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

[snipie]

Besides the defensive pattern, I'm Very much annoyed with the coach for starting Chukwueze and Iwobi in that match. Iheanacho and Yusuf could've done better and Osihmen should've been removed from the 70th minutes

This, without mentioning that Ivory Coast team is very lucky!
They won 1 match with 2 goals then lost vs Nigeria and vs Equatorial Guinea by 1 and 4 goals respectively, yet they managed to qualify!
They beat Senegal by penalties Mali at the last moments each time then DR Congo and Nigeria by one goal difference each.
I don't find them impressive but quite lucky. Nigeria made many mistakes and it was paid fast!

Looking back at how Ivory Coast made it to the final and won the cup after finishing their group on third position made me to have a rethink that it was all a game of luck for them. But again, it could be as a result of change of Coach and the return of Adingra and Haller in the attacking for them. Those two played excellently well for the team since they returned fully from injury, their duo is great and every team will love to have such talents in their team. Nigeria had their chances and the Ivory Coast we won in the group stage was different from the one we were playing with  in the finals, they should have understood this and used a different formation approach. The team had improved and without us understanding that, they punished us by that.

To make it clearer, Ivory Coast were lucky because they wouldn't have been in any phase without the help of Morocco after their defeats. I will just put this example and pass.
Now, hard working and changes made within the club, playing with better performance and so on... I totally agree, they did improve, they played better than what used to do and without hard working they wouldn't be in the final and win the game obviously. Nevertheless, the luck they had was undeniable.

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[RockBell]

Ivory Coast pulled off a miracle in this tournament. They could have been eliminated from this tournament in the early stages but they won the cup. Congratulations to them.

I liked the performance of Serge Aurier, our new signing for Galatasaray. He will come to us as a player who has won trophies. We also need to open a parenthesis for Sebastian Haller. Two years ago he was being treated for cancer. Today he scored a goal to give his country a great victory.

Ivory Coast did do well in the tournaments and even when they were the host they still played well the same time, and both first and second half they were putting a lot of pressure on us and that of second half was worst and i know Nigeria can not withstand such pressure after they scored that first goal they relaxed instead of them to put in more energy into the game if they had scored like two goals then it will be much more easier for them to have won, but they were to relaxed  and they were run over and am sure they wont make such mistake again and even winning second is not bad at all compare to countries they have removed from the tournament.  and congrats to Ivory Coast for winning the AFCON and it was a flawless defeat from Ivory Coast.

[SatoPrincess]

It's like you didn't see how people were abusing Iwobi on every social media platform, which will put the player in another mental problem, maybe depression or some other thing. It will make the player feel like he is the only person who made Nigeria lose the game that day, even though we know that cyberbullying is not a new thing to us, but the way Nigerians were attacking the player is too much and too bad that way. However, I did not see cyberbullying as a way that will make the player improve his performance. 

Well one thing is for sure, this not a Nigerian thing, football is a game that brings out emotions in people. I think Maguire faced worse criticism for his performance at Manchester United, they are memes of Maguire and even rap songs dissing the player. As far as football banter go, Alex Iwobi has not scratched the surface. The AFCON has just ended, Nigerians are still licking their wounds, in a short time we will move on and those trolls will find some other celebrity to drag.

[DubemIfedigbo001]

It's like you didn't see how people were abusing Iwobi on every social media platform, which will put the player in another mental problem, maybe depression or some other thing. It will make the player feel like he is the only person who made Nigeria lose the game that day, even though we know that cyberbullying is not a new thing to us, but the way Nigerians were attacking the player is too much and too bad that way. However, I did not see cyberbullying as a way that will make the player improve his performance. 

Well one thing is for sure, this not a Nigerian thing, football is a game that brings out emotions in people. I think Maguire faced worse criticism for his performance at Manchester United, they are memes of Maguire and even rap songs dissing the player. As far as football banter go, Alex Iwobi has not scratched the surface. The AFCON has just ended, Nigerians are still licking their wounds, in a short time we will move on and those trolls will find some other celebrity to drag.

This isn't just a football thing, Iwobi isn't a special player, he has the energy somehow, but totally lacks football sense to deliver. For now, he's not that special player to hold the Nigerian midfield. We're done expecting him to be like, or perform better than his uncle Okocha. Its obvious they're not  of the same class. Okocha its surely of a much higher class than him.

He might improve, yes sure everybody has equal opportunity to prove themselves useful. But for now and with his afcon performance in view, he's way below the marks.

