Africa Football Discussion || Current Topic: AFCON 2025 Qualifiers - CAF.

[Stable090]

It is nice to see Nigeria winning by 3 goals to nothing for Benin. However let's admit that Nigeria players are way better than Benin.

No one should even compare Super Eagles players with Benin players. We all know that Super Eagles have a better squad compared to Benin, just that the Super Eagles lack a talented coach who will be able to utilize the players that they are having, but I think their current coach is just better, so we should just expect improvement in their performance in the coming matches, and I don’t think any country should find it difficult for Super Eagles to win in their group, all the countries in their group are weak countries, so am expecting win from them in all their matches.

[Marvelockg]

Already the match between Nigeria and Benin has started and just like you predicted is very tough and there seem to be a very high resistance against each other's but the supper eagles is trying and they are on the dominanting side, actually there is a big difference from there last meeting and now because they have master the pattern Benin use on there last match, I'm very hopeful that the supper eagles will win this match but even if they did not win but I'm very sure they will not lose the match, however while I was even typing the supper eagles has scored one goal, the first half ended on there favour all thanks to Lookman who has always been our hero, however we are expecting more goals from the supper eagles on the second half.

I'm glad the Eagles didn't disappoint because it would have made their chances of qualifying more slim and given other countries like Rwanda hope they can easily defeat us. I didn't really see what Benin were playing that they were able to win Nigeria the other time and maybe they were feeling like they will do the same thing yesterday but I guess the element of surprise was properly applied.

when I saw the list of countries in the group D that are paired up with Nigeria, I just knew that we've already secured our ticket to the AFCON without any sense of doubt. Who has the potential of stoping the eagles in the group? Is it Rwanda, Lybia or this Benin?. Who is Benin in the first place? Are they even a force to be afraid of? We know that we need to get good results from the qualification stage that will better prepare us for the main AFCON, but it's good we start preparing our minds for the tough journey we still have ahead of us in the coming AFCON.

Teams like Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Congo, Cameron and South Africa have an high chance of qualifying for the AFCON and we know they are far tougher opposition we should be planning for that are by far better than the teams we have in our group for the qualifier. Though we got to the finals through luck in our last outing, we need to tell ourselves the truth that the standard of our games needs to be improved upon if not if we're paired in the same group with the likes of Morocco, Egypt or Ivory Coast, we might suffer from thier hands

[Davidvictorson]

The match is ongoing now and I think the match might not even end based on my prediction. I the match is quite boring and I think the Nigeria break need to be quite serious with their playing because any mistake can lead to an unfortunate event. The Nigeria coach has not put any input so far gingering the team to be proactive with the way they are playing right now. I am patiently waiting for the match to end to know the results of this game. The team are really playing but I am not seeing a good input that will make this match a remarkable one. Although gambling is all about risk for those of us that like taking bookings and predictions from random people.

The match has been played now and the super eagles exceeded my expectations. Nevertheless, I still maintain my stand on what I said about them. I am not ready to change my stance just because of one game. I will reluctantly do so when I see them have a consistent winning streak in their next  5 matches if they maintain their performance. I was wondering, if we would have seen more goals if Osimhen was in the first half. In the upcoming qualifying matches, Nigeria will play, Rwanda, Libya, South-Africa, Zimbabwe and they'll also have second legs in these games too. Their performances will change my perception against them.

[snipie]

It is nice to see Nigeria winning by 3 goals to nothing for Benin. However let's admit that Nigeria players are way better than Benin.

No one should even compare Super Eagles players with Benin players. We all know that Super Eagles have a better squad compared to Benin, just that the Super Eagles lack a talented coach who will be able to utilize the players that they are having, but I think their current coach is just better, so we should just expect improvement in their performance in the coming matches, and I don’t think any country should find it difficult for Super Eagles to win in their group, all the countries in their group are weak countries, so am expecting win from them in all their matches.

