Africa Football Discussion || Current Topic: World Cup Qualifiers - CAF.

[EL MOHA]

The race for the world cup qualifiers is not really easy. We are still in a tight spot and it would really be disappointing and shameful, if we don't qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which would be make two times in a roll and even more shameful now base on our squad depths and their individual fame across Europe.

Winning the remaining matches seems more too good to be true but I hope in the end either ways we qualify.

Seriously Nigeria need to be more aggressive going forward in their qualifiers because the current position is seriously bad and not good enough. We are currently fourth with just 6 points off possible 15 points with South Africa occupying the only direct qualification spot for next phase, Nigeria doesn’t have the luxury to drop any points in the remaining matches. Should we win the remaining games which should be priority base on our star studded squad we will be able to actually get the top spot, if South Africa actually drops points too.

Nigeria missing out on next year World Cup will be a huge disappointment and a huge miss to the nation with so much talent because before the next edition will be coming most of this current players will be past their prime and some could have been off the National team then so this is our best chance to actually qualify and get on something in the world stage

[Wiwo]

Nigeria has always been good but lack that consistency and this has been the main reason for the change of coach. The game today was good but we could do better and score more. I hope we can continue winning and then be in a better position to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, the fact that we didn't make it to the 2022 World Cup was really disappointing even while having a squad that such task wouldn't be that difficult for them to fulfil.

I checked on the group table and I saw Nigeria has only successfully won 1 game, drew 3 and lost 1, out of total 5 games played so far. If this outcome has proven to be from their last 4 games before today's game then super eagle has not been performing better, it might be the cause of the formal coach that's why the board requested for a new coach I think so.

The Super Eagles were just unlucky from the beginning of the season and we can't directly point to the coach to be the problem or any particular player, but tonight's games where they were able to bag up 2-3 points tonight have indeed broaden their hope for the remaining season.

The super Eagles were able to defeat the Rwanda team away with 2 goals to none which was an unexpected Victor for the team and a Victor well expected due to their pattern of play in the game tonight.

[Smartvirus]

When the supper eagles decides to get it right, they do get it right. I would say I enjoyed the way they handled the game today. It was a proud day for the nation especially when Victor O did net the last goal, the finish was one of the best and that through pass was all that started it, had a clean first touch and all that was left was beating the goalkeeper with that jab on the ball. I didn’t expect that from him but, he executed it perfectly.

[Callido]

Nigeria has always been good but lack that consistency and this has been the main reason for the change of coach. The game today was good but we could do better and score more. I hope we can continue winning and then be in a better position to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, the fact that we didn't make it to the 2022 World Cup was really disappointing even while having a squad that such task wouldn't be that difficult for them to fulfil.

I checked on the group table and I saw Nigeria has only successfully won 1 game, drew 3 and lost 1, out of total 5 games played so far. If this outcome has proven to be from their last 4 games before today's game then super eagle has not been performing better, it might be the cause of the formal coach that's why the board requested for a new coach I think so.

They got an important win against Rwanda and now are at fourth place but that still isnt enough. They will have to win all the remaining games if they want to qualify for the world cup. Nigeria aint looking good and they dropped too many points and i doubt they can win all remaining games

Today's game ended with a victory, it felt like the players already knew how comfortable their win today was going to be, during the training sections before the games, Super Eagle teams were all laughing and joking which was cut up by several cameras mostly from personal videos, they didn't approach the game with a pressing performance, they won but i believe they can be able to do better than that. If we should face a more difficult opponent, this performance will not win us the game, our defense was solid, a stronger force might have penetrated but our attackers slept a bit when it comes to communicating with one another, it's a new phase of the Super Eagles and i believe as we progress, we will see the team shaped into a better team.

[Adbitco]

Yeah, this really looks like one of their best games so far in a long while. On a normal Nigeria has a good squad and if properly managed will definitely go far, where I was angry is the fact that before this game they were in 4th place after playing four games which is not supposed to be where a team like Nigeria should be in such a group that has those kinda teams in it. Kudos to them for the win, at least they have been lifted from the position they were previously.

Well, you shouldn't be angry at the players actually it was due to poor coaching management and techniques from the previous coaches who handled those previous four games that led the Super Eagles to this difficult position where they're now struggling on a slim hope of qualifying in their group. Now Nigeria would have to win their next match against Zimbabwe to get 9 points and hope that Rwanda or Benin Republic draw or lose in their next match for Nigeria to stand a chance of qualifying in that group, perhaps by goals difference. Which is why they would need to score as much goals as they could get in their next game.