[adultcrypto]

Looking back at how Ivory Coast made it to the final and won the cup after finishing their group on third position made me to have a rethink that it was all a game of luck for them. But again, it could be as a result of change of Coach and the return of Adingra and Haller in the attacking for them. Those two played excellently well for the team since they returned fully from injury, their duo is great and every team will love to have such talents in their team. Nigeria had their chances and the Ivory Coast we won in the group stage was different from the one we were playing with  in the finals, they should have understood this and used a different formation approach. The team had improved and without us understanding that, they punished us by that.

To make it clearer, Ivory Coast were lucky because they wouldn't have been in any phase without the help of Morocco after their defeats. I will just put this example and pass.
Now, hard working and changes made within the club, playing with better performance and so on... I totally agree, they did improve, they played better than what used to do and without hard working they wouldn't be in the final and win the game obviously. Nevertheless, the luck they had was undeniable.

I do not think that the success of Ivory Coast can be entirely linked to luck. It was obvious they grew and became better as the competition progressed. We cannot say they because luckier as the competition progressed. We should also remember a key event that happened during the period of the competition which is their football governing body sacking their French coach Jean-Louis Gasset due to their poor performance at the early stages of the tournament. I believe this was the turning point for the team, they became more focused and organized.

We are also ignoring that anyone playing against Ivory Coast was playing against 90% of the crowd in the stadium. The support they got was massive and motivating and just enough to put serious fears on the opponent. We should give it to them that their win was well deserved.

[SatoPrincess]

This isn't just a football thing, Iwobi isn't a special player, he has the energy somehow, but totally lacks football sense to deliver. For now, he's not that special player to hold the Nigerian midfield. We're done expecting him to be like, or perform better than his uncle Okocha. Its obvious they're not  of the same class. Okocha its surely of a much higher class than him.

He might improve, yes sure everybody has equal opportunity to prove themselves useful. But for now and with his afcon performance in view, he's way below the marks.

I have to disagree with you on this one. Why would you compare someone to another person just because they are related? Is skill and talent transferable through genes? I don’t think it’s fair to put Iwobi in the same box as Jay Jay Okocha. No Nigerian player has even come close to the legend. Okocha played skillful football, something that is rare to see nowadays.

Iwobi is a good player, he’s does so well in his league club. Even great players like Lionel Messi had troubles playing for their national team.

[Die_empty]

It's like you didn't see how people were abusing Iwobi on every social media platform, which will put the player in another mental problem, maybe depression or some other thing. It will make the player feel like he is the only person who made Nigeria lose the game that day, even though we know that cyberbullying is not a new thing to us, but the way Nigerians were attacking the player is too much and too bad that way. However, I did not see cyberbullying as a way that will make the player improve his performance.

You cannot stop people from expressing how they feel about a particular player or issue. People will always make some painful comments that might make the player feel very bad. Even Osimhen who singlehandedly helped Napoli win the Seria A was subjected to some careless social media attack. Fans should control their anger because it is hurting the feelings of these players who have sacrificed to represent the country. I don't support cyberbullying because it could lead to many problems.

In life, if you dwell on the negative side of your attacks, you might not recover easily. We all know that Iwobi was not at his best in some of the games but there is room for improvement. Iwobi shouldn't see this attack as the end of his national team career, rather he can prove these critics wrong by improving his performance in subsequent games. We all saw the attack on Harry Maguire of Manchester United. Rather than having banters with his critics the Englishman took time to upgrade his game and today he is still in the first team.  Sometimes one can convert challenges into opportunities and the best way to silence your mockers is to do those things they never thought you could do.

[QueenVera]

The cyberbullying of Iwobi is just because Nigeria lost the competition.  Nobody would have talked about his performance if Nigeria had won the trophy. Iwobi played the role he was assigned to by the coach and that was why he was featured always. Jose Peseiro forced the Nigerian side to play mainly defensive football and used just counter-attacks and this style made Iwobi less productive. He was practically relegated to play as a defender which led to less connectivity with the attack.

Cyberbullying is not strange in football, especially in very passionate countries like Nigeria. He should see this attack as a challenge to improve his game and contribute more to the Super Eagles. I was happy that he was among the players that visited the president, some players would have departed to their clubs in anger.

It's very much expected that cyber bullying should occur at some instances but it is agreed upon that the act has its detrimental effect on the victim which can at thesame time be long term. Over time, we've seen cases of it happening especially in the football world and you wont blame the players and still not blame the bullies.

