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

[youdacapt]

So far the highlights from the africa competition is not impressive, with 0 fans turn out; awful football pitches (more sand than grasses), i wonder how the africa organizers want players to enjoy football and what media view they are potraying.

To be honest, if you are expecting good performances from the tournament, i doubt you will find it; the pitch does not support quality performances; i believe scouts are equally disappointed too.

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[Die_empty]

The first surprise today with Nigeria against Equatorial Guinea who stood strong against all the Nigeria's attacks and missed chances. I hope that José Peseiro won't regret this score even though it was a draw but for the team it's counted as a defeat. Today was another fail for the Green Eagles we can't really predict if they are going to do a come back and perform better.

Equatorial Guinea is not a cheap team to beat because they made it to the quarter-finals in the African Nations Cup two years ago. However, the Super Eagles lost a good opportunity to get three points because they lost many opportunities. Victor Osimhen should know that Nigerians depend so much on him that's why he should take his chances. He needs to prove to Africa that he deserves to be the best player in Africa. José Peseiro has not been a good coach since he took over the national team and I don't know why the Nigerian Football Federation extended his contract.

Even though Osimhen managed to score the draw goal, but he missed many chances to score the second goal and lead his team to win the game. For Africa's best player he surely lost many points and it's a chance for other player ( Salah, Mahrez ) to show a better performance.

Although it was a disappointing result, Nigeria should be pleased that they secured a point. Their fate will be determined by the next match against the host Cote D'Ivoire. It will be difficult to win the Elephants but with the quality of players the Super Eagles has at its disposal, anything can happen..

[Slow death]

In 2 days the AFCON games start, honestly I'm very worried about my country's national team, with so many weak teams, my country's national team fell into the group of very strong teams, I can't stop thinking that we will be very humiliated on the 14th when we play against Egypt, I start to think that we could concede a lot of goals in the game against Egypt and as if that wasn't bad enough, we will still have to play against Ghana which we will definitely lose, I saw Ghana and egypt the way they play, they are good teams with a good squad. although Ghana when I watched them play, they were having a hard time beating a weak team

I share in your fears as it's clear for all eyes to see from the group but this is football and it comes with loads of surprises which makes the sport never a dulling moment for fans and viewers. You may be shocked that the most favorite teams end up not getting a favourable results which then kills their chances of qualifying to the next round from the group stage while the weaker team as we think them to be turn out to qualify by luck. Just keep your fingers cross while we wait for the events to unfold and just wish your country's team all the best hoping they will deliver to the best of their talents.

Today my country played against Egypt and I confess that I was shocked by the result of the game, my country was very close to winning the game, Egypt, which was supposed to be a very strong team and could beat my country with some ease, was unable to come out of it. that game with victory, on the contrary they were very close to losing, I didn't even expect my country to be better than Egypt, but in today's game my country did better than Egypt, which left me very shocked, no We managed to win because we were unlucky but we managed to come out with a draw in that game, I'm very proud of the performance of my country's national team



 

If my country's national team manages to play well in the next 2 games, I'm starting to have a little hope that it would be possible for us to progress to another stage, but I want to see how Ghana's game against Cape Verde will be, as there are also two big teams then I need to see if they continue to perform well or if they are not doing well, because if both teams are not doing well, then there would be a chance that my country's national team would be able to achieve a good result when they play against Ghana and when they play against Cape Verde. Now talking about Egypt, in my opinion they are not a great team capable of winning AFCON 2023. This Egypt squad is very weak in my opinion, I don't know what is happening with Egypt that has had few players playing in big teams from Europe


Nigeria 1 - 1 Equatorial Guinea

 

I confess that I am surprised by this result, I expected that Nigeria would be able to win this game, but Equatorial Guinea managed to surprise, they had 49% possession of the cake, making the game balanced in terms of ball possession, perhaps This is a great sign that the big African teams of the past are not that big today, today there is more balance between all teams, so it is likely that in this AFCON we will see some surprise in relation to the team that will win the AFCON. In this group of Nigeria they are in trouble because they have the Ivory Coast, so if in the next game Nigeria loses against the Ivory Coast then they would be in big trouble mainly because Equatorial Guinea has a great chance of beating Guinea Bissau.