You are right though, sometimes we blame players too because they are the ones in the field of play and they are the ones who makes actions to happen, but at the same time it's the coaches who are in charge of the tactics and formation of the game. If they put players in positions that they can't function then they are the problem, but what if players are all put in their strategic positions and they still don't perform? I really get your point though.

[Stepstowealth]

When the supper eagles decides to get it right, they do get it right. I would say I enjoyed the way they handled the game today. It was a proud day for the nation especially when Victor O did net the last goal, the finish was one of the best and that through pass was all that started it, had a clean first touch and all that was left was beating the goalkeeper with that jab on the ball. I didn’t expect that from him but, he executed it perfectly.

Some strikers in the Premier League and some other leagues would have missed that. Victor Osimhen extended his good goal scoring form from Galatasaray to the game, his confidence was obviously there. I give kudos to the defense too because they were very active and professional, did not give away unnecessary fouls and covered the goalkeeper properly. Clean sheet will keep the confidence of the players high for their next game where we will expect a better game. I will like to see the coach give Victor Boniface a chance in the next game.

[KingsDen]

When the supper eagles decides to get it right, they do get it right. I would say I enjoyed the way they handled the game today. It was a proud day for the nation especially when Victor O did net the last goal, the finish was one of the best and that through pass was all that started it, had a clean first touch and all that was left was beating the goalkeeper with that jab on the ball. I didn’t expect that from him but, he executed it perfectly.

Some strikers in the Premier League and some other leagues would have missed that. Victor Osimhen extended his good goal scoring form from Galatasaray to the game, his confidence was obviously there. I give kudos to the defense too because they were very active and professional, did not give away unnecessary fouls and covered the goalkeeper properly. Clean sheet will keep the confidence of the players high for their next game where we will expect a better game. I will like to see the coach give Victor Boniface a chance in the next game.

Nigerian Super Eagles are supposed to be winning their matches in this stage of qualification with ease and they are supposed to be scoring high margin of goals as Ghanaians did. They have way more celebrity players than their counterparts. Not like celebrities, but majority players in Europe top clubs. Whenever Super Eagles struggle to win matches or in the worse scenario losses match, I do wonder what is actually wrong with them.

I congratulate them on this one. And I also applaud Osimhen, Nigerians are happy for him, but tomorrow if he has injury and doesn't show up, we still turn against him. What happened to Boniface

[letteredhub]

Well from the looks of things Nigerian still got a long way to go and a tough road to ahead to qualify in the game currently they have got fourth point ahead of south Africa to qualify Nigeria will likely need to wins aleast five matches which this will be an daunting task, I guess their match will be against Zimbabwe on March 25 which will be a most to win their by all means, the team poor start to qualify with three draws and one loss in their fourth rounds and this has kept them in an difficult position.

At this point of the group stage South Africa is in the least of Nigeria worries because SA is one team that have already qualified even with a draw in their next fixture, meanwhile Nigeria is just with 6 points presently after their 2:0 win against Rwanda. At the moment  it is mathematically possible for Nigeria to qualify, so they've to focus on winning their next game and see what the outcome for next fixture becomes for teams like Benin Republic who are in second place and Rwanda third followed by Nigeria in fourth, followed by Lesotho and then Zimbabwe the bottom owners.

[SatoPrincess]

Rwanda is rank 122 and Nigeria is rank 31 place.

These rankings don't matter much anymore, just look at where Nigeria is in the table:



https://www.skysports.com/fifa-world-cup-african-qualifying-table

see that Rwanda even surpassed South Africa in the table, at least for now, my point is that the bookmakers do not offer money, when they put odds of 2.00 for the favorite, Is because of the analyses they did they concluded that there is a high risk of the favorite losing, as I have seen that in this thread there is a lot of talk about the Nigerian national team, so I thought I would see odds of 1.20 in favor of Nigeria, because that would mean that many people believe that Nigeria would win easily, even because I see Nigeria with a much better squad than Rwanda

There are metrics bookmakers use in determining these odds. The popular way gamblers pick their teams is to go through past data on matches played and making their predictions based on the information they gathered. Rwanda beat South Africa by two goals to nil remember therefore this data will also influence the odds. But Nigeria is a different and stronger team, I am happy that we won comfortably yesterday.

[HajiBagi]

When the supper eagles decides to get it right, they do get it right. I would say I enjoyed the way they handled the game today. It was a proud day for the nation especially when Victor O did net the last goal, the finish was one of the best and that through pass was all that started it, had a clean first touch and all that was left was beating the goalkeeper with that jab on the ball. I didn’t expect that from him but, he executed it perfectly.

