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Nigeria lose to France in extra time

Nigeria lose to France in extra time

Posted: 2011-08-15 00:09

Nigeria's Flying Eagles scored a dramatic late goal to send their quarterfinal against France into extra time, but conceded two goals in there to exit the tournament.

Riding on the crest of four wins and a record number of goals in the run-up to the quarters, Nigeria came into the game with bags of confidence, and bossed the opening period.

But they found themselves behind soon after half-time, when Emmanuel Anyanwu played Alexandre Lacazette onside and the substitute beat Dami Paul from close range.

With just 10 seconds left on the clock, substitue Maduabuchi Ejike, on for barely 30 seconds after replacing Ahmed Musa, claimed a last gasp equaliser to send the game to extra-time.

But it was the French again who sailed ahead; captain Gueida Fofana hitting a stunning strike from 20 yards after spotting Paul off his line.

Lacazette looked to have put the game beyond Nigeria when he scored his second, and France's third, but Ejike got a touch to Uche Nwofor's goal-bound effort to set up a frenzied finish.

It was not to be second time lucky and France held on to reach their first ever Under-20 World Cup semifinal where they will meet Portugal.

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Mano Johnson : 2011-08-15 00:25

Nigeria will win the match 2-1

Emmanuel: 2011-08-15 00:26

N I G E R I A !!!!!!!! wetin dey? 2 goals in 2 minutes. wow... Loss of concentration. Why would any coach remove Kayode and Musa? Nawa o. Well, there is another time.

Dominion: 2011-08-15 00:27

France 3 Nigeria 2

stan: 2011-08-15 00:31

i don;t know what our coach is thinking , our grop have been an eazy grop this is not our day next time we will do better

stan: 2011-08-15 00:33

its all over well done guys come back home

Dominion: 2011-08-15 00:36

Full time: Nigeria 2 France 3

Emmanuel: 2011-08-15 00:37

How did that guy with long hair get in to the team? Obud totally got it wrong this time. Well done boys. Come back home.

Dominion: 2011-08-15 00:39

We played against a more organised and composed team. No sloppy defending at anytime. Better luck FE next time.

stan: 2011-08-15 00:40

am happpy we went out this our coach i don;t know what he have with Huasa ppl he drop stanely and picked up azaeeor what ever his name is why they have the same problem , how can they play football while fasting without prayer most of them were so tried

Marvel: 2011-08-15 00:40

Am proud of Mr. Obuh and his boys. There are many positives to take from this competition and the ability of our boys. The only weak link in the team is Terna Suswam. He was a make shift left full back and the effect showed. I continue to wonder why we find it hard to produce good left-footed players. Perhaps, it has something to tell us about diversity, tolerance and superstition. We need to grow intellectually and spiritually. God bless Obuh and his lads. You made us proud.

BIGBOSS: 2011-08-15 00:44

Better luck next time but i think we really messed up today.I've question why Ajagun would continuously be allowed to messed up all our set pieces.So far the team couldn't score a single goal from a free kick or corner kick.No any good natural left footer to execute free kicks from the right.In all,I strongly believed over confidence,complacency and under-rating the French cost us this game.Now it's yet a long road for Nigeria because I don't trust the dream team,neither can I put my heart on the Super Eagles.Nigerian football has a long way to go.FASASI-BOLGA, GHANA

stan: 2011-08-15 00:44

this coach have alot of questions to asnwer when we played football with alot of igbos guys we can play so well , i think this coach don;t have his our mind only what ever they told him in glass house that what he will be to stay on coaching , we played eazy grops , you guys was what happen with England , that was when i know something bad was about to happen come home guys and learn from this stupid tried playing with fasting without prayer

Emms: 2011-08-15 00:45

We have now come to believe that white outfit is significant to nigeria football because they play well but the luck is not just there.

yussuf: 2011-08-15 00:45

well done boys for taken france into extra time that was a good job , but for coach john u kill the game.... that selection was nice but u should have used the right people at the right time... i don't really know what is always wrong with nigeria coach always thinking ahead instead of dealing with the present game... we need to develop and improve.....

Segun: 2011-08-15 00:46

Stan, do not start the blame game. France is the European champion. I totally support Stanley's exclusion. You do not go chasing after European contract when there is a major tournament lurking. Let's take the positives out of the tournament. At least, the Swiss team that won the U17 tourney is not in this tournament. Better luck next time. Hope to see most of these guys in the next U23 team after the present one.

Kolawole1: 2011-08-15 00:46

This team is good but not fantastic. No where near the Siasia team of 2005. All creativity vanished the moment occasionally selfish Ahmed Musa left the pitch. They actually rode their luck against England fourth string team.

