African Football Discussion Thread {Male & Female} Current Topic: 👉 WAFCON

[Baki202]

I expected Victor Osimhen to be upset. How could he have put in so much effort to secure maximum points for his country, only for his hopes to be dashed by Nigeria's shaky defense. The equalizing goal was scored far too easily, making the defense look inexperienced. What were they thinking? They lacked focus and cohesion in the final third allowing Zimbabwe to equalize. A momentary lapse in concentration cost them a crucial victory putting their chance of qualifying for the World Cup at serious risk.

What Victor Osimhen did, I understand, is a pain but you won't blame him, and even after finishing work and defending, they are still conceding goals so he has every right to be angry because it is not, and the defense is actually very weak and this is why this happened because if it had not happened then, and if they had focused on the game they would have done better because for some time now the super eagles are not performing well on all there competitions and to be sincere osimhen is try all he could just to bring the club to victory but the teammates are not helping this is enough for him to be angry because is effort looks like its been wasted because when last did Nigeria win anything, this is why i dont even take the issues of the super eagle seriously because they wont go far and i wonder what there problem is always.

[Marvelockg]

Formerly, I used to hear this for the Super Eagles players—that players were being promised rewards as an incentive to win important games like this. What happened to those times?

Has the economy become that bad?

I think these players should be able to play and win games without these promises because if you must make promises to them before they win important games how then will they play with their hearts for the nation. I expect to see players bekng passionate and playing with pride and dignity for their country not playing because of what they have been promised besides a number have times to fail to win these games even with the promises.

It is rather strange to think that players might be less motivated to bring in good results because there is no promise that is given to them by the government or a philanthropist. At the level each of our players are playing in their respective teams, what amount of money is enough to motivate them to take an opportunity of playing in the World Cup seriously? It is the wish of every great player to play in the World Cup, and if ours are waiting for a financial incentive before taking their games seriously, then they are not in the first-place worthy to wear the national jersey of the country. Do you think Victor osimehn is crying for nothing? he knows that if he doesn't go for this year's World Cup, it might be difficult for him to go for the next year's world cup.

[igebotz]

If points are deducted off South Africa for fielding an ineligible player, then i think our chances of qualifying are right back on track, and i think it is only normal for them to be punished for doing that, so finger's crossed on that one.

That said, you guys should remember that there is also a play-off round between the four best runners-up, of which one team will secure qualification through that means, we are going to have 10 teams representing Africa, the 9 group winners and 1 team from the play-offs, so let us still keep a tiny hope.

The worst they will be getting is a 3 points deduction that could come at the end of the group games or before and without 3 points they will still be leading the group with 2 points and even if Nigeria wins their next 4 games, no way the South Africa are not going to win at least two of their last 4 to book their place automatically..

We're not going to survive a 9 teams playoff - let's tell ourselves the truth.

[Nheer]

I didn't blame Victor Osimhen because he was hoping to win the game and struggled all the way to score a goal to secure the victory and foe the qualification, only for the defense to allow the opponent goal to entered and all his effort became waste. And now Nigeria is at the Mercy of qualifying. Ghana didn't qualify in the Nations Cup, and Nigeria top their team. Ghana top their group in the World Cup Qualifiers and Nigeria is dieing in the their group.
I think it is better for me to support Morocco and other top African teams in this world Cup than wasting my time with Nigeria.

Even if Nigeria eventually makes it to the World Cup I doubt if their performance will be any different from what they are giving now so even at the World Cup I doubt if they will make us proud. Although making it to the World Cup would be a great achievement even if they don’t go far and not qualifying for two consecutive time will be a shame for them. The frustration of Osimhen is really understandable because after giving his all for the country and team other players just couldn’t match his dedication and commitment, he has managed to give us goals even when we least expected them so the best other players could do is to defend the goals for him but they still failed.
I just pray the super eagles are able to qualify for the World Cup this time even if their performance is not consistent seeing them in the competition is worth it.