[sokani]

We lack a good midfield and look to have lost our replacement to injury on his debut.

The coach needs to improve from this performance because it is not satisfactory.

Yes, Nigeria doesn't have working midfielders and it was clear how the opponent was penetrating the team with ease, Most Nigerian players playing abroad are more of defensive midfielders than creative midfielders, I would hold my comments or criticism on the coach for now until he supervises the second game, as this is just their first game and I believe most of the errors or weak point of the team experienced in the game will be handled in their next game.

The super eagles dominated the game but missed some clear cut chances to bury the game. I don't want to start apportioning blame but if we failed to bag maximum point against opponent like Equitorial Guinea, where are we going to get it from? The lads really need to step up. Our next game is against Ivory Coast, the host nation, they've the advantage, they're going into the game as group leader and also as the host nation. The odds are not in our favour, we need to turn things around by making some drastic changes in the midfield, I think we are really missing Wilfred Ndidi.

[Hyphen(-)]

We lack a good midfield and look to have lost our replacement to injury on his debut.

The coach needs to improve on this performance because it is not satisfactory.

Yes, Nigeria doesn't have working midfielders and it was clear how the opponent was penetrating the team with ease, Most Nigerian players playing abroad are more of defensive midfielders than creative midfielders, I would hold my comments or criticism on the coach for now until he supervises the second game, as this is just their first game and I believe most of the errors or weak point of the team experienced in the game will be handled in their next game.

Not just the midfield, even our full-backs were not at their best today, they were playing the match as if they didn't have passion for the game.

Generally, all the players were not serious with the match, our opponents (Equatorial Guinea) were severe and played very impressive in the entire match. They were happy with the outcome because they did not expect to take a point against Nigeria, but our performance was not impressive.

I will also suggest that the coach should improve his action even though his selection is good, he needs to give the players more courage because this tournament is not above them with the quality players we have in our squad.

So far the highlights from the africa competition is not impressive, with 0 fans turn out; awful football pitches (more sand than grasses), i wonder how the africa organizers want players to enjoy football and what media view they are potraying.

To be honest, if you are expecting good performances from the tournament, i doubt you will find it; the pitch does not support quality performances; i believe scouts are equally disappointed too.

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The fans' turnout is not impressive due to the empty stadium in almost all the matches.
I expected excellent preparation from the CAF against this competition, but they tried even though we know that it can never be like the European competitions.

The competition will become tough after the group stages and I am sure by then even fans will become interested in the tournament.

[Mate2237]

So far the highlights from the africa competition is not impressive, with 0 fans turn out; awful football pitches (more sand than grasses), i wonder how the africa organizers want players to enjoy football and what media view they are potraying.

To be honest, if you are expecting good performances from the tournament, i doubt you will find it; the pitch does not support quality performances; i believe scouts are equally disappointed too.

WILL THIS CHANGE GOING FORWARD?
Share your opinions

Africa don't want to develop and change their status. The field and the audience are all dull and it has if nothing is happening. The players are not even performing well. Except yesterday opening match, all the two matches today were very dull nd poor performance just displayed on the field. Even Egypt would have won by Mozambique, I like the way Mozambique played today because many people were supporting Egypt to win the game with sure bet but irony was the day match and in fact Egypt escape lose today.

[gabbie2010]

We lack a good midfield and look to have lost our replacement to injury on his debut.

The coach needs to improve from this performance because it is not satisfactory.

Yes, Nigeria doesn't have working midfielders and it was clear how the opponent was penetrating the team with ease, Most Nigerian players playing abroad are more of defensive midfielders than creative midfielders, I would hold my comments or criticism on the coach for now until he supervises the second game, as this is just their first game and I believe most of the errors or weak point of the team experienced in the game will be handled in their next game.