 Even though yes as fans, we've got every reason to get good performances from our players and then in the end of their tussle we don't get the desired result, let's know that it isn't enough reason to castigate the players totally as some or most times it isn't always their fault. We can criticize but bullying should not be an option, cause it could kill a players confidence level or lead them to depression. We all should know where to draw the curtain too. I just hope that the AFCOn bully on Alex Iwobi will be ended and he'll get the chance to regain back his mental health and strength too.    

[DubemIfedigbo001]

I have to disagree with you on this one. Why would you compare someone to another person just because they are related? Is skill and talent transferable through genes? I don’t think it’s fair to put Iwobi in the same box as Jay Jay Okocha. No Nigerian player has even come close to the legend. Okocha played skillful football, something that is rare to see nowadays.

Iwobi is a good player, he’s does so well in his league club. Even great players like Lionel Messi had troubles playing for their national team.

I think you're right to some reasonable extent, or should I say he's yet to give his best for his country. Most Nigerian players perform better at club levels, possibly because of the I'll treatment from the Nigerian football federation.

I still disagree that Iwobi is a good player, he lacks proper football sense to make him outstanding. Just like some sayings about some guys who are good,  but not harnessing their full potentials. Just like Pogba of France and Balotelli of Italy I guess. The Moment he starts dedicating his everything to this game, trust me he'll be indispensable. He has the potentials, but he's not exploiting it to the fullest.

[Zigabel]

Ivory Coast did do well in the tournaments and even when they were the host they still played well the same time, and both first and second half they were putting a lot of pressure on us and that of second half was worst and i know Nigeria can not withstand such pressure after they scored that first goal they relaxed instead of them to put in more energy into the game if they had scored like two goals then it will be much more easier for them to have won, but they were to relaxed  and they were run over and am sure they wont make such mistake again and even winning second is not bad at all compare to countries they have removed from the tournament.  and congrats to Ivory Coast for winning the AFCON and it was a flawless defeat from Ivory Coast.

Nigeria felt like they have won the trophy already after they did scored the first goal meanwhile they forgot that until the final whistle, you are not the winner yet, they became dull and we're relaying strongly on been defensive till the end of the game with the mind that they will win by that way, sadly that was how they lost the finals and a chance to have been crowned the champions the fourth time. Ivory coast did deserve their winnings as the did played so well against Nigeria in both halves, although Nigeria did tried to give the game a balance in the first half but failed to do same in the second half.

Hopefully Nigeria gets lucky in their next AFCON if they happen to qualify and play, Nigeria actually seemed Lucky because the didn't have a very outstanding performance in most of their gams but they did succeed in getting to the finals.

[Stepstowealth]

Hopefully Nigeria gets lucky in their next AFCON if they happen to qualify and play, Nigeria actually seemed Lucky because the didn't have a very outstanding performance in most of their games but they did succeed in getting to the finals.

This particular team that played in this competition and almost won it, may not be the particular team to play in the next competition, there is always a reshuffling of players. The defense was good, where needs to be strengthened is the midfield and then the attackers who need to be able to score more goals. The next plan for the super eagles should be to try and qualify for the world cup, as qualification games will begin soon. We have a good goalkeeper and defenders too, scouts need to source for talented midfielders to compliment the team.

[Oluwa-btc]

This isn't just a football thing, Iwobi isn't a special player, he has the energy somehow, but totally lacks football sense to deliver. For now, he's not that special player to hold the Nigerian midfield. We're done expecting him to be like, or perform better than his uncle Okocha. Its obvious they're not  of the same class. Okocha its surely of a much higher class than him.

He might improve, yes sure everybody has equal opportunity to prove themselves useful. But for now and with his afcon performance in view, he's way below the marks.

As much as I'm tempted to bash him, those who play will definitely know the struggles faced upon whilst playing or on the field on play.
He didn't perform to the standards we wanted but you just have to give him little bit of thanks for the games he performed. Blames on the coach though, he shouldn't have started him and since he wasn't effective, tnru should have substuted the lad from the first half.

He should be back right now with Fulham and he'll have enough time to get himself back in a good shape. There's no bloody need comparing the lad and his uncle.
It's football, we get disappointed at times, but we don't have to get our head down for too long. We go again in the next tournament.

[SatoPrincess]

~snip~

I think you're right to some reasonable extent, or should I say he's yet to give his best for his country. Most Nigerian players perform better at club levels, possibly because of the I'll treatment from the Nigerian football federation.