[GiftedMAN]

I didn't blame Victor Osimhen because he was hoping to win the game and struggled all the way to score a goal to secure the victory and foe the qualification, only for the defense to allow the opponent goal to entered and all his effort became waste. And now Nigeria is at the Mercy of qualifying. Ghana didn't qualify in the Nations Cup, and Nigeria top their team. Ghana top their group in the World Cup Qualifiers and Nigeria is dieing in the their group.
I think it is better for me to support Morocco and other top African teams in this world Cup than wasting my time with Nigeria.

Victor Osimhen was too emotional and didn't act professionally. No matter what the case was, a team mate ran after him and was trying to console him and he treated him like an ordinary fan. I know how painful it is, but they were together in it.
I also acknowledge how Osimhen used to be so committed in football, but I do not like that public display he did.

Man you shouldn't blame Victor Osimhen because of how he acted because he wasn't expecting the match to end in a 1:1 draw. I believe Victor Osimhen will apologize to his brother and team mate Victor Boniface because the young man ran to console him but his anger and emotions stopped him from stopping to listen to him so I think they will settle when they get back to the dressing room. Victor Osimhen is a committed player which we all know but being a super star shouldn't stop him from expressing his emotions which I think he did that very day, he should be able to control himself after that and I don't think he will have any more issues after doing that.

[Doan9269]

Even if Nigeria eventually makes it to the World Cup I doubt if their performance will be any different from what they are giving now so even at the World Cup I doubt if they will make us proud.

Maybe we should not be so quick to conclude yet, because anything can still happens, we may be able to see them perform more by then, considering they are still in the beads to improve more than they have started, because truly, if we are to consider on their way of performance, we may not have confidence on the super eagles to deliver or even get there, but as it goes with sport games, situation can change at anytime, let he that stand take heed before he fall, the weak can also make it one day if they are determined to be strong.

[Promocodeudo]

I think these players should be able to play and win games without these promises because if you must make promises to them before they win important games how then will they play with their hearts for the nation. I expect to see players bekng passionate and playing with pride and dignity for their country not playing because of what they have been promised besides a number have times to fail to win these games even with the promises.

You're right, I think they should buckle up and play with much enthusiasm for their country not because of whatever promise that was made to them though as much as I will blame them, I will also blame the people in the helm of affair of our dear country because if you look at their way things are done in Nigeria, this players are not treated well, we are talking about Nigeria national team as such I think they should be treated as one having said that, I think they should be representing Nigeria fully wherever they go not necessarily because of what they'll gain, sometimes I just ask myself how we got here but though I must also say that this promises suppose to trigger or motivate this players to give a good performance in other for the promises made to be fulfilled instead we see the otherwise happening, God bless Nigeria my country.

[Futurexxx]

Can someone just explain to me Super Eagles chances of qualifying for the WC? The news is fly everywhere, even over the radio. I want to know and get updated.
Any chances and in what condition?

With current standing in Group C:

South Africa - 13pts
Rwanda - 8 pts
Benin - 8pts
Nigeria - 7pts
Zimbabwe - 5pts
Lesotho - 3pts.

So for Nigeria to secure direct qualification, they must aim to finish as top team in Group C. As it requires overcoming the six point deficit to South Africa by achieving consistent victories in the remaining matches and hoping for favourable results in other group fixtures. That means we will have to be pressing calculator as usual.

LoL🤣🤣 as a typical Nigerian, truly when it comes to our national team, we are used to doing calculations anytime we are playing world cup qualifying matches, which some has favoured us in the past, but some didn't, so must we always be in such a sorry state anytime we are playing world cup qualifying games, considering the higher numbers of quality players at our disposal?
It's really bad that the Nigerian team has gotten so bad that they can't win a team like Zimbabwe, no disrespect to them, but when it comes to football, Nigerian is way above them in terms of levels.
After the game, our ex coach bonfry joe was saying that it's very sad that the Nigerian team has gotten this bad, that if it was during his time that something like this happen that we can't win this Zimbabwean team like Three to four nil, they would have been booed or stone would have been thrown at them, that this particular Nigerian team has no spirit in them, which it's all obvious that he wasn't wrong at all, he is just saying the truth.
So the big question here is can our super eagles win all the remaining matches while hoping for a miracle in happening in the south African games?
Left for me I don't see this team winning all the remaining matches.