Yeah that's what I am saying. The surprising thing is to see Super Eagles losing a game in such a group. Beyond that, it depends from their opponents. For example, Morocco or Egypt or maybe Algeria and Senegal might be challenging.
The second round started with Tunisia facing Gambia. Both teams scored a goal in the beginning of the match. Almost 30 minutes left and Tunisia still struggle to add another goal. I thought they were favourite in their group. There are still topping the group considering the match will end 1 - 1

[Nheer]

Congratulations to the Super Eagles new head coach Buruno Labbadia; he is very lucky to get a win in his first match, and the way he set up his team is very good and if the Super Eagles can keep it up this way, the team will get huge success because there are players the only problem is the coaching.

Yeah it’s been a long time that Nigeria have been suffering to get a good coach that will be able to manage all the players well and bring out the best in them so a big congratulations to the new gaffer who was able to win his first match as Nigeria head coach we hope to see more wins and good performances from them. The team set up was amazing even though Nigeria has more quality players than them and should be able to win them comfortably but we have been struggling to win teams like this in the past and even lost to same Benin some months back.

And yes, I've always wanted Boniface upfront for Nigeria but his performance today was nothing to write home about but I'm not dismissing the fact that he's a great forward and will do better for Nigeria in the future.

He did his best and he just couldn’t get a goal for himself probably because he hasn’t really played much for the National team and when compared to how Victor Osimehn plays the striking role i don’t think Boniface will satisfy us because they both have different playing styles and are good in their own ways.

On social media, I saw Nigerians taking a swipe at former coach Finidi George. Not really good; the fact that he was not successful with the national team does not take away his achievements as a player for us. We need to remember and respect that.

Not all good players are good coaches but i think people should have respected the fact that he has represented us well and done things for us as a player. Frank Lampard is a Chelsea legend as a player but failed as a manager and that doesn’t make him any less of a legend for the club, everyone still respects him wholeheartedly. It’s good that he was replaced but fans should respect his achievements for us and not throw shades at him for failing as a manager, managing a team is not so easy and we have seen a lot of managers fail at certain clubs but succeed at another.

[Marykeller]

Judging from the live score of the match now, it's obvious we have already secured the 3 points for today's game, as the match is currently playing in favour of the Super Eagles at 3 goals to nill, abit different from what i earlier predicted, of which I'm sure this game is likely to end this way, as we just sure Victor Osimhem and Lockman scored our second and third goal at 78 minutes and 83 minutes respectively. So I'm really proud of the Super Eagles for not disappointing us today, and all kudos to our new couch Mr. Augustine Eguavoen for such a beautiful performance this evening. There is hope for AFCON 2025.

There's really hope for the Super Eagle to qualify for the AFCON tournament of 2025 that will be hosted in Morocco. However, Super Eagle is meant to face off Rwanda in their next encounter of the AFCON qualification match in 2 days time(it's an away match for Super Eagle). A win or draw will pretty okay for Super Eagle, to keep them ahead of  their opponents in Group D.

That being said, the same Benin and Rwanda are both teams/countries that will challenge the Super Eagle by next year in the World Cup Qualification match.

I have a friend who betted on Benin Republic to win against Nigeria I don't know what gave him that morale or wasn't he aware that Finidi George is no longer our head coach even at that he should've been aware of the current form of our Nigerian attackers, especially Lookman and Osimhen so I don't think the risk he took was worth it, anyways I'm very impressed with how our boys defeated Benin Republic and NFF did a good job by bringing back Austin Eguavon, I believe Nigeria would come out superior in the group D, qualifying for the AFCON wouldn't be something difficult for the Super Eagles and they've proved that with this recent victory against Benin Republic. Well, regardless of their next game being an away match I trust our boys to come out victorious in that game, I don't think they'll lose but I draw won't be bad anyways. If we'll be facing Benin Republic and Rwanda in the World Cup Qualification match then it will be easy for Nigeria to qualify.

That's what we Nigeria assumed for it to be an easy qualification for the Super Eagles to qualify for AFCON and World Cup with their current form of our key players being out of injuries because the last time when Finidi George was our coach, Lookman, Troost-Ekong(Captain) and Osimhen were on injuries which resulted in Nigeria's to question whether the Super Eagle's will qualify for the World Cup tournament against Rwanda and Benin. But thank God our boys are all back, and they have shown they are unstoppable by the two mentioned African countries they will be up against this year(AFCON Qualification) and next year for World Cup Qualification matches.

