, qualifying as best losers of the group stage and managing it to the finals, they have more than enough reason to want and hope to win this one but, against a team like Nigeria, they’ve got to bring there best game on.

I guess they did bring out their best game in the second half and scored two goals to have them win the game and ultimately, the tournament. I did think Nigeria would have won the game but the better side won the game.
I guess this makes their journey from being the best losers in the group stage to tournament winners quite a beautiful journey and apparently, they did have enough reason and drive to want to win this one.

The super eagles greatly disappointed me. I saw an assemblage of a team that can take this trophy to the Nigerian soil but, turned out to be very reluctant on attack. At first it felt like they weren’t just getting there moves right the few times they went on the offensive but when beaten 2:1, the pressure Nigeria mounted on the CIV side got me asking… where did they keep this sort of play? If they had dared to be that offensive, they’d sure would have had more goals and the Ivorians wouldn’t have had any chance on the attack.

It’s indeed a beautiful story, written by them and finished by the Nigerians for them to be this reluctant at their plays and the Ivorians have got some good picture to the history books of the AFCON.

[nelson4lov]

Congratulations to the Ivory Coast team

I have said it at the beginning of the tournament, Nigeria cannot keep playing terrible football and expect to win every game. At some point, systems like that will fail. 1-0 lead is too narrow to stay that deep and that cost the team the afcon title.

In football, sometimes the best defence is more offense. I got to say though, this was the best afcon I have watched till date. Hopefully the next one will be interesting as the just concluded ones.

[coinlocket$]

Noone was thingkin about Ivory Coast.

I was thinking about Nigeria at this point but the home owners won.

[Obim34]

This is one of the saddest days of my life. As a Nigerian, I’m shattered. I truly hoped that this wouldn’t be the result. In the beginning, not many (Nigerians) gave the Super Eagles a chance to make it to this point but we did. I’m proud of what we have accomplished this far. We will try again next year. Congratulations to Ivory Coast. They were really good today, a victory well deserved.

I just feel like crying right now, we never expected to come this far and lose, this is very heartbreaking. From the start of the match to the dieing minutes of the game our attacking force was fucking poor if at all we pressed the attack then we wouldn't have lost today's final. I just hope every Nigerians finds peace and accept the facts, maybe it wasn't yet our turn, we go again in another four years interval.

[Franctoshi]

Ola Aina was our major contributor to the super eagle lost of the trophy tonight, first defensive error that brought about the Conner kick which Ivory Coast used to equalize the first goal and the second that the opponent player ran through Ola Aina and crossed the ball as his wing was too porous, and the goal came as a result of his laxity in today's game, another problem to the game was the super went on defense game when they came back for the second half instead of playing massive attack and massive defense.

[Issa56]

Nwobi is like short one to the Nigeria players. I don't know what is happening to the Super Eagles today, I am not seeing that zeal and passion on them to win this game. This is because they are not putting on much effort like the way that they played in the semifinals.

I wasn’t impressed by the Super Eagles performance, Nigeria didn’t play well in today's match, they performed below my expectations, their performance got worse in the second half of the match, Ivory Coast dominated the match, and pressure was just too much on the super eagles defense, which made them concede two goals in the match. Congratulations to Ivory Coast they really deserve the win, even as I never expected to see them in the final, and the super eagles also tried their best to reach this position, it’s not really easy to reach the African cup of nation final.

[AYOBA]

I guess they did bring out their best game in the second half and scored two goals to have them win the game and ultimately, the tournament. I did think Nigeria would have won the game but the better side won the game.
I guess this makes their journey from being the best losers in the group stage to tournament winners quite a beautiful journey and apparently, they did have enough reason and drive to want to win this one.

Nigeria majorly stepped up the pressure when they conceded the second goal. They did all they could to equalize and I would applaud their efforts although they didn’t yield the desired effect.

That's all about football. Football is a game of luck, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, especially when the match comes to an end, which is the final stage, they most likely will be the losers. That's the definition of football. Nigeria really tried their best because if we can look into it many countries participate, but they have been sent back home, at least we have to be proud of our country that they were able to reach the final stage. All the players did their best throughout this tournament.The only thing that spoiled Nigeria is that they're lacking midfielders, and even their front movement was not proper; at least they were leading by 1 goal in the first half. In the second half way they were supposed to hold their consistency, but they couldn't.