[Fiatless]

Can someone just explain to me Super Eagles chances of qualifying for the WC? The news is fly everywhere, even over the radio. I want to know and get updated.
Any chances and in what condition?

With current standing in Group C:

South Africa - 13pts
Rwanda - 8 pts
Benin - 8pts
Nigeria - 7pts
Zimbabwe - 5pts
Lesotho - 3pts.

So for Nigeria to secure direct qualification, they must aim to finish as top team in Group C. As it requires overcoming the six point deficit to South Africa by achieving consistent victories in the remaining matches and hoping for favourable results in other group fixtures. That means we will have to be pressing calculator as usual.

The African qualifiers will be played across two rounds. The first will be contested in the form of a group stage, with eight groups of six teams and one group of five, following Eritrea's withdrawal. Each team will play two matches, home and away, against each of their opponents. The top finisher in each of the nine groups will qualify for World Cup 26.

The second round will pit the four best runners-up in two one-off semi-finals, followed by a final. The winner of this second round will participate in the FIFA Play-off Tournament.
https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/articles/africa-caf-qualifying-qualifiers-dates-teams-places-world-cup-2026

In addition to what @Pokapoka124 explained, there are nine groups in African Nations Cup qualifiers. All the leaders of each group will qualify automatically for the world cup. But there is still hope for the Super Eagles even if South Africa wins the group but it is only if they come out as best four second position holders. Four of these teams will compete and the winner of the semifinal like tournament will participate in the FIFA Play-off.

Nigeria would also have bigger hopes if FIFA sanctioned Bafana Bafana for using an unqualified player. Although Lesotho has withdrawn their complaint but they can still be punished based on historical findings. The sanction is usually three points deduction and minus three goals. And the three points will be awarded to Lesotho. If three points is deducted from South Africa, the point gap between Nigeria will reduce to three.

[Lida93]

However, Nigeria has broken their defense and is now leading with a 1 goal in the 74th minutes with a pass from Aina straight to Victor Osimhen who made it too easy to finish hitting the ball into the back of the  net of Zimbabwe. It's Nigeria 1 Vs 0 Zimbabwe.

After the coach took out Chukwueze, the next player he would have taken off should have been Ekong because he looked fatigued or not in the game at all. Osayi was overlapping into the attack and leaving just three men, mostly behind, which the Zimbabweans were looking to capitalize on, and they got their chance at the ending of the game, where our defenders felt the game was won and went into sleeping mode. Ekong was beaten with just one touch, and Nwabali could not keep it out.

Our chances of qualifying for the World Cup have reduced drastically.

You're right. What a poor tactical adjustment from head coach Erick Chelle. I even thought that when he decided to take off Osimhen, he would bring in either a defensive midfielder or a defender to help tighten the Super Eagles defensive line. But he didn't and as a result the team failed to hold on to their lead and collapsed at the last minute. This clearly shows that Nigeria lacks the tactical discipline to perform under pressure and secure crucial victory. The result is so painful because it puts Nigeria at serious risk of missing out on the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

I don't know what he was thinking to have made such adjustments when everything was actually going on fine for the Super Eagles. His tactical error is a big blow to Nigeria hopes and he has to learn from it towards the next games that Nigeria will be playing by September when they meet Rwanda.

South Africa already topping the group with 13 points but news has it that they might face points reduction sanction due to their action against FIFA rule by fielding  a player that was illegible to play in that their win against Lesotho.
If this happens, this could be a good advantage for Nigeria to redeem themselves and see to their qualifications.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c8d4vq67py1o

[Fiatless]

I don't know what he was thinking to have made such adjustments when everything was actually going on fine for the Super Eagles. His tactical error is a big blow to Nigeria hopes and he has to learn from it towards the next games that Nigeria will be playing by September when they meet Rwanda.

