Briefs on Milestones from Zambian game....

Here are some achievement milestones that were reached or are close after Nigeria’s game against Zambia.


1     Coach Gernot Rohr became the second Nigerian manager not give a single player a debut in his first two games in charge. The other was Bora Milutinovic who went  seven games without giving any player a debut. Note that Lars Lagerback, after giving one player a debut in his first game, went the  next five games without introducing a new player.

2   Kelechi Iheanacho scored in his fourth consecutive games. If he scores in his next game, he will tie the Nigerian record jointly held by Yakubu Mambo and Emmanuel Emenike. His fourth consecutive game with at least a goal currently has him tied with six players – Segun Odegbami, Obafemi Martins, Sunday Oyarekhua, Paul Hamilton, Rashidi Yekini, and Ikechukwu Uche.


      The Nigerian win in Ndola was Nigeria's first win over Zambia on Zambian soil after 8 tries.

3   The win over Zambia is Nigeria’s fourth consecutive victory. If Nigeria wins the next game, it would tie the country’s second best record set under Shuaibu Amodu in 2001. The Nigerian record of six consecutive victories is also held by a team coached by Shuaibu Amodu in 2008.


4   Brown Ideye’s assist on Iheanacho's goal against Zambia was his fifth for the national team in 28 games. He also has 6 goals. Ideye’s assist total ranks third among players in the current squad that played in Zambia. Mikel at 13 and Ahmed Musa at 9 have made more assists but Ideye’s assists per game (0.19) is the second best among everyone else who has played at least 10 games. The only player with a better ratio of assists is Nosa Igiebor at 0.20. However, even Nosa at .20 is really low as it represents just one assist in five games!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lookman with a Brace as Nigeria Overcomes Cameroon 2-0......

Image
Abidjan -- Nigeria moved into the African Football Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter finals with Ademola Lookman scoring a brace in a 2 - 0 win over Cameroon. Nigeria played a clinical game and remained focused allowing Cameroon to dominate possession but offered the losers few real opportunities. Desperate to measure up, Cameroon made Osimhen suffer several fouls and the increasing desperation led to a caution for Nkoulou who fouled goalie Nwabali in midair. Nwabali, unable to continue, was replaced by goalie Uzoho. _____________________________________________________ Desperate to measure up, Cameroon made Osimhen suffer several fouls and the increasing desperation led to a caution for Nkoulou who fouled goalie Nwabali in midair. Nwabali, unable to continue, was replaced by goalie Uzoho. ____________________________________________________ The game started with Nigeria indicating its intention. After only eight minutes, Nigeria appeared to go ahead as Ajayi scored during a goalmouth scr...
Read more

Nigeria Scraps Through Deservedly....

Image
Abidjan -- Nigeria pipped Guinea Bissau 1-0 in Abidjan at the Houmphouet Boigny Stadium to progress to the second round of the AFCON before an estimated 20,000 spectators. With Ivory Coast going down 0-4 simultaneously to Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria was forced to finish second in the group because of a poorer goal difference compared to the Equatoguineans. Nigeria was clearly the better team using their new structure of 5-3-2 in defense and 3-5-2 in attack. In truth, the losers, who finished without a point in the group, were thoroughly outclassed. The difference in margin could be down to pitiful officiating by referee Ms. Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco) intent on balancing the game with poor officiating. Although, to be clear the referee with assistance of VAR officials ended up making the correct calls after Nigeria had put the ball in the net two other times and fortuitously did not call for a VAR check after the losers had a goal ruled off. Replays indicated the goal by Guinea Bissau sh...
Read more

Junior and Simy Needing Prayers and Minutes

We now have a very good idea who Manager Gernot Rohr plans to take to Russia for the 2018 World Cup, barring injury. His decision to name 30 players for the World Cup camp has done little to disguise his final list. In reality, the only unknown is injury and Rohr's decision at just two positions. Rohr's tendencies, from his first day of appointment in Nigeria, is to be conservative and that has increased the predictability of Nigeria's final squad to Russia. Only Two Spots Still Open It is quite clear that 21 of the invited 30 players are already on Rohr's final list to Russia. The nine left are the likes of Dele Ajiboye, Stephen Eze, Ola Aina, Elderson Echiejile, Uche Agbo, Mikel Agu, John Ogu, Simy Nwankwo, and Junior Lokosa. It is among those that the final cut of seven players will come. But even then, we already know the five that are on the list of certain cuts. Those five are Dele Ajiboye, Stephen Eze, Uche Agbo, Mikel Agu, and Junior Lokosa. Of that list,...
Read more