The 3-0 victory of the Super Eagles against Benin came as a surprise to Benin coach ''Rohr" he never believed it because the last time, Benin won the Super Eagles 2-1. Rohr was thinking the same winning would occur again since the Super Eagles and NFF were confused about who would become the Super Eagles coach. Thanks to Eguavoen who accepted to be Super Eagles coach a week into this AFCON Qualification match, and still did noble by making the right selection of players to play against Benin for a victory match.

[Rruchi man]

On social media, I saw Nigerians taking a swipe at former coach Finidi George. Not really good; the fact that he was not successful with the national team does not take away his achievements as a player for us. We need to remember and respect that.

Not all good players are good coaches, but I think people should have respected the fact that he has represented us well and done things for us as a player.

Average players make better coaches. Austin Eguavoen was a former footballer as well, but many do not know him with that record because he was very average during his time. I am not sure his record can be compared to Finidi George's record.

There is one good thing that I like that Austin is doing: He has made two top coaches from the Nigerian Premier League his assistants, the Enugu Rangers’ head coach, Ilechukwu and Ogunmodede of Remo Stars. If Austin can help the Super Eagles qualify, he should keep the job; his position vindicates the fact that indigenous coaches can still be good for the team.

[adultcrypto]

It is nice to see Nigeria winning by 3 goals to nothing for Benin. However let's admit that Nigeria players are way better than Benin.

No one should even compare Super Eagles players with Benin players. We all know that Super Eagles have a better squad compared to Benin, just that the Super Eagles lack a talented coach who will be able to utilize the players that they are having, but I think their current coach is just better, so we should just expect improvement in their performance in the coming matches, and I don’t think any country should find it difficult for Super Eagles to win in their group, all the countries in their group are weak countries, so am expecting win from them in all their matches.

If not of management challenges, Super Eagle squad is almost the same as the squad of US 94 that made us proud or the Atlanta 96 that won the U23 world Cup where we have Kanu Nwankwo, Joseph Olise, Celestine Babayaro and many other great players. We have such quality of players now including Victor Osimhen, Ekong Bassey, Wilfred Ndidi, and others. If we can get the management right, I don't think there is any African team that will easily beat the Eagles. This is the reason I was not too excited that we won Benin Republic because we should be able to beat such a small team without stress. I just hope the new management will be able to bring the players together and build that formidable team we all love to see.

[Pokapoka124]

Ademola Lukuman is the player that his name should be in the lips of all super eagles fans, but due to the recent Victor Osimhen transfer saga that has overshadowed Lukuman performance and Osimhen is the Man that's receiving most of the attention right now. But Ademola Lukuman is a good footballer and I don't think there will be any player that will be able to take away the African player of the year award from him. He is the only African player to make the 30 man list of the Balon d Or, as he has been performing both at club and country side. If Ademola Lukuman  don't win the next African player of the year award, I think it will be unfair to him.

Why are you referring to Ademola Lookman as “Lukuman”? Is that a typo or a new nickname for the player?

Victor Osimhen has already won the hearts of Nigerians and all the Super Eagles supporters. That does not take anything away from the other players. Lookman is gradually winning the hearts of Nigerians with his stellar performances in the Super Eagles. His skill and hard work are paying off for him and if he keeps up this form, his name will certainly be sang in the stadium the same way the fans are chanting for Osimhen.

[Frankolala]

On social media, I saw Nigerians taking a swipe at former coach Finidi George. Not really good; the fact that he was not successful with the national team does not take away his achievements as a player for us. We need to remember and respect that.

Not all good players are good coaches, but I think people should have respected the fact that he has represented us well and done things for us as a player.

Average players make better coaches. Austin Eguavoen was a former footballer as well, but many do not know him with that record because he was very average during his time. I am not sure his record can be compared to Finidi George's record.

There is one good thing that I like that Austin is doing: He has made two top coaches from the Nigerian Premier League his assistants, the Enugu Rangers’ head coach, Ilechukwu and Ogunmodede of Remo Stars. If Austin can help the Super Eagles qualify, he should keep the job; his position vindicates the fact that indigenous coaches can still be good for the team.