I still disagree that Iwobi is a good player, he lacks proper football sense to make him outstanding. Just like some sayings about some guys who are good,  but not harnessing their full potentials. Just like Pogba of France and Balotelli of Italy I guess. The Moment he starts dedicating his everything to this game, trust me he'll be indispensable. He has the potentials, but he's not exploiting it to the fullest.

I think our views differ on what we consider good football players. Mario Balotelli was magical with the ball, his spell at Inter Milan and Manchester City was excellent. Never once was his ability to score goals in question, his attitude was his only problem. I’m not a Manchester United fan so my analysis on Paul Pogba may be biased, still I cannot deny his ability to score goals. Alex Iwobi is a also a good player who is finding it difficult to adapt to Poseiro’s style of football.

[Docnaster]

~snip~

I think you're right to some reasonable extent, or should I say he's yet to give his best for his country. Most Nigerian players perform better at club levels, possibly because of the I'll treatment from the Nigerian football federation.

I still disagree that Iwobi is a good player, he lacks proper football sense to make him outstanding. Just like some sayings about some guys who are good,  but not harnessing their full potentials. Just like Pogba of France and Balotelli of Italy I guess. The Moment he starts dedicating his everything to this game, trust me he'll be indispensable. He has the potentials, but he's not exploiting it to the fullest.

I think our views differ on what we consider good football players. Mario Balotelli was magical with the ball, his spell at Inter Milan and Manchester City was excellent. Never once was his ability to score goals in question, his attitude was his only problem. I’m not a Manchester United fan so my analysis on Paul Pogba may be biased, still I cannot deny his ability to score goals. Alex Iwobi is a also a good player who is finding it difficult to adapt to Poseiro’s style of football.

In my years as a football fan, I've seen players who doesn't give their best whenever they're playing for their national teams but plays the most beautiful football when they're playing for their darling clubs and I've also seen players who doesn't bring out their best for their clubs but delivers the best football for their countries while there are sets of footballers who gives their best regardless of where they're playing.
Alex Iwobi I think is a good midfielder but the truth is that he wasn't played in his natural position which is the number 8 rather he was played in a deeper role which was the number 10 and that was why he was as creative as he was expected to be. If Nigeria coach wants to get the best of Iwobi, he should simply play him in the attacking midfield line and I believe they're gonna get a better version of Iwobi than what we saw at the AFCON

[QueenVera]

You cannot stop people from expressing how they feel about a particular player or issue. People will always make some painful comments that might make the player feel very bad. Even Osimhen who singlehandedly helped Napoli win the Seria A was subjected to some careless social media attack. Fans should control their anger because it is hurting the feelings of these players who have sacrificed to represent the country. I don't support cyberbullying because it could lead to many problems.

In life, if you dwell on the negative side of your attacks, you might not recover easily. We all know that Iwobi was not at his best in some of the games but there is room for improvement. Iwobi shouldn't see this attack as the end of his national team career, rather he can prove these critics wrong by improving his performance in subsequent games. We all saw the attack on Harry Maguire of Manchester United. Rather than having banters with his critics the Englishman took time to upgrade his game and today he is still in the first team.  Sometimes one can convert challenges into opportunities and the best way to silence your mockers is to do those things they never thought you could do.

Well when a player doesn’t does his work well, well I think he will sure get criticized and that’s why we’ve got the fans. Majorly these criticisms are not to demoralize the player but they’re aimed to spur him to challenge for better and try to be at his best. We’ve so many cases of players who performed excellently but when they underperformed, they were criticized and their return got applauded. Case of Osimhen at Napoli evn after carrying the team on his shoulder last season, when the season started and the team wasn’t leaving up to expectation, he was backlashed and he uped his game.

 Maguire too had same fate and came back better winning Player of the month award. These are sweet rewards for criticisms and as such I believe Iwobi is talented and should take cue from these cases and come back with stellar performances then he’ll receive the accolades and applauds he deserves.

[Sexylizzy2813]

Iwobi couldn't help it but he had to delete everything on his social media accounts and was planning to retire from national team (I know some of you would say let him go😁) as of two days back, but yesterday the sporting director (If I'm not mistaken) talked to him and hopefully things might turn around for good. That same yesterday our president gave the Super Eagles (those who played and those who warmed the bench) lands, houses and a title, the players will have to enjoy that while some of us have the energy to pour threats, for me is not cool.

I do not like the cyber bullying that Iwobi is receiving. Cancel culture is good but trying to cancel Iwobi and discredit his efforts no matter how minimal it was during the AFCON is just a total no-no for me. It isn't easy to be picked to join the A-team and even have play time. I consider cyber bullies as cowards and nothing more than that. Because it is only a coward that would sit anonymously behind his computer, laptop, electronic device to harass another person. There is always room for constructive criticism but bullies should be dealt with. Nigerians should do better.