The super eagles dominated the game but missed some clear cut chances to bury the game. I don't want to start apportioning blame but if we failed to bag maximum point against opponent like Equitorial Guinea, where are we going to get it from? The lads really need to step up. Our next game is against Ivory Coast, the host nation, they've the advantage, they're going into the game as group leader and also as the host nation. The odds are not in our favour, we need to turn things around by making some drastic changes in the midfield, I think we are really missing Wilfred Ndidi.

African football is fast changing the so call minnow countries are now catching up with big countries similar result in the other match between Egypt vs Mozambique also ended in  2-2 draw infact a narrow escape for the Egyptian, meanwhile Equitorial Guinea played defensively and their Goalkeeper made some brilliant saves which kept the scoreline at 1-1 coupled with missed clear goal scoring chances by Osimhen well this is the first match hopefully in the next match the Super Eagle would up their game, Moreso I think the Yusuf guy who replaced Wilfred Ndidi did a good job in the midfield while Nwobi wasn't effective as a creative midfielder.

[dezoel]

So far the highlights from the africa competition is not impressive, with 0 fans turn out; awful football pitches (more sand than grasses), i wonder how the africa organizers want players to enjoy football and what media view they are potraying.

To be honest, if you are expecting good performances from the tournament, i doubt you will find it; the pitch does not support quality performances; i believe scouts are equally disappointed too.

WILL THIS CHANGE GOING FORWARD?
Share your opinions

I agree here, because now time is changing and African soccer union need to bring big changes for the game and also for having good entertainment for the soccer fans with these things we can't have anything positive as players quality is improving, and we have too many star's ad money is also flowing very quickly they need to work on structure and improvement of the system as well which will create more interest, and we will have full stadiums and better environment for the game as well.

First day of the game and we have few shocking results with Nigeria held by Equatorial Guinea and both teams fail to end deadlock into second half in third game of the event Egypt held by spirited Mozambique with star Mohamed Salah score equalizer through penalty into injury time which bring them back for the 1-point end.

[AYOBA]

Nigeria still in a 1-1 draw with EQG, upon all of the squad in the Nigerian team they have been finding it difficult to get a second goal after that Victor Osimhen got that equalizing goal for Nigeria, The Nigeria team is allowing Equatorial Guinea to build confidence around the eighteen yard box in this second half.  Only Oshimen has been outstanding in this game.

The Nigerian team has disappointed again by failing to win their first game of the tournament against EQG. How can they win the tournament if they can't defeat a team like EQG? This is a big disappointment and I'm not happy with this scoreline.

To be honest, nobody expected Nigeria to play poorly today; everyone expected them to perform well, but they failed to deliver. How Nigeria proceeded to begin their AFCON trip following their fellow Equatorial Guinea's play-draw, which was a major setback for them. Can we comprehend how certain players waste so many opportunities that we score against them? Nigeria's only difficulty in today's encounter is a shortage of midfielders. However, we should wait and see whether they can become better since their next game is this month on 18th.

[QueenVera]

I missed the match due to my schedule but I was not expecting anything different from the outcome judging from the team history and capacity. I watched the highlight this morning and I commend the both teams especially the goal keepers for some incredible saves. It wasn't too bad but Guinea Bissau wasted some precious chances both in the first half and second half. Can't really say if the Ivory Coast goalie is too good or Guinea Bissau attackers lack some experience. The first goal was caused from error pass from the defenders and there is absolutely nothing the goal keeper could do about it. The second goal was too soft and I fault both the defenders and the goal keeper for their inefficiency.

The Nigeria vs Equatorial is a must watch match for me despite that I'm not too confident in the Nigerian squad. We actually have talented players in the squad but sadly, they are not ready to give their best to the team. The attack despite Boniface is missing, seems to be a little bit good likewise the midfield but my concern is the goal keeper. However the circumstances, I don't expect Nigeria to draw this match talk more of losing.

Well Ivory Coast getting the victory in this match wasn’t quite surprising because both goals came as a result of some errors from the defenders. Well Guinea Bissau had their best chances but their attackers doesn’t have the experience to convert their chances that’s why they didn’t have a goal in this match, however Ivory Coast show them class in the match, they dominated more and mounted alot of pressure on Bissau.

