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...

Garoua -- After so much hope with a masterful display at the group rounds, Nigeria was bundled out of the AFCON by a Covid-ravaged Tunisian team that could barely dress a full team. The score was 0-1 but the reality was the Tunisians were masterful strategically, shutting down the wide areas with double triple teams that silenced the rampant Nigeria display from wide. ___________________________________________ After so much hope with a masterful display at the group rounds, Nigeria was bundled out of the AFCON by a Covid-ravaged Tunisian team that could barely dress a full team. The score was 0-1 but the reality was the Tunisians were masterful strategically, shutting down the wide areas with double triple teams that silenced the rampant Nigeria display from wide. ___________________________________________ Yet, Nigeria could still have won the game. They were the more adventurous for most of the game. Aribo had an 11th minute opportunity rubbed off Then Nigeria called for a penalty k...

Garoua -- Nigeria beat Guinea Bissau 2-0 to finish its Group games with a perfect record of 9 maximum points for the second time in its AFCON history. The first time was also under the current manager, Augustine Eguavoen. This time in Garoua, Nigeria began the game already assured of first place because of a tie breaker win over Egypt but Nigeria did not take its foot off the pedal. Guinea Bissau paid the price against a team significantly loaded with reserves that Nigeria unleashed on the day. Guinea Bissau provided a fight with Troyes' Mame Balde's speed creating difficulty for Nigeria's right side of the defense. Ebuehi was having difficulties with Balde's pace. In the 10th  minute Balde again left Nigeria's defense for dead, this time it was Ajayi panting behind , but Uzoho was quick of his line to save Nigeria. But Nigeria quickly adjusted with Ajayi playing a superb role in keeping the Troyes attacker at bay. ___________________________________________________...

CAMEROON -- Nigeria came in today against Sudan behind an exhilarating win over Egypt in the previous came. With high expectations, Nigeria put in a different performance in taking apart the Sudanese 3-1 to maintain a stranglehold on top of the group table. The Nigerian fans must have been disappointed by the play but certainly not the outcome. Nigeria knew Sudan needed points from this game to stay alive. Nigeria was not prepared  to grant those easily and stayed very disciplined staying back and waiting to pounce on opportunities. It was a stark difference from the previous game where Nigeria took the initiative. But by staying back and inviting the Sudanese forward, Nigeria was very fortunate to score very early within the first two minutes as Chukwueze, who drifted early to the middle and left scored off a deep chance.  Although Sudan, invited forward, did very little it was left for Nigeria to create the better opportunities. Sudan's only meaningful first period chance ca...

Garoua -- In an explosive display, Nigeria sent a warning to opponents who had claimed the "Eagles are dead" by claiming all three points in beating Mohammed Salah's Egypt 1-0. Nigeria, listless in a string of recent games under former Manager Gernot Rohr, looked a different side in its first official game under interim Manager Augustine Eguavoen. Egypt bore the brunt of it all.                  With 15,000 spectators cheering on, Nigeria was on the front foot for most of the game and could have won by a wider margin as it pinned down the Egyptians whose coach Queiroz had been quoted as having high hopes of Egypt returning as African champion. But Egypt's hopes did not materialize against Nigeria. Instead, it was the West Africans that were on the front foot for the most part. Moses Simon, explosive down the flank, was a nightmare for Egypt as he tormented Egypt repeatedly. It was telling that in one of his forays down the left, he left a de...