Football Nigeria -- Eagles Etcetera

Oran, Algeria -- Nigeria debuted its Ankara green shirts with white numbers in the glittering lights in Oran where it lost 1-2 to Algeria. The game played in the 40,143 capacity Milould Hafefi Olympic Complex in Oran was enthralling under the night lights as Nigeria's pace challenged the possession game of the Algerians. Nigeria took a shock 9th minute lead through Terem Moffi who is slowly taking grip of the second striker position beside the #1 striker Victor Osimhen who was absent in Algiers. Moffi is now inching ahead of other numerous challengers for the position alongside Osimhen. Clearly, Coach Peseiro is likely to favor a two striker position going forward. However, for this game he used only Moffi further forward with Iheanacho slightly behind. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nigeria took a shock 9th minute lead through Terem Moffi who is slowly taking grip of the second striker position beside the #1 stri...

Agadir, MOROCCO : Nigeria romped to a 10-0 win over hapless Sao Tome & Principe in an AFCON qualifier to set a new record for margin of victory for the national team. It outstrips the 10-1 win by Nigeria in 1959 over Dahomey (now Benin Republic). It could have been worse, Nigeria had three other goals disallowed. The disallowed goals underlined Nigeria's eagerness to win big but also marked some poor officiating by the refereeing crew as replays showed atleast one of those calls to have been poor. ________________ It outstrips the 10-1 win by Nigeria in 1959 over Dahomey (now Benin Republic). It could have been worse, Nigeria had three other goals disallowed. The disallowed goals underlined Nigeria's eagerness to win big but also marked some poor officiating by the refereeing crew as replays showed at least one of those calls to have been poor. ________________ Nigeria clearly outclassed the Islanders and the losers must now dread a visit to Nigeria to complete the second l...

Abuja, NIGERIA : Nigeria took all three points with a 2-1 outcome against Sierra Leone. Nigeria was playing in an empty stadium, following a two-game punishment ordered by FIFA over crowd disturbances. It was Nigeria's first win in its last five games. Although Nigeria dominated large swaths of the game, there were shocking defensive frailties that could have been costly. Nevertheless, Nigeria overcame a nervy game on a torn field in Abuja to start the AFCON qualifiers with a long awaited win. Moses Simon ______ Although Nigeria dominated large swaths of the game, there were shocking defensive frailties that could have been costly. Nevertheless, Nigeria overcame a nervy game on a torn field in Abuja to start the AFCON qualifiers with a long awaited win. _____ Victor Osimhen, absent in the last five games, was there in Abuja and his presence mattered. But even his presence, did not prevent Nigeria from going behind, again, as early as the 8th minute.  Sierra Leone had done absolutel...

Harrison, NJ : ....Nigeria 0 Ecuador 1 ___________  THE GAME _______________ Nigeria's best player on the day was Bassey and her nearly ended it with an assist if Dennis had taken his chance well in that second half. Clearly, Bassey brings a lot of energy, confidence, and intuition to the game.  Iwobi dominated the opening half with relentless running and was present both defensively and going forward but appeared to tire late. ________________________________________________________ Clearly, Bassey brings a lot of energy, confidence, and intuition to the game.  Iwobi dominated the opening half with relentless running and was present both defensively and going forward but appeared to tire late. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nigeria had a good shift but was let down by conceding a very early goal from a freekick cross that the defense failed to stave off and Uzoho was at the mercy if a lurking Ecuador player who put the...

Texas, USA -- Nigeria remained winless against Mexico in seven games after a 1-2 defeat before a large crowd in an international friendly. It was an improvement from a 0-4 pasting that Nigeria received in the last outing between both teams. But the improvement was in the margin but the outcome was similar. This time, Nigeria suited mostly its European professionals and Mexico did not have all its top boys but the result was still a Mexican victory. Nigeria's Coach Jose Paseiro, thus, began his stint with a 0-1 slate and clearly he has seen some changes that he may make after watching these crop of players in training and game situation. Although, he suited up some locally-based Nigerian players, the European based crop did not exactly wow him. However, this is not to state that there were no bright spots. Alex Iwobi, Joe Aribo, Calvin Bassey, and Francis Uzoho showed that they have something to contribute going forward. However, with Awaziem injured and embarrassingly slowed down, ...

People often wonder if any of Nigeria's  players will compare favorably with players of the past. In a previous article, we noted metrics for making such a comparison and it can be found via:  http://eaglecity.blogspot.com/2017/07/applying-some-measurables-nigerias-goat.html  .  While- the objective is not to use those metrics here, it is important to bear them in mind. The task here, however, is to see how Victor Osimhen, Maduka Okoye, and Wilfred Ndidi stack up against stars of the past. This we can compare, at the very least, statistically. ________________________________________________________________ He is not in the league of Rashidi Yekini, Thompson Usiyan, or Segun Odegbami who all scored at a greater clip than Osimhen has thus far.  ________________________________________________________________ Victor Osimhen is the Nigerian player to have attracted the highest transfer fee in club football but has his international play solidified him as Nigeria's ...

Kumasi -- Nigeria fought to earn a result in Kumasi, in a crucial third round of the World Cip qualifiers,  against Ghana. The second leg of this qualifier comes up Tuesday in Abuja, where Nigeria will be backed by an important home support. Ghana dominated stretches of this game with 10 shots against 7 asnd 9-2 edge on corner kicks. However, Nigeria fought valiantly and for the first time in eons, a Nigerian goalkeeper (Francis Uzoho) proved significant in earning this important point.  _____________________________________ Ghana dominated stretches of this game with 10 shots against 7 asnd 9-2 edge on corner kicks. However, Nigeria fought valiantly and for the first time in eons, a Nigerian goalkeeper (Francius Uzoho) proved significant in earning this important point.  _____________________________________ Although, Ghana dominated territorially for a longer stretch of this game, there were not many great opportunities. Ghana's early ascendancy was clear in the middle...