South Africa already topping the group with 13 points but news has it that they might face points reduction sanction due to their action against FIFA rule by fielding  a player that was illegible to play in that their win against Lesotho.
If this happens, this could be a good advantage for Nigeria to redeem themselves and see to their qualifications.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c8d4vq67py1o

It was a big blunder to encourage your team to keep going for goals in a crucial match that has entered the last quarter. He would have adopted a defensive strategy. But I wouldn't blame him so much. The Super Eagles would have gotten a goal if not for the wasteful miss by Wilfred Ndidi. The midfielder got a clear chance to increase the tally to two only to miss it.

South Africa has used diplomatic relations to convince Lesotho to withdraw the protest. But we are hoping that FIFA will still sanction South Africa because they committed a punishable offense.

[Roseline492]

A lot of things happen on the match I cannot even tell who is at fault because aside from Victor Osimhen unhappy there coach almost clashed with the Zimbabwe coach, after the match the Zimbabwe coach went to shake him but he was not happy to reciprocate and instead of the Zimbabwe coach to leave as he is not getting any response from him, I think he started saying what the super eagles coach may not like, so if not for some persons that was right there having in mind that this could result to something they could have been on the news yesterday. The defender that was looking at the Zimbabwe player deserves a serious blame because he had 60% chance to that ball than the scoring player of Zimbabwe, this is why some players like leaving a club even if they want him to stay because they are making Victor Osimhen to labour for nothing, actually the last time he went to World Cup he was not this good, so now he is very fit he wants nothing more than to go to the world Cup.

For me, there's was no need for the super eagles manager to have acted that way my reason being that the suppers ageles defender missed priority so what next should he expect, Osimhen suffered to gat a goal, the allow the goal to be equalized for reason best known to them, if there's any person he should be angry with, I think it should be the defender not their opponent manager, despite that that handshake may allegedly be a sign of mocekey which I feel is normal too in the game of soccer,

Draw is a continues occurrence but is annoying when something could have been done against it but did not, just like when a player held a ball close to their post and refuses to make a pass to another and eventually the opposition dispossessed him and score, that's how the goal feels for all the super eagles players. Moses Simon is not a liability but he became one at some point on the second half of the match because it was always either doing unnecessary things with the ball or lack of locating his fellow players on the right position, though for the incident about the two coaches they will settle it among themselves because they no how some usually handle their emotional reaction.

[Promocodeudo]

Draw is a continues occurrence but is annoying when something could have been done against it but did not, just like when a player held a ball close to their post and refuses to make a pass to another and eventually the opposition dispossessed him and score, that's how the goal feels for all the super eagles players. Moses Simon is not a liability but he became one at some point on the second half of the match because it was always either doing unnecessary things with the ball or lack of locating his fellow players on the right position, though for the incident about the two coaches they will settle it among themselves because they no how some usually handle their emotional reaction.

Yea I gree with you that draw in the game of soccer is inevitable, it is somethings that must happen though not always but it is part of the game of soccer that can't be removed from the whole settings but the annoying part is that there are some draw that ought to avoided which you've also explained ikntiur own way, ordinarily I expected Nigeria to have won that match easily but it seems their are no pushovers again in the African national team, Moses Simon messed up and he should take the blame for it, most time too I blame managers for somethings, if a player aren't making a good impact and you notice it as manager, he should be substituted to avoid attracting a funny result, looking at how that match ended, I think the supper eagles manager needs to do more because if he couldn't defeat Zimbabwe, which team will he be able to defeat again, am not just happy about that result sincerely.

[AYOBA]

Even if Nigeria eventually makes it to the World Cup I doubt if their performance will be any different from what they are giving now so even at the World Cup I doubt if they will make us proud. Although making it to the World Cup would be a great achievement even if they don’t go far and not qualifying for two consecutive time will be a shame for them. The frustration of Osimhen is really understandable because after giving his all for the country and team other players just couldn’t match his dedication and commitment, he has managed to give us goals even when we least expected them so the best other players could do is to defend the goals for him but they still failed.
I just pray the super eagles are able to qualify for the World Cup this time even if their performance is not consistent seeing them in the competition is worth it.