With the superb performance from the players yesterday, it shows that Austin knows what he is doing as a coach and has a good relationship with the players which is also a good advantage to umprove the players performance because he woukd be respected by all.

It is a good start for Austin and if he succeed in winning more matches, I think he should be given tje opportunity to be the head coach and let's see if he is the coach that we are looking for to build and strengthen the team in order for them to defeat any country that cross their part.

[CryptSafe]

It is nice to see Nigeria winning by 3 goals to nothing for Benin. However let's admit that Nigeria players are way better than Benin.

No one should even compare Super Eagles players with Benin players. We all know that Super Eagles have a better squad compared to Benin, just that the Super Eagles lack a talented coach who will be able to utilize the players that they are having, but I think their current coach is just better, so we should just expect improvement in their performance in the coming matches, and I don’t think any country should find it difficult for Super Eagles to win in their group, all the countries in their group are weak countries, so am expecting win from them in all their matches.

If not of management challenges, Super Eagle squad is almost the same as the squad of US 94 that made us proud or the Atlanta 96 that win the U23 world Cup where we have Kanu Nwankwo, Joseph Olise, Celestine Babayaro and many other great players. We have such quality of players now including Victor Osimhen, Ekong Bassey, Wilfred Ndidi, and others. If we can get the management right, I don't think there is any African team that will easily beat the Eagles. This is the reason I was not too excited that we won Benin Republic because we should be able to beat such a small team without stress. I just hope the new management will be able to bring the players together and build that formidable team we all love to see.

Yes we have a good team players but I think the management is where the issue lies.  I could remember vividly clear how the players are owed allowance and in some cases the payments are delayed. You see all these experiences put together kills the morale of the players but I just like the way they coordinate themselves irrespective of whatever happens. The players are very much united and play with the love they have for the national team and super eagles.

There's this thing I notice that our nationals out there want to identify with the national team. They love the super eagles and would want to have a spot for jersey number and that goes on. The love for eagles is something else and other foreign nationals love the team.

Nevertheless, the victory recorded during the weekend is very much anticipated because the Benin Republic are no match for the super eagles. Looking at the squad and performance, one would tell that it's been a hell of a game for the opponent team.

[Majestic-milf]

when I saw the list of countries in the group D that are paired up with Nigeria, I just knew that we've already secured our ticket to the AFCON without any sense of doubt. Who has the potential of stoping the eagles in the group? Is it Rwanda, Lybia or this Benin?. Who is Benin in the first place? Are they even a force to be afraid of? We know that we need to get good results from the qualification stage that will better prepare us for the main AFCON, but it's good we start preparing our minds for the tough journey we still have ahead of us in the coming AFCON.

Teams like Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Congo, Cameron and South Africa have an high chance of qualifying for the AFCON and we know they are far tougher opposition we should be planning for that are by far better than the teams we have in our group for the qualifier. Though we got to the finals through luck in our last outing, we need to tell ourselves the truth that the standard of our games needs to be improved upon if not if we're paired in the same group with the likes of Morocco, Egypt or Ivory Coast, we might suffer from thier hands

Well I won't be quick to dismiss Libya and Rwanda as less of a threat to the Super Eagles because just like I said earlier, they can disappoint you when it matters the most and right now we are singing their praises, jubilating at their performance to a small team like Benin which on a normal day should have been a walk over . I won't say it's over till Nigeria successfully beat them and collect the three points in each game then I will be able to rest easy. If they could wait till the added minutes of first half to get a goal against a poor and weak side like Benin, what will they then do if they meet a side like Egypt, Morocco or even Ivory coast?
 I'm willing to keep my fingers crossed till Nigeria passes the group stages.

[Issa56]

Well I won't be quick to dismiss Libya and Rwanda as less of a threat to the Super Eagles because just like I said earlier, they can disappoint you when it matters the most and right now we are singing their praises, jubilating at their performance to a small team like Benin which on a normal day should have been a walk over .

I know super eagles shouldn’t be completely relied on, they are full of surprises, but with the way they played in their first match against Benin, they I have little confidence in them that the remaining matches which they are having shouldn’t be really difficult for them, they played well in the first match, even as they played against a weak team, but I will say all the countries in their group are weak countries, so I don’t think anyone will give the super eagles hard time, only if their coach has change in the formation which I know he won’t do that, because everyone will definitely use the formation which is already working for them.

