Football Nigeria -- Eagles Etcetera

The grade of C earned by Nigerian football in 2019 is the lowest in four years and it denotes a steady trajectory of decline. Last year, it graded C+ after grades of B- and B in the previous two years. The overall grade of C follows a year of two C- grades in two categories and C grades in two other categories. Only one category (The Super Eagles) received a grade of  above C. It received an A- grade, an upgrade from B which it earned in the previous year. The Super Eagles -- the country's flagship team -- has never received a grade less than B- since the Annual Report began in 2016. This year's A- represents the excitement surrounding the team after a disappointing 2018 which had ended with a gloomy World Cup. Below is a look at each graded category. Youth Football Both the U17 and U20 teams participated at the FIFA World Cup with their peers. For most countries in the world, that participation would have been something to celebrate. However,...

Maseru, Lesotho -- Victor Osimhen played an incredible game today with two goals and two assists as Nigeria overcame Lesotho's challenge 4-2 in an African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier. Osimhen's performance was spectacular and will be difficult to replicate in the future, that much is not arguable. That it was against Lesotho makes little difference. Some of his colleagues could not cope with Lesotho as they encountered a poor field, altitude, and the fact of African football, pressure on the ball and tough tackles. In a game, thoroughly dominated by Osimhen's display, it is time to point to some milestones for the day as well as the rating for each player. 1.  Osimhen's two goals were the first and second goals that he has scored in open play for Nigeria. 2. This was Nigeria's most goals in an away game during Gernot Rohr's tenure. 3.  Daniel Akpeyi, despite having no blame for the two goals conceded by Nigeria, is having a torrid career in Nigeria...

Nigeria earned a 1-1 draw in a major international against Brazil in Singapore. Brazil dominated but Nigeria did deserve a draw for its effort and its play, never mind the possession statistic. It was a draw that Nigeria earned even without, arguably, three of its starters -- Omeruo, Etebo, and Musa/Kalu. Moreover, it was obvious Brazil was seeking to win this game after going winless in several games after becoming South American champion. There were five things that stuck out from this game if only that they indicate not just one-off occurrences but a pattern and against one of the world's best teams. Francis Uzoho's Form In his last three games for Nigeria, Francis Uzoho has excelled. In fact, he has made improvements from one to the next game. Against Brazil, he was clearly Nigeria's best player. He made several world class saves that any goalkeeper, any where in the world, would have been proud of. This is not to state that he is world class but his play yesterday w...

The Nigerian national team played its first international against Sierra Leone in Freetown on October 8, 1949 on its way back home from a tour of the United Kingdom. The records below run from that game in Freetown until date. INDIVIDUAL Top Goalscorer (All time) 1.  Rashidi Yekini  37 2.  Segun Odegbami  24 3.  Yakubu Aiyegbeni  21 4.  Ikechukwu Uche 19 5.  Obafemi Martins 18 Top Scorer (per game: Minimum 10 games) 1.  Elkanah Onyeali  0.79 2.  Thompson Usiyan  0.60 3.  Rashidi Yekini   0.58 4.  Sunday Oyarekhua  0.55 5.  Segun Odegbami 0.50 Players with Multiple Scores in a game 1.  Joseph Aghoghovia  4 v Thailand  Oct. 3, 1968 1.  Elkanah Onyeali   4  v Dahomey (Benin Rep.)  Nov. 28, 1959 1.  Rashidi Yekini   4  v Burkina Faso  July 27, 1991 4.  Jude Ighalo 3 v Libya Oct. 13, 2018* *Ighalo is the latest of numerous pla...

Kyiv - Nigeria plays against Ukraine in Kyiv during the FIFA International Match week. Already, Nigeria will miss several top names including Wilfred Ndidi and Kenneth Omeruo. Added to that list are thew retirees skipper Mikel Obi and Jude Ighalo. Indeed, the Kyiv international is already looking like a rebuilding phase for Nigeria. But while fans are expecting the debut of the likes of Aribo, Okoye, and Josh Maja; the other story is Ahmed Musa's march towards a major national team record. Nigeria's Ahmed Musa, at 27 years old, is headed towards a record number of international appearances for Nigeria's senior national team. He has 90 appearances already and is just 10 games away from matching Joseph Yobo at second place with 100 appearances. He needs 12 games to go ahead of Vincent Enyeama who has, currently, the most appearances at 101. See Table 1 below: Musa should be at almost 100 games by late 2020 and will surely be the record holder if he r...