Super Eagles players played well and I will say they played better than before, yesterday performance against Rwanda shows that our Super Eagles are ready to qualify for the next World Cup competition, Rwanda has been a difficult team for Super Eagles for the past years but yesterday shows that the Super eagles are ready to play against any team, Before the match I was saying that if Super Eagles can not defeat Rwanda that shows that our last two years Africa players of the years are not serious but our Africa players of the year turn up.

Victor Osimhen with the 2 goals that gave Nigeria the winning and the first goal was created by Ademola Lookman, all our players turned up and if the Super Eagles players continue like this with their performances they can achieve a good thing, Super Eagles has best players currently in Africa and this is the time they show that they are capable of qualifying for World Cup and winning the Afcon.

[Spaceman1000$]

And I think anyone saying the Super Eagles has the best squad right now in Africa isn't making a wrong statement.

Having some famous players in the national team does not make the national team the best in Africa. What will make the national team the best in Africa are the achievements that a national team has achieved at that time. At the moment, the reality is that the Nigerian national team is the worst in Group C, along with Zimbabwe.

In all these 4 games in which the Nigerian national team lost points, they were playing with the same famous players that they have, and the result was that they lost against Benin, drew against Zimbabwe, against South Africa and against Lesotho. If the Nigerian players today play with inflated egos and consider themselves the best team in Africa, they may lose points again. They should not underestimate the opponent or set themselves a title when they are not winning anything big at the moment.

I don't think the players pride themselves as the best in Africa or played those matches with inflated egos. What happened was that we had a bad coach who did not know what he wasn't doing and this led to our poor performance. We've a new coach now and today's game is his first match in charge of the super eagles. I won't say we played very well but I'm happy we got all three points and I hope we improve more and get some good results.

I don't think it has anything to do with the coach, it's about the seriousness of the players, what difference did Chelle bring to the super Eagles team yesterday that made Nigeria to win, it is not the same players we've been using.the players felt that their is need for them to get the three points after losing Several of their qualifying games. There was nothing extra ordinary that the coach did. I don't also think they had ego, I felt they've realized how important it is to qualify for the World Cup, so they don't want to give room for excuses anymore, from the first half, you could see how desperate the likes of Victor Osimhen, Ademola lookman and the rest forwarders where pushing forward the ball, until they secured that first two goals in the first half.

[Lida93]

And I think anyone saying the Super Eagles has the best squad right now in Africa isn't making a wrong statement.

Having some famous players in the national team does not make the national team the best in Africa. What will make the national team the best in Africa are the achievements that a national team has achieved at that time. At the moment, the reality is that the Nigerian national team is the worst in Group C, along with Zimbabwe.

In all these 4 games in which the Nigerian national team lost points, they were playing with the same famous players that they have, and the result was that they lost against Benin, drew against Zimbabwe, against South Africa and against Lesotho. If the Nigerian players today play with inflated egos and consider themselves the best team in Africa, they may lose points again. They should not underestimate the opponent or set themselves a title when they are not winning anything big at the moment.

I don't think the players pride themselves as the best in Africa or played those matches with inflated egos. What happened was that we had a bad coach who did not know what he wasn't doing and this led to our poor performance. We've a new coach now and today's game is his first match in charge of the super eagles. I won't say we played very well but I'm happy we got all three points and I hope we improve more and get some good results.

I don't think it has anything to do with the coach, it's about the seriousness of the players, what difference did Chelle bring to the super Eagles team yesterday that made Nigeria to win, it is not the same players we've been using.the players felt that their is need for them to get the three points after losing Several of their qualifying games. There was nothing extra ordinary that the coach did. I don't also think they had ego, I felt they've realized how important it is to qualify for the World Cup, so they don't want to give room for excuses anymore, from the first half, you could see how desperate the likes of Victor Osimhen, Ademola lookman and the rest forwarders where pushing forward the ball, until they secured that first two goals in the first half.

@Spaceman1000$  are you saying these players never knew how important fixturing for the world cup means for them in their national shirts? I am making no mistake on agreeing with that. Secondly, all the previous coaches were really bad with their tactics and philosophy with the players because how is it that same players that they all failed to get all three points in those early games are the set of players Eric Chelle is using and advancing excellently with in all departments on the field. Lets give Chelle the accolades for doing what those other coaches failed to do and that's simple.