I won't say it's over till Nigeria successfully beat them and collect the three points in each game then I will be able to rest easy.

That football for us, we shouldn’t say it’s over if the final whistle haven’t been blown, but I have little confidence in Nigeria that they going to perform well this time around.

If they could wait till the added minutes of first half to get a goal against a poor and weak side like Benin, what will they then do if they meet a side like Egypt, Morocco or even Ivory coast?

But the super eagles have the squad that can face the country’s which you mentioned above, just that mostly the super eagles are always having problem of having a good coach, their coaches are always making wrong selections, or silly mistakes mostly.

[Agbe]

The match is ongoing now and I think the match might not even end based on my prediction. I the match is quite boring and I think the Nigeria break need to be quite serious with their playing because any mistake can lead to an unfortunate event. The Nigeria coach has not put any input so far gingering the team to be proactive with the way they are playing right now. I am patiently waiting for the match to end to know the results of this game. The team are really playing but I am not seeing a good input that will make this match a remarkable one. Although gambling is all about risk for those of us that like taking bookings and predictions from random people.

The match has been played now and the super eagles exceeded my expectations. Nevertheless, I still maintain my stand on what I said about them. I am not ready to change my stance just because of one game. I will reluctantly do so when I see them have a consistent winning streak in their next  5 matches if they maintain their performance. I was wondering, if we would have seen more goals if Osimhen was in the first half. In the upcoming qualifying matches, Nigeria will play, Rwanda, Libya, South-Africa, Zimbabwe and they'll also have second legs in these games too. Their performances will change my perception against them.

Exactly because Nigeria football team is like a chameleon which can change and disappoint supporters at anytime. And this not not the first time they have done this. Even in the 2022/2023 World Cup. They beat Argentina and in the second leg they were beaten and they were finally nuked out from the tournament. Nigeria in most time end with trying. But the opening game was not bad so I might have hope on them but not solely rely on them in this tournament. And I also said before the problem with Nigeria football team is just a good management and technicians then everything will be set. In that team we have players but tribalism and political interference is an issue facing the club to move forward.

[Docnaster]

On social media, I saw Nigerians taking a swipe at former coach Finidi George. Not really good; the fact that he was not successful with the national team does not take away his achievements as a player for us. We need to remember and respect that.

Not all good players are good coaches, but I think people should have respected the fact that he has represented us well and done things for us as a player.

One thing about Nigerians is they are always quick to forget their national heroes and that's why it's always been difficult for them to grow as a nation. Finidi George is a legend when it comes to the national team and his contributions to the growth of football in the country can not be over emphasized. Unfortunately for his, he failed to deliver good results in the two games he managed as the coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria but because many Nigerians are good at forgetting the past, they're now comparing the current interim coach Austin Eguavon with Finidi George while labeling George as a failure.
If the current coach underperforms tomorrow, you'll still see those praising him today end up saying demeaning things about him.

[Zigabel]

The match is ongoing now and I think the match might not even end based on my prediction. I the match is quite boring and I think the Nigeria break need to be quite serious with their playing because any mistake can lead to an unfortunate event. The Nigeria coach has not put any input so far gingering the team to be proactive with the way they are playing right now. I am patiently waiting for the match to end to know the results of this game. The team are really playing but I am not seeing a good input that will make this match a remarkable one. Although gambling is all about risk for those of us that like taking bookings and predictions from random people.

The match has been played now and the super eagles exceeded my expectations. Nevertheless, I still maintain my stand on what I said about them. I am not ready to change my stance just because of one game. I will reluctantly do so when I see them have a consistent winning streak in their next  5 matches if they maintain their performance. I was wondering, if we would have seen more goals if Osimhen was in the first half. In the upcoming qualifying matches, Nigeria will play, Rwanda, Libya, South-Africa, Zimbabwe and they'll also have second legs in these games too. Their performances will change my perception against them.