The way Nigerians are making a wonderful performance this season, I doubt that they will make us proud, because I have hope for them; they will continue in their current performance so that they can be able to accomplish their dream this season by dominating the World Cup, although they are only trying and failing at the competition.

But this season they come with the ambition of winning the World Cup. Honestly, the Osimhen frustration is understandable, because is given his try to make Nigerians to be proud, there was a previous season when they were given a try, but they refused to qualify, so this season they want to make everything possible by achieving their goal.

[Spaceman1000$]

Can someone just explain to me Super Eagles chances of qualifying for the WC? The news is fly everywhere, even over the radio. I want to know and get updated.
Any chances and in what condition?

With current standing in Group C:

South Africa - 13pts
Rwanda - 8 pts
Benin - 8pts
Nigeria - 7pts
Zimbabwe - 5pts
Lesotho - 3pts.

So for Nigeria secure direct qualification, they must aim to finish as top team in Group C. As it requires overcoming the six point deficit to South Africa by achieving consistent victories in the remaining matches and hoping for favourable results in other group fixtures. That means we will have to be pressing calculator as usual.

Pressing the calculator has always been what the super eagles are known for whenever we want to qualify for the the world cup, looking at the group already we can see how difficult it is for us to come out at the top spot, because South Africa are sitting gallantly on that spot, however I know that if they can secure the second spot, they will likely qualify because two persons are to qualify from each group, but knowing the super eagles and how disappointing they can be in games that they are not suppose to lose all draw, I can only just keep my fingers crossed, and What is the possibility that the super eagles can beat South Africa home and away, especially looking at how formidable Bafana Bafana have been this period.

[Mate2237]

I didn't blame Victor Osimhen because he was hoping to win the game and struggled all the way to score a goal to secure the victory and foe the qualification, only for the defense to allow the opponent goal to entered and all his effort became waste. And now Nigeria is at the Mercy of qualifying. Ghana didn't qualify in the Nations Cup, and Nigeria top their team. Ghana top their group in the World Cup Qualifiers and Nigeria is dieing in the their group.
I think it is better for me to support Morocco and other top African teams in this world Cup than wasting my time with Nigeria.

Even if Nigeria eventually makes it to the World Cup I doubt if their performance will be any different from what they are giving now so even at the World Cup I doubt if they will make us proud. Although making it to the World Cup would be a great achievement even if they don’t go far and not qualifying for two consecutive time will be a shame for them. The frustration of Osimhen is really understandable because after giving his all for the country and team other players just couldn’t match his dedication and commitment, he has managed to give us goals even when we least expected them so the best other players could do is to defend the goals for him but they still failed.
I just pray the super eagles are able to qualify for the World Cup this time even if their performance is not consistent seeing them in the competition is worth it.

That is what everyone is saying. I listened to sports news today in radio and the presenter who anchor the program was saying that Nigeria should not qualify in this world t because they way they are playing in the qualifiers. And if we looked into this issue, really Nigeria can't do well in this world cup and we are judging them from the performance in the qualifiers stage.

All the groups in this qualifiers stage, group is one of the poorest group and they don't even have good teams. I was strongly believing Nigeria to lead that group but the disappointment is very big so it is better for them to stay back and prepare themselves and build themselves to the world standard team.

[Mate2237]

It was a big blunder to encourage your team to keep going for goals in a crucial match that has entered the last quarter. He would have adopted a defensive strategy. But I wouldn't blame him so much. The Super Eagles would have gotten a goal if not for the wasteful miss by Wilfred Ndidi. The midfielder got a clear chance to increase the tally to two only to miss it.

South Africa has used diplomatic relations to convince Lesotho to withdraw the protest. But we are hoping that FIFA will still sanction South Africa because they committed a punishable offense.

I am not even saying Nigeria should qualify in this game because their performance is not encouraging me to say that and if they qualified, it would be a waste of budget from the government because they can't play football to impress the fans and the Nation. Michael Nees  Zimbabwe National Team Coach was saying they Nigeria and Zimbabwe are in the same level. They both will not qualified in the World Cup. And he was laughing Nigeria that they will not qualified again. I was ashamed of the Super Eagles.