[Kelward]

When the supper eagles decides to get it right, they do get it right. I would say I enjoyed the way they handled the game today. It was a proud day for the nation especially when Victor O did net the last goal, the finish was one of the best and that through pass was all that started it, had a clean first touch and all that was left was beating the goalkeeper with that jab on the ball. I didn’t expect that from him but, he executed it perfectly.

Super Eagles players played well and I will say they played better than before, yesterday performance against Rwanda shows that our Super Eagles are ready to qualify for the next World Cup competition, Rwanda has been a difficult team for Super Eagles for the past years but yesterday shows that the Super eagles are ready to play against any team, Before the match I was saying that if Super Eagles can not defeat Rwanda that shows that our last two years Africa players of the years are not serious but our Africa players of the year turn up.

Victor Osimhen with the 2 goals that gave Nigeria the winning and the first goal was created by Ademola Lookman, all our players turned up and if the Super Eagles players continue like this with their performances they can achieve a good thing, Super Eagles has best players currently in Africa and this is the time they show that they are capable of qualifying for World Cup and winning the Afcon.

The super eagles played like they had something to loose and they delivered, afterall if they quality it is them that will play in the finals, not you and I. Also it was the first test for our new coach, whether it was is expertise or our players extraordinary efforts that got us the win, what matters is that our team collected all the points in the game. With subsequent games that the super eagles will play that is when we can judge whether the new coach is bringing something different and spectacular to the table or he is just hiding behind the super talents if our players. I wish the super eagles all the best in their upcoming matches.

[Salahmu]

I don't think the players pride themselves as the best in Africa or played those matches with inflated egos. What happened was that we had a bad coach who did not know what he wasn't doing and this led to our poor performance. We've a new coach now and today's game is his first match in charge of the super eagles. I won't say we played very well but I'm happy we got all three points and I hope we improve more and get some good results.

I'm glad this world Cup Qualifier did not continue when they started it last year because super eagles would have been at the bottom now do to the fact that they weren't having a good coach but after holding it from that time till they started this month, the opportunity of improvement came in and the coach was replaced, however I saw a coach whom appreciate this players yesterday because he could not help himself on what he saw and the wining turned into several hugging moments for him by meeting the players one after the other, so actually with positivity wining will never cease for the eagles.

[Stepstowealth]

however I saw a coach whom appreciate this players yesterday because he could not help himself on what he saw and the wining turned into several hugging moments for him by meeting the players one after the other, so actually with positivity wining will never cease for the eagles.

Show of appreciation cannot only be expressed through hugs, the other coaches that the Super Eagles have had may have expressed their appreciation through other ways, I do not think they were less appreciative. I think Eric Chelle was particularly happy with the players because they put in their best and helped him win his first game as the coach of the Super Eagles knowing that his appointment was followed with a lot of criticism first about his nationality then also about his experience and qualification for the role.

[Futurexxx]

however I saw a coach whom appreciate this players yesterday because he could not help himself on what he saw and the wining turned into several hugging moments for him by meeting the players one after the other, so actually with positivity wining will never cease for the eagles.

Show of appreciation cannot only be expressed through hugs, the other coaches that the Super Eagles have had may have expressed their appreciation through other ways, I do not think they were less appreciative. I think Eric Chelle was particularly happy with the players because they put in their best and helped him win his first game as the coach of the Super Eagles knowing that his appointment was followed with a lot of criticism first about his nationality then also about his experience and qualification for the role.

No, I disagree on this, Eric chelle appointment wasn't criticize because of his nationality, his appointment was criticized based on how inexperience he is, and the team he have manage in the past, how they fair, that's why he was criticized, not about his nationality, because we as Nigeria felt that we have more better coach in the shores of Nigeria, than most countries in our African continent, so when he was appointed, normally their were pushbacks, but if he can start strong, their is a higher probability that he can win over the hearts of all his critique in the country.

As for the game yesterday, I was really impressed by the final outcome of the game, I only watched the game from were victor osimhen scored the second goal, that were I start watching it from, though they are not that good, but they are much more better than the super eagles team under the leadership of finidi George, so if they can continue in this vien of form, we can all be hopeful that we might qualify for the next world cup competition coming up.

[Justbillywitt]

When the supper eagles decides to get it right, they do get it right. I would say I enjoyed the way they handled the game today. It was a proud day for the nation especially when Victor O did net the last goal, the finish was one of the best and that through pass was all that started it, had a clean first touch and all that was left was beating the goalkeeper with that jab on the ball. I didn’t expect that from him but, he executed it perfectly.