I agree with you, untill we see them maintain this wins through our a good number of game, then we can say for sure, they have improved. The super eagles are just not stable and that most likely happens to be their biggest challenge currently, if they are able to get the team to be more stable than it is and also making sure they have a better result, there will be room to give them some benefits of doubts and they will be able to get the more and more victory that will restore them to their status of been one of Africas best.

[Fiatless]

https://dailypost.ng/2024/09/08/osimhen-backs-lookman-to-win-african-player-of-the-year-award/

The reigning African Footballer of the Year has backed his fellow compatriot to win this year's edition of the award. Ademola Lookman has been the African man of the moment. He contributed immensely to the success of the Super Eagles in the last edition of the Nations Cup. His uncommon display and hat trick in the Europa League Finals demolished a European football superpower (Bayer Leverkusen) and gave his club Atalanta the trophy. He again showed that he deserves the award in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers when he grabbed a brace.

I support Victor Osimhen's position that Lookman deserves the award.

[mammusu]

https://dailypost.ng/2024/09/08/osimhen-backs-lookman-to-win-african-player-of-the-year-award/

The reigning African Footballer of the Year has backed his fellow compatriot to win this year's edition of the award. Ademola Lookman has been the African man of the moment. He contributed immensely to the success of the Super Eagles in the last edition of the Nations Cup. His uncommon display and hat trick in the Europa League Finals demolished a European football superpower (Bayer Leverkusen) and gave his club Atalanta the trophy. He again showed that he deserves the award in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers when he grabbed a brace.

I support Victor Osimhen's position that Lookman deserves the award.

It is very natural for Osimhen to support his compatriots to be able to win the best african player this season considering that he (Osimhen) is not good  the candidat , but whether or not Lookman deserves to get the dream award of all players in african is certainly worth watching later, but to be honest I personally see that Lookman is not a strong candidate to be able to get the best african players this year considering that his contribution has not been too significant so far except for his hattrick created in the Europa League final last season, I think before the Europa League final match started before, of course Lookman is not a player that is too familiar to us so far, apart from that,  if you look at his track record in playing, he has failed in 6 different clubs so far before he became the mainstay of Atlanta, many factors are considered to become the best player in african and the contribution of  3 goals in the final in the Europa League in my opinion is not enough to win that the individual trophy, Even if we compare it to Serhou Guirassy of course Lookman is no better from him.

[Salahmu]

No one should even compare Super Eagles players with Benin players. We all know that Super Eagles have a better squad compared to Benin, just that the Super Eagles lack a talented coach who will be able to utilize the players that they are having, but I think their current coach is just better, so we should just expect improvement in their performance in the coming matches, and I don’t think any country should find it difficult for Super Eagles to win in their group, all the countries in their group are weak countries, so am expecting win from them in all their matches.

Bruno Labbadia is a good coach and he has shown to bring something good for the eagles than what there previous coach was doing, so is actually true that the problem of the supper eagles was coming from there coach because Bruno Labbadia is barely a month in the club and he started improving the club, normally the supper eagles has better squad than the Benin team but what they were just lacking before was the right strategy.

There performance last match has already given them a step over all the club on there group and I'm certain the supper eagles will come out first on the group D because each country has only three legs to play and the supper eagles has already played one and secure the three point and the remaining two matches will also be good for them because Rwanda does not have a chance on there next match against the supper eagles, so if eagles win the match they have qualified even if they did not win Libya.

[Pokapoka124]

https://dailypost.ng/2024/09/08/osimhen-backs-lookman-to-win-african-player-of-the-year-award/

The reigning African Footballer of the Year has backed his fellow compatriot to win this year's edition of the award. Ademola Lookman has been the African man of the moment. He contributed immensely to the success of the Super Eagles in the last edition of the Nations Cup. His uncommon display and hat trick in the Europa League Finals demolished a European football superpower (Bayer Leverkusen) and gave his club Atalanta the trophy. He again showed that he deserves the award in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers when he grabbed a brace.

I support Victor Osimhen's position that Lookman deserves the award.

I have said before that this Super Eagles squad are united than ever before. Osimhen has shown sportsmanship and love for his teammate, Ademola Lookman. It is easy for people to praise Osimhen as the top player of the national team because he has a bigger name but Lookman has been very impressive in our African tournaments, he deserves his own place in the spotlight for individual performances.