There is no disputing the pedigree of Nigeria's 1994 national team that was ranked No.5 in the world, won the Cup for African Nations (AFCON), and reached the last 16 at the World Cup. Clearly, no Nigerian team has come close before and since then. Although, there are those who may argue that the 2013 team comes close but certainly not in the minds of a great number of Nigerian teams that witnessed that 1994 team. But having stated the above, it is arguable whether that 1994 team can be classified as Africa's best squad ever in spite of its lofty No. 5 ranking back then. Some may well argue that the team's failure to overcome Italy at the 1994 World Cup forever condemns the team to a place in the rankings behind the three African teams that have ventured to the last 8 of a World Cup. But should statistics and records be the deciding factors on this issue of Africa's best? Well, lets take a look. The Argument for Quantification For an examination of quantitati...

The AFCON 2019 is over and Nigeria finished in third-place, a position that has become attached to Nigeria's performance at the AFCON across historical times. In spite of the noise surrounding whether Manager Gernot Rohr should stay or leaved, the essence of this blog is not on Manager Rohr but on matters that extend beyond Rohr. But first, let's take another look at the 2019 AFCON. The Issue of "Youngest Squad" and Championship Expectation The idea that Nigeria may have taken the youngest squad to the tournament does not mean that the aspiration was not to win the championship. The reality is that Nigeria is always one of the favorites when it comes to being at the AFCON tournament. Importantly, this Nigerian team, on the average, is actually older than the Nigerian team that won the 1980 AFCON! Thus, being the youngest team does not preclude ability to win a tournament like the AFCON. Chasing Egypt, Cameroon, and Ghana: Is it a Bridge Too Far? Thos...

When CAF announced months ago that the 2019 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) would suddenly include 24 instead of 16 teams, many frowned at the move. There were those who immediately predicted a watered down AFCON, an AFCON where the big guns will destroy the minnows, and several unwatchable games. Yet, by the time the 24-team event ended in Egypt, those doom day forecasts have suddenly disappeared under the pit of dystopia from where it had raised its ugly head. The new reality is that so little differentiates the so-called big guns and the imagined minnows of African football. The difference is simply the narrow margin that determines who has opportunity to win the entire thing and those who struggle to get to that point of opportunity. Why the Gap Has Closed One thing is clear, the narrowed gap between the supposed big guns and the imagined minnows should have been apparent to those who cared to observe in the recent past. The Confederation's diligent move to establish the ...

Egypt -- Odion Ighalo scored his fifth goal to match Rashidi Yekini's Nigerian record set at the 1994 tournament and it was all that was needed for Nigeria to finish third ahead of Tunisia. However, the disappointment of having to appear in this third place game put the damper on the win. Apart from some sparkle early and then late, this game was played under a cloud of inconsequentiality. Although the team rallied to win, it is obvious that a significant number of Nigerians are baying for the Coach to be fired. The Federation has indicated that Coach Rohr will see his contract through December but knowing the fluidity of the Nigerian environment, nothing should be considered certain. This match, in large part, reflects the angst of the Nigerian public. The inability of the Nigerian team to dominate possession over its opponents was , again, evident. In none of Nigeria's four games, after the group phase, has the team controlled possession. Against Tunisia, the story was the ...

Cairo, EGYPT -- Nigeria's quest for a championship crumbled today in Cairo, Egypt as the Super Eagles lost 1-2 to Algeria. Now, Nigeria is left to vie for third-place in the 2019 AFCON against the Tunisians who also lost in the other semi-final. Nigeria was outplayed in this game and the deciding goal deep into injury time reflected much of the play. Nigeria was, again, dominated in terms of ball possession but this time the opponent repeatedly had opportunities which they could not put away. At least on two separate occasions, before the half hour mark, Nigeria was lucky to keep the game at 0-0. Eventually, the ball found its way into Nigeria's net. It came in the 39th minute. Collins had been beaten badly by Mahrez on the right but it appeared that the Nigerian defense was in position to defend Mahrez's cross. Instead, William Ekong deflected the cross beyond his own goalkeeper and into the net.  Nigeria looked revived in the second half with Alex Iwobi becoming ...

Cairo, Egypt -- A late goal by William Ekong, who had received the captain's armband just six minutes earlier, when he hit home a cornerback from substitute Moses Simon put Nigeria through to the semi-final. At last, it seems Gernot Rohr's decision to bring in Moses for Musa worked its magic. Musa was repeatedly getting past his man but his final ball on crosses was either overhit or intercepted. Remarkably,  hitting a cross accurately was exactly what substitute Moses did. Although, Simon was fortuitous because the South African goalkeeper Williams had inexplicably missed the cross entirely presenting Ekong with the easiest of goals. Nigeria had appeared better in the opening half, surprisingly passing the ball better than the South Africans and winning the ball easier than expected in the recovery phase. Importantly, the much vaunted South African team speed was shackled as Nigeria closed down the spaces and Percy Tau was virtually erased. Deservedly, Nigeria went ahead af...