 There’s no special thing in this Ivory coast team so I don’t see them as much a threat in this competition. Well Nigeria ve Equatorial Guinea, Has just ended in a draw. Well, I think the Nigeria players weren’t quite with comfortable playing probably because of the weather. The players aren’t used to this harsh weather condition and that resulted in fatigue. The players aren’t looking sharp and yes the midfield still looks clumsy.

[Mate2237]

Nigeria still in a 1-1 draw with EQG, upon all of the squad in the Nigerian team they have been finding it difficult to get a second goal after that Victor Osimhen got that equalizing goal for Nigeria, The Nigeria team is allowing Equatorial Guinea to build confidence around the eighteen yard box in this second half.  Only Oshimen has been outstanding in this game.

The Nigerian team has disappointed again by failing to win their first game of the tournament against EQG. How can they win the tournament if they can't defeat a team like EQG? This is a big disappointment and I'm not happy with this scoreline.

To be honest, nobody expected Nigeria to play poorly today; everyone expected them to perform well, but they failed to deliver. How Nigeria proceeded to begin their AFCON trip following their fellow Equatorial Guinea's play-draw, which was a major setback for them. Can we comprehend how certain players waste so many opportunities that we score against them? Nigeria's only difficulty in today's encounter is a shortage of midfielders. However, we should wait and see whether they can become better since their next game is this month on 18th.

For why Nigeria played today is a clear indication that Nigeria is not going far in this tournament. They can't win Equatorial Guinea and the worst part is that, Equatorial Guinea was the first to score and Nigeria struggled to scored theirs. And apart from Nigeria March all the match today are just disappointment to the fans. Look at Ghana right now that struggling to even equalized. This African Cup of Nations will be interesting from the round two and not the first round.

From what they Re playing now, all just like say na children Play.

[Stable090]

The first surprise today with Nigeria against Equatorial Guinea who stood strong against all the Nigeria's attacks and missed chances.

Equatorial Guinea came prepared for Nigeria in the match, and at least they went away with 1 point. Equatorial Guinea played well in the match, seriously, I was not expecting the match to be a draw. I was thinking Nigeria would be able to win the match, but Equatorial Guinea gave Nigeria a difficult moment in the match. Nigeria had lots of opportunities in the match, but they could only secure one goal, which was scored by Victor Osimhen in the match. The Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper played well in today's match, he made some brilliant saves in the match. Equatorial Guinea conceded just one goal because of their goalkeeper's brilliant performance.

Today was another fail for the Green Eagles we can't really predict if they are going to do a come back and perform better.

Seriously, I was really disappointed today because Equatorial Guinea is not a club that is supposed to give the giants of Africa a difficult moment. Nigeria was supposed to win the match conveniently, but they couldn't, all they could get in the match was a draw. Nigeria has to improve in their performance, or they might not be able to go far in this competition.

[nelson4lov]

Nigeria 1 - 1 Equatorial Guinea

 

I confess that I am surprised by this result, I expected that Nigeria would be able to win this game, but Equatorial Guinea managed to surprise, they had 49% possession of the cake, making the game balanced in terms of ball possession, perhaps This is a great sign that the big African teams of the past are not that big today, today there is more balance between all teams, so it is likely that in this AFCON we will see some surprise in relation to the team that will win the AFCON.

Everyone who watched the game will agree with me that Nigeria team wasn't playing like a team. It was more of an individual showcase and the midfield was really lacking. The fact that Eq Guinea can move the ball from their half all the way to Nigeria's final 3rd says a lot. The few services that Oshimen received, he squander about 70% of those chances.


I just confirmed': Ghana Lost to Cape Verde. What a day! Nigeria drew with an underdog, Egypt had to work really for 1 point and Ghana lost all 3 points to Camp Verde? This competition is beginning to get more interesting.

[bitvalak]

So far the highlights from the africa competition is not impressive, with 0 fans turn out; awful football pitches (more sand than grasses), i wonder how the africa organizers want players to enjoy football and what media view they are potraying.

To be honest, if you are expecting good performances from the tournament, i doubt you will find it; the pitch does not support quality performances; i believe scouts are equally disappointed too.