That's why all that happened. Seriously some of the players refuse to play well, but we don't have anything to say again since it ended as he supposed. They really try, as they put in efforts right from the beginning and represent the country. Every body was anticipating that Nigeria is going to win the match but, Avory coast said no because they mean today final stage that is why they give Nigeria so much pressure.

[Marykeller]

I’m so excited for the AFCON final today, Nigeria vs Ivory Coast. It’s going to be a tough one for Nigeria, coming up against the host nation. I hope Joss Poseiro will be fielding his best players in this fixture, there should be no room for mistakes. The weak links in the team should not start the game. Alex Iwobi wasn’t impressive at all in the game against South Africa, I would prefer if he is benched and Yusuf is brought in the starting lineup. Osimhen hasn’t had the goals in this tournament but I believe he’s going to score at least two goals for Nigeria against Ivory Coast.

Today’s match is going to be the most exciting match to watch since the beginning of the AFCON. Nigeria will be facing the host nation and it is going to be a tough one for them to face lots of Ivorians fans that will be coming to watch the match today in their hometown. Nigerians have played well till now even though others have seen it as a game of luck to have come this far, I believe luck still favours those who work towards achieving it. The lineup today should be the most excellent one and the Nigerian coach should have knows the best players to start with today.

Alex Iwobi is good and Yusuf is also a good player, although they play differently but they bought have their impact in the field when they’re playing, it is left for the coach to decide who befits to start the match first. Osimehn is a clinical striker and I am sure he will give the Ivorians defenders a tough time in the eighteen yard box. If he can’t score, he can make them conceive a penalty in their eighteen yard box. A talented striker he is, I expect him to be at its best form today.

I heard the host nation have mobilize their locals to fill up the stadium to cheer their players up. That's like home advantage strategy they are using there. Given the way they the host nation started this competition, I really want to commend them for coming thus far, they started on the wrong footing with so much inconsistency on their group stages but look at today they are in the finals with Nigeria. It's going to be a great game, people are all anticipating to hear the whistle for the match opening.

Tactically Nigeria's are good in defense and attack,  on the central midfield they don't really have much display there, I know they will be capitalizing on their hitman Victor osimhen to some magic upfront.

Ivory Coast will be celebrating its victory fot hosting the 2024 AFCON with a great ceremony celebration. If
The Ivory Coast fared well in this AFCON competition. from finishing as the best losers in Group A to the AFCON finals. They didn't have an easy time journey, and I appreciate that they won the AFCON title instead of losing to the Super Eagles, as that would have been a terrible loss that the whole nation would never forget.

Ivory Coast deserves a hearty congratulations once more. With their performance, they genuinely demonstrated that the AFCON trophy was theirs. The Super Eagles would attempt to perform as well as they could in the next AFCON tournament later on. If only the opportunity would arise like this one that everyone was in good support of them to lift the AFCON trophy. 

[Smartvirus]

Ola Aina was our major contributor to the super eagle lost of the trophy tonight, first defensive error that brought about the Conner kick which Ivory Coast used to equalize the first goal and the second that the opponent player ran through Ola Aina and crossed the ball as his wing was too porous, and the goal came as a result of his laxity in today's game, another problem to the game was the super went on defense game when they came back for the second half instead of playing massive attack and massive defense.

At first when I saw Ola Aina play in the first game of the group stage, I wasn’t quiet comfortable with him as I couldn’t help but notice his sagged shorts and I attributed that to him not being serious on the pitch as it could restrict his movement and runs but, he proved more than capable to mark and win over just any tackle his involved in. His confidence is next to non on the super eagles team and his sure to give nothing but his absolute.

The only game I saw Super eagles to have shown true quality was when they played in the semi finals. Other than that, I didn’t enjoy the rest of there games. They seemed to have just a managed it all but, that’s not how you win a final. You don’t manage to win a final, you’ve just got to be the absolute best.

[youdacapt]

Noone was thingkin about Ivory Coast.

I was thinking about Nigeria at this point but the home owners won.

That’s football for you; the better team won tonight
It was a fanstastic atmosphere; loud supporters, great tactics, story line goal as haller beats cancer to come back and score the winning goal

The best afcon in years; more to come I believe  in the next Afcon