Even FIFA deduct points from South Africa, they will still be at the top because the deduction will not be more than 3 points and they will still have 10 points and Nigeria will still be in their present position so what is the need.

[EL MOHA]

Let's imagine they manage to qualify even with this weak performance, what would you expect from them in the World Cup? Would they be able to win the world cup? How many teams would they be able to beat in the world cup?

The Zimbabwe national team is weak. Nigeria was supposed to win easily because they have popular players in Europe who are worth a lot of money. But they couldn't beat a weak opponent. So if they went to the World Cup, they wouldn't be able to go far. They would only embarrass Africa.

We need to start thinking big. As Africans, we need to demand that our nations team players play with the mindset that they should win the World Cup and not just think that they should play to qualify and then lose in the group stage of the World Cup and go back home.

If they qualify for the world what will they do there is a thing of the future and shouldn’t be a discussion now in my opinion. For me as a sport lover I will be proud to have my nation participate in the biggest sporting event in world. Football is a game that has mixed results, although I get your point that the team is playing seriously below bar because in terms of quality I think we are right at the top in Africa with few other countries, we have players that are undroppable in their club sides because of their brilliant performances but we have fail to see them displaying such quality into the national team.

I think if we manage to get to the World Cup I personally think they will up their game, take for instance the last AFCON tournament, I personally didn’t expect them to play any better but they did play better and just lost at the finals but if we you check the qualifiers before then it was simply poor which shows that in major tournaments they put a shift in their performance.

Even FIFA deduct points from South Africa, they will still be at the top because the deduction will not be more than 3 points and they will still have 10 points and Nigeria will still be in their present position so what is the need.

Two thing I see if South Africa gets punished is
1. Laws are not been broken and in effect of lack of compliance the punishments are ditched out,
2. Yes they wouldn’t drop off from the top of the table but reduces their points and give Nigeria any form of believe they need to see maybe they can work this out

[GxSTxV]

The amount of members here supporting Nigeria is insane, in fact I never seen anyone here from my region, but still it’s a great thing to get some new about all the teams in each group as someone who followed serval matches on this CAF for World Cul Qualifications. My country this time is on top of the group with a high chance of qualifying for the world cub since they performed well and won 5 out of 6 matches, with one defeat only.

Nigeria in the other side, their group C is very strong showing that South Africa has a great team after all these years of preparation and building a strong team, Nigeria may still have some chances to qualify but they shouldn’t lose any more matches if they want to be present at the World Cup in the new version which is going to be played in multiple countries combined.


For the Ranking of second placed team which is also going to qualify if they stay in Top with 15 points now is Gabon, they are taking three points gap between them and Cameroon. Honestly, it’s very risky to depend on this option for qualification as everything may happen in the very last match at the very last minutes. Nothing is better than a comfortable position leading the group.

[Adiljutt156]

Yesterday I watched the Algeria-Mozambique match in Group G. It was a very enjoyable match to watch, but Mozambique, which was second in the group, played very weak football. Algeria won the match 5-1, but could have scored more goals, they missed many goals.

Algeria defeated Mozambique in both matches. There are still 4 matches left, Algeria will most likely come out on top of the group, but I am not sure if Mozambique will be second.

Yesterday, Mozambique was a complete disappointment.

We are watching the matches with full attention. We watched the match between Algeria national football team and Mozambique national football team. Algeria national football team won the match one sided because that team did 5 goals in this match and opponent team could do only 1 goal in this match. Amoura was the person who did 2 goals in this match and he did first goal at 8 minutes of the match and after this goal we saw goal from another player and now was Mandi and he did goal at 24 minutes of the match. Amoura did his second goal at 30 minutes of the match and after this goal, score was 3-0 and Algeria national football team was ahead in this match. But with time, e expected that Mozambique  football team will come back in this match but they could not do come back in this match and match was ended with result of 5-1 . Congratulations to the Algeria  football team because they won one handed.