Bro just remember that this is Nigeria and for you to call those who bullied Iwobi a coward don't forget that they can still come out to say it to his face, watch our local league and see what's happening to players who messed up. I'm not in support of this act but let's know the truth.
To be honest Iwobi in question didn't play anything impressive in this concluded AFCON, all anger and attention should be channeled to the coach of the Super Eagles because he knows this player (Iwobi) is not contributing anything productive to the team and he still start him in almost every game in the AFCON, that's who they (the bullies) should be pissed at and not Iwobi.
To me, Iwobi plays like someone who hasn't played football before, no confidence and I feel he has to go back and watch some of the videos and maybe see where he needs to improve or better still seek advise from our own legend, I mean his uncle Jay Jay Okocha, who knows he might be better than him (Okocha) in the nearest future.

[Pokapoka124]

I have not been myself since we lost the AFCON tournament, I don’t bet on the game but I wanted Nigeria to win so much that the loss broke my heart. Even when we were losing 2-1, I was still hoping for a miracle, our journey in the AFCON has been a miracle imo, we won all our games by narrow margin, it wasn’t out of place to believe we could score at last minute. Sadly, it wasn’t our night and Ivory Coast with their fans scattered all over the stadium had the victory. Reading the last two pages, I don’t understand why Iwobi is being made the villain of the Super Eagles story. I think this narrative is being pushed by Man United fans. They are used to trolling their players.

[Antotena]

I have not been myself since we lost the AFCON tournament, I don’t bet on the game but I wanted Nigeria to win so much that the loss broke my heart. Even when we were losing 2-1, I was still hoping for a miracle, our journey in the AFCON has been a miracle imo, we won all our games by narrow margin, it wasn’t out of place to believe we could score at last minute. Sadly, it wasn’t our night and Ivory Coast with their fans scattered all over the stadium had the victory. Reading the last two pages, I don’t understand why Iwobi is being made the villain of the Super Eagles story. I think this narrative is being pushed by Man United fans. They are used to trolling their players.

They gave that match second half extra minutes of +7 minutes, I was acting I don't care because I was angry and I was praying for them deeply inside so they can equalized and proceed to penalty but it seems Ivory coast were prepare for Nigeria, our players were strongly fighting back in those last minutes but they Cote d'ivoire fought back like they were so hungry and when the Ref blew the final whistle, I left the viewing center immediately, didn't even bother to watch the awards that were given to the Nigerian players, such a bad day for me but it's all over now.

We are now ranked number 28th world ranking by fifa from number 42 place after our performance in this Afcon, we are coming back strongly by next 2 years, we will win that one and then proceed to work cup again and do some wonders again.

[Hewlet]

What's your take on this news?

If this is true, this is going to be a big lift in nwabali's carrier but do you think it's better he goes to the EPL?

[QueenVera]

Bro just remember that this is Nigeria and for you to call those who bullied Iwobi a coward don't forget that they can still come out to say it to his face, watch our local league and see what's happening to players who messed up. I'm not in support of this act but let's know the truth.
To be honest Iwobi in question didn't play anything impressive in this concluded AFCON, all anger and attention should be channeled to the coach of the Super Eagles because he knows this player (Iwobi) is not contributing anything productive to the team and he still start him in almost every game in the AFCON, that's who they (the bullies) should be pissed at and not Iwobi.
To me, Iwobi plays like someone who hasn't played football before, no confidence and I feel he has to go back and watch some of the videos and maybe see where he needs to improve or better still seek advise from our own legend, I mean his uncle Jay Jay Okocha, who knows he might be better than him (Okocha) in the nearest future.

Well i think calling out those who bullied Iwobi shouldn’t be the right step to be done in this case. Rather this steps needs to be threatened both front and back, calling them out and also trying to help Iwobi improve. Help Iwobi improve by Calling him out to check out on the criticisms and try to work and improve himself. When you check out his stats at the AFCON, You’ll see that he underperformed more than expected and it’s worth calling him out for.

 I think Iwobi should seriously work on himself as Nigerians are passionate football lovers especially as that’s the only umbrella that helps to unite the country and bring joy to the faces of the citizens and they’re ready to drag whose over try to steals that joy. Criticisms are rooms for improvement of you’re ready to learn and relearn. So I think he should go low and come back better and stronger.