Another failure despite parading 27 year olds :)

yussuf: 2011-08-15 00:48

this has nothing to do with the jersey, coaching is our problem

red skin: 2011-08-15 00:49

Now you can understand what I mean when I repeatedly asked for the inclusion of Joel Obi and Stanley Okoro in the team. This Flying Eagles are really beatable and I rightly noted after their lack lustre performance against England that they lacked promises in this Championship. The technical bench won the match for France, Obuh lacks the quality it takes at this stage to match the French.
WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT TO THE COLOMBIAN FANS WHO JOINED THE WRONG QUEUE.

luise-hero: 2011-08-15 00:52

@Dominion: sorry man i have to disagree with u we were far more organize than france only bad-luck was on our side today //kayode could have makes a big different if he was allow to playfully
were is stanley okoro okoro oh my okoro what a mistake obuh did to have left this guy out

fireFighter: 2011-08-15 00:52

FRANCE USE JUJU TO WIN

stan: 2011-08-15 00:54

they were so tried , i heard you blessdone , what you said was right we never won a game with this white jessy if we recalled how many games we played with this white jessy and how many have we won with it you will agreed with me and blessdone what we were saying , its full of bad luck , even the coach run out of plans No game plan , as coach if the plan A is not working you go of plan B , but our coach don;t have plan for what so ever better we came back home coz the last gome against England i allmost got high BP .

Dominion: 2011-08-15 00:55

We played against a more organised and composed team. No sloppy defending at anytime. Better luck FE next time.

jay big : 2011-08-15 00:56

please people i am left in a blank who won the match? France or nigeria

jay big : 2011-08-15 01:00

what is the final score of the match please people i want to know

Emmanuel: 2011-08-15 01:01

it's not about the jersy. We won Tunisia '94 with white Jersy. Obud spoilt it but he couldnt give what he didnt have. So well done Obud.

stan: 2011-08-15 01:05

thank you alot Red skin you really understand the game of football , its not only in the fid of play but the coach and his bench but our now of different . like i said mr obuh shame to you by droping stanley and joel obi, you have seem what the out come is you choose to play only Hausa guys who is doing fasting without paryer

ESHO: 2011-08-15 01:08

since dis tournament hav started have not comment here..because i know Obuh will surely **** up...if u could remember my comment here..2month ago.. i said dis dat Obuh will always wins his matchs..but fans will never enjoy him..only if u are ready to die or have heart attack..i guess maybe Obuh its a friebnd to former super eagles coach Amodu??they both playing d same pattern of football..anyway.MR OBUH.. U AR NOT A GOOD COACH.. STOP GIVEN US HEART ATTACK.

Itunes22: 2011-08-15 01:14

NIGERIAN OVER AGED PLAYERS LOST 3-2!!!!

Segun: 2011-08-15 01:16

Can we have some decorum here? 24 teams started this tournament and 4 are remaining and we missed out of the last 4 narrowly. Some great teams have exited the tournament also. Why do we always like blaming coaches all the time? We should accept defeat gracefully. For those asking why Joel was not included, invitation was extended to him but then he was not willing until the last minute. I will not blame the guy though, he needs to win his shirt in Inter. And I do not want to hear about Stanley. A number of people calling for the inclusion of Stanley have labeled him as overage in the past. Moreover, we cannot continue to condone indiscipline. Read Obuh's interview and you will see why Stanley was left out. When he should be in camp, he was busy chasing work permit to Almeria. Ramon was lucky to have been included because he showed remorse unlike Stanley.

Let's just accept defeat and move on without throwing blames around.

Omo 9ja: 2011-08-15 01:19

@blessedone,What happened with the white jersey? we usually use the white jersey in the final but just becuase France used blue jersey, we did not have no option than to put on the white jersey. They tried their best but Obuh should have subtituted Kayode in the first half and Musa did his best. Why why whyyyyyy, why Obuh did not use Emmanuel? not just becuase we did not win the match i said this, but i knew something is going on between both Obuh and Emmanuel. One thing i want every Nigerians know is, if our players play two matches, they see themself has a star thats what happened in todays match and we should have won the match in the first-half. Well, no campaign after the election we are out already. I wish Fly Eagles team all they best and our belove country (Nigeria). God bless Nigeria!