Super Eagles players played well and I will say they played better than before, yesterday performance against Rwanda shows that our Super Eagles are ready to qualify for the next World Cup competition, Rwanda has been a difficult team for Super Eagles for the past years but yesterday shows that the Super eagles are ready to play against any team, Before the match I was saying that if Super Eagles can not defeat Rwanda that shows that our last two years Africa players of the years are not serious but our Africa players of the year turn up.

Victor Osimhen with the 2 goals that gave Nigeria the winning and the first goal was created by Ademola Lookman, all our players turned up and if the Super Eagles players continue like this with their performances they can achieve a good thing, Super Eagles has best players currently in Africa and this is the time they show that they are capable of qualifying for World Cup and winning the Afcon.

I haven't seen the Super Eagles play so well like they did yesterday against Rwanda. For a long time now the team has been in total shambles but their performance yesterday shows that there is hope for this team. They kept the ball on the ground and they passed the ball very well. I looked at the team and I was impressed. Keeping clean sheet at away was very good result for the eagles. Now they should be hoping for the teams that are ahead of them to start having bad results so they can drop points. If this coach has been appointed earlier, the eagle's wouldn't have found themselves where they are struggling to qualify. At least there is positive atmosphere in the team, and if they can win their next matches, they can move up in their table. Now that the players have seen a coach that they are happy to play under, everyone can see that they are producing results.

[Salahmu]

however I saw a coach whom appreciate this players yesterday because he could not help himself on what he saw and the wining turned into several hugging moments for him by meeting the players one after the other, so actually with positivity wining will never cease for the eagles.

Show of appreciation cannot only be expressed through hugs, the other coaches that the Super Eagles have had may have expressed their appreciation through other ways, I do not think they were less appreciative. I think Eric Chelle was particularly happy with the players because they put in their best and helped him win his first game as the coach of the Super Eagles knowing that his appointment was followed with a lot of criticism first about his nationality then also about his experience and qualification for the role.

No, I disagree on this, Eric chelle appointment wasn't criticize because of his nationality, his appointment was criticized based on how inexperience he is, and the team he have manage in the past, how they fair, that's why he was criticized, not about his nationality, because we as Nigeria felt that we have more better coach in the shores of Nigeria,

Is true his inability was the problem and were the criticism started from but while a lot of people was giving there facts the talk about nationality was also discussed because some felt having our national team lead by an internal coach will be helpful since we have some coaches, so I think that's the aspect of nationality @Stepstowealth was saying Eric Chelle encountered, but however his credibility has made it yesterday that nationality has no charge over his coaching. If super eagles wins from now down to the South Africa they will differently be consistent to the rest.

[Sim_card]

When the supper eagles decides to get it right, they do get it right. I would say I enjoyed the way they handled the game today. It was a proud day for the nation especially when Victor O did net the last goal, the finish was one of the best and that through pass was all that started it, had a clean first touch and all that was left was beating the goalkeeper with that jab on the ball. I didn’t expect that from him but, he executed it perfectly.

Super Eagles players played well and I will say they played better than before, yesterday performance against Rwanda shows that our Super Eagles are ready to qualify for the next World Cup competition, Rwanda has been a difficult team for Super Eagles for the past years but yesterday shows that the Super eagles are ready to play against any team, Before the match I was saying that if Super Eagles can not defeat Rwanda that shows that our last two years Africa players of the years are not serious but our Africa players of the year turn up.

Victor Osimhen with the 2 goals that gave Nigeria the winning and the first goal was created by Ademola Lookman, all our players turned up and if the Super Eagles players continue like this with their performances they can achieve a good thing, Super Eagles has best players currently in Africa and this is the time they show that they are capable of qualifying for World Cup and winning the Afcon.

I know that we have the best players because they're all doing pretty good in their various clubs. However, this is not what I want. I want the Super Eagles to use what they have to get what they want as the Giant of Africa. We cannot have all these talents in the Super Eagles and still cannot show for it. Perhaps, their performance was very impressive yesterday.

[snipie]

I know that we have the best players because they're all doing pretty good in their various clubs. However, this is not what I want. I want the Super Eagles to use what they have to get what they want as the Giant of Africa. We cannot have all these talents in the Super Eagles and still cannot show for it. Perhaps, their performance was very impressive yesterday.

Nigeria used to be a hard number in Africa and even internationally. Nowadays, although they still have good names but they are less effective.. It is Morocco which is now way superior to the other nations, it was Egypt, Algeria and Cameroon in the previous years. They are obviously other good terms but they cannot persist long time with good results.
Nigeria has an opportunity to shine again but seriously they need a talented and stable management.