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Share your opinions

Actually, Africa has some pretty good stadiums, such as in South Africa. However, unfortunately, in terms of audience euphoria, Africa is lagging behind other continents such as Europe and Asia.
This cannot be separated from the financial capabilities of football fans there which are not good enough, therefore the stadium will definitely not be full.
But on the other hand, the African continent has countries with many players who have careers in Europe. Moreover, the countries on the African continent are also strong teams in terms of play.
Maybe the African federation needs to think harder so that AFCON attracts more spectators and football fans from outside Africa to come.

[Docnaster]

Nigeria 1 - 1 Equatorial Guinea

 

I confess that I am surprised by this result, I expected that Nigeria would be able to win this game, but Equatorial Guinea managed to surprise, they had 49% possession of the cake, making the game balanced in terms of ball possession, perhaps This is a great sign that the big African teams of the past are not that big today, today there is more balance between all teams, so it is likely that in this AFCON we will see some surprise in relation to the team that will win the AFCON.

Everyone who watched the game will agree with me that Nigeria team wasn't playing like a team. It was more of an individual showcase and the midfield was really lacking. The fact that Eq Guinea can move the ball from their half all the way to Nigeria's final 3rd says a lot. The few services that Oshimen received, he squander about 70% of those chances.


I just confirmed': Ghana Lost to Cape Verde. What a day! Nigeria drew with an underdog, Egypt had to work really for 1 point and Ghana lost all 3 points to Camp Verde? This competition is beginning to get more interesting.

Despite the quality and world class players in the squad of the Nigeria Super Eagles, they still couldn't beat Equatorial Guinea in their opening match of the tournament on Sunday and that I think was caused by the poor tactical approach of their head coach José Peseiro. The Portuguese manager appears clueless and probably doesn't know what to do to change the playing pattern of his team even when they're struggling in such an important game.

But another shocking result was Ghana's defeat to Cape Verde and if things continue this way, then an underdog might win this edition of the CAF African Cup Of Nations

[udidrone]

Despite the quality and world class players in the squad of the Nigeria Super Eagles, they still couldn't beat Equatorial Guinea in their opening match of the tournament on Sunday and that I think was caused by the poor tactical approach of their head coach José Peseiro. The Portuguese manager appears clueless and probably doesn't know what to do to change the playing pattern of his team even when they're struggling in such an important game.

But another shocking result was Ghana's defeat to Cape Verde and if things continue this way, then an underdog might win this edition of the CAF African Cup Of Nations

Nigeria disappointed us in this match, because at first I was confident that Nigeria would win and I placed a bet in this match but in the end Nigeria was only able to play a draw really unexpected. Honestly, after seeing this match I have ignored Nigeria as a champion candidate their abilities are far different from a few years ago I mean they have decreased in performance. Nigeria did dominate in a shot but there was only one goal the problem is bad accuracy Nigeria should be able to score 3 goals based on opportunities including Osimhen who got 2 good opportunities.

[bering]

Group B i think very interesting to watched because seems this couldn't be easy group for Ghana and Egypt that both teams has starting this tournament with dissapointing result and yesterday as the finalist from previous tournament Egypt was displayed poor performance this because they only able to gets draw result from Mozambique even Egypt almost lost in that match but luckily Moh Salah can able to equalized the scored from penalty kick at the injury time of second half and this goal also can safe Egypt to avoiding lost

Ghana also very dissapointing because they had just lost in the first match against Cape Verde with narrow scores and playing with some of the players who play at european teams just like Antoine Semenyo or Inaki Williams but it doesn't make Ghana dominate the match they even unable to develop their game and during the match Ghana only gets 1 shot on target which this is a poor statistics considering before this match they are the favourite especially from squad quality Ghana is much better compared to Cape Verde squad and after this loses if want to qualified Ghana have to win their next match and it won't be easy as they will be up against champion contender Egypt

[DubemIfedigbo001]

Nigeria disappointed us in this match, because at first I was confident that Nigeria would win and I placed a bet in this match but in the end Nigeria was only able to play a draw really unexpected. Honestly, after seeing this match I have ignored Nigeria as a champion candidate their abilities are far different from a few years ago I mean they have decreased in performance. Nigeria did dominate in a shot but there was only one goal the problem is bad accuracy Nigeria should be able to score 3 goals based on opportunities including Osimhen who got 2 good opportunities.