Agbe: 2011-08-15 01:29

The rest of the world are busy looking for ways to buster athlete’s energy with high energy food and drink. Our boys are busy fasting. A tired body brings about tired mind. I rest my case.

udeme: 2011-08-15 01:29

obuh was just too predictable...kayode,musa and edafe were too sure of starting every match...and why was sani emmanuel not used earlier?i dont understand kayode being picked ahead of him

fireFighter: 2011-08-15 01:33

FRANCE USE JUJU TO WIN THE GAME OUR BOYS ARE GOOD TO WIN THE WORLD CUP ,BUT FRANCE USE JUJU TO ELIMANTE US..

mike1\': 2011-08-15 01:51

Hahahahaha obun typical nigeria coach they always do too much imnediately after the squad was out i knew they would fail. You just dont drop ur most skillful player okoro wen there is no replacement. For me minus musa and maybe azeez there is no player i can see in eagles anytime soon.bunch of intalented players they were just using physicality to win. Like siasia in 2009 wen he dropped his best defender and finisher, the same obun bunch of mumu guyss

Omo 9ja: 2011-08-15 02:01

@udeme: if you remember about few months ago at under20 Africa cup of nation in South Africa, Obuh did not took Emmanuel to the event. Maybe just because Emmanel went for a trial and he did not had a chance to joined the Obuh's team in time and i thing thats was why we did not seen him in this event so much. Okoro is a good player but not fit this time around and i don't know maybe you saw that in Sounth Africa under 20 event that Nigeria won about few months. To all this, Obuh is a good coach but nobody above mistake, we lack tactics in todays match which occurs every Nigeria's coaches a very big problem. God bless Nigeria!

Omo 9ja: 2011-08-15 02:03

@udeme: if you remember about few months ago at under20 Africa cup of nation in South Africa, Obuh did not took Emmanuel to the event. Maybe just because Emmanel went for a trial and he did not had a chance to joined the Obuh's team in time and i thing thats was why we did not seen him in this event so much. Okoro is a good player but not fit this time around and i don't know maybe you saw that in Sounth Africa under 20 event that Nigeria won about few months. To all this, Obuh is a good coach but nobody above mistake, we lack tactics in todays match which occurs to every Nigeria's coaches a very big problem. God bless Nigeria!

Omo 9ja: 2011-08-15 02:05

@udeme: if you remember about few months ago at under20 Africa cup of nation in South Africa, Obuh did not took Emmanuel to the event. Maybe just because Emmanel went for a trial and he did not had a chance to joined the Obuh's team in time and i thing thats was why we did not seen him in this event so much. Okoro is a good player but not fit this time around and i don't know maybe you saw that in Sounth Africa under 20 event that Nigeria won about few months. To all this, Obuh is a good coach but nobody above mistake, we lack tactics in todays match which occurs to every Nigeria's coaches. What a very big problem. God bless Nigeria!

Omo 9ja: 2011-08-15 02:07

@udeme: if you remember about few months ago at under20 Africa cup of nation in South Africa, Obuh did not took Emmanuel to the event. Maybe just because Emmanel went for a trial and he did not had a chance to joined the Obuh's team in time and i thing thats was why we did not seen him in this event so much. Okoro is a good player but not fit this time around and i don't know maybe you saw that in Sounth Africa under 20 event that Nigeria won about few months. To all this, Obuh is a good coach but nobody above mistake, we lack tactics in todays match which occurs every Nigeria's coaches, what a very big problem. God bless Nigeria!

ken gadaffi: 2011-08-15 04:33

Some people may not believe in mythology in sports but I do think it surely exists.
Certain players choose lucky jersey numbers and teams choose color for their home and away kits based on their beliefs. The super eagles have always been unlucky with white jerseys. I have followed the thrend for close to 3 decades and convinced about this. Even before kickoff I told some friends we are in for a long night the moment I saw we were on white. We may have won the 1994 Nations cup in white but that jersey was not pure white as the present set of white jersey we use.

If in doubt take your time to review all the finals or major tournaments we crashed out early and you will be amazed to find out how many we lost in white. I do not know why this is so anyway.


Now to the game proper. To say the least this team were destined to fail at some stage. We were only routing for them out of patriotism. They struggled to win the AYC which I attributed then to LUCK. Their build up to the championship was appalling. They had a perfect start to the tournament by playing very weak teams and the real test came against England and we all saw that once again they rode on LUCK.

France could have settled the match in regulation time but we were lucky on several occassions to escape. The late equalizer was no doubt a rare moment of magic from Obuh and late sub Ejike and such happen when a coach decides to throw all his card.

In any case we must give credence to the technical crew and the players for not disgracing us. Lets take the positive from this tournament and go back to the drawing board. Continuity is the key and hopefully the crew and bulk of the team will be retained to graduate to the next level.


THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH

Bullet 4 Ghana: 2011-08-15 05:25

@ken Gadaffi: You are 100000000000000% right. When i saw then line into the pitch, i had a horrible feeling and asked my self why they are wearing that white jersey. i have known for a long time that we dont play well with white but i dont know the reason.

Bullet 4 Ghana: 2011-08-15 05:25

@ken Gadaffi: You are 100000000000000% right. When i saw then line into the pitch, i had a horrible feeling and asked my self why they are wearing that white jersey. i have known for a long time that we dont play well with white but i dont know the reason.

Bob : 2011-08-15 05:26

So with all this Old men you called U-20 players Naija could not do nothing. This is the Oldest [ age-wise