There's one thing I noticed about these African players that returns from  foreign clubs to play for country, they don't put the same passion and vigor they display for their clubs and they're always playing to avoid injuries from international duty. The physical involvement they exhibit is very poor compared to what they do at their clubs and I blame the African countries for that.

I was watching the match and discussing their weak play with my cousin and he made a statement that validated their restricted physical involvement. He  asked me that if it was me, would I come for international duty and break the legs I use to shine in my club, with the level of poor treatment they receive from the football association?, and knowing the fact that most time they're even owed their match allowances and bonuses. I saw from his point of view that these players are less motivated on African international duties and that explain why these Nigerian players played so poorly that they couldn't secure a win against a weaker Guinea Team.

[uchegod-21]

Despite the quality and world class players in the squad of the Nigeria Super Eagles, they still couldn't beat Equatorial Guinea in their opening match of the tournament on Sunday and that I think was caused by the poor tactical approach of their head coach José Peseiro. The Portuguese manager appears clueless and probably doesn't know what to do to change the playing pattern of his team even when they're struggling in such an important game.

But another shocking result was Ghana's defeat to Cape Verde and if things continue this way, then an underdog might win this edition of the CAF African Cup Of Nations

Nigeria disappointed us in this match, because at first I was confident that Nigeria would win and I placed a bet in this match but in the end Nigeria was only able to play a draw really unexpected. Honestly, after seeing this match I have ignored Nigeria as a champion candidate their abilities are far different from a few years ago I mean they have decreased in performance. Nigeria did dominate in a shot but there was only one goal the problem is bad accuracy Nigeria should be able to score 3 goals based on opportunities including Osimhen who got 2 good opportunities.

I am very much aware that many people would be disappointed in this season's African cup of Nations competition. The reason why people will be disappointed is because they have forgotten that Africa have their style of play, since some of the players that are coming to this AFCON is based in Europe and have adopted the European method of football it will be difficult for them to adapt in this African cup of Nations. What do I mean in essence, Africa is known for strength and it is that type of football that will prevail in ivory coast. Anyone that goes with skills or any type of foreign play style will not be successful in this years African cup of Nations. This is the reason Nigeria and Ghana which came with many foreign players could not win their first leg. For the case of Nigeria if our coach is not able to fix his midfield he could possibly be eliminated from the group stage. Will actually be a shameful thing to parade a team that has African best player and some other world class players and yet crash out of the group stage.

[Abu-Naim]

Group B i think very interesting to watched because seems this couldn't be easy group for Ghana and Egypt that both teams has starting this tournament with dissapointing result and yesterday as the finalist from previous tournament Egypt was displayed poor performance this because they only able to gets draw result from Mozambique even Egypt almost lost in that match but luckily Moh Salah can able to equalized the scored from penalty kick at the injury time of second half and this goal also can safe Egypt to avoiding lost

Ghana also very dissapointing because they had just lost in the first match against Cape Verde with narrow scores and playing with some of the players who play at european teams just like Antoine Semenyo or Inaki Williams but it doesn't make Ghana dominate the match they even unable to develop their game and during the match Ghana only gets 1 shot on target which this is a poor statistics considering before this match they are the favourite especially from squad quality Ghana is much better compared to Cape Verde squad and after this loses if want to qualified Ghana have to win their next match and it won't be easy as they will be up against champion contender Egypt

Some teams are hyped before this competition while some are underrated.

Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Cameroon, Ivery cost, Senegal, South Africa, and Algeria were all over hyped, people think these team will surely be the tough teams in the competition. But as we can see, almost all of these teams that has already played their first match did not have an interesting start, maybe the other big teams will give some possitive results when they play their respective matches.

What i observed is that all the African countries that are present in this competition are well prepared for this competition, therefore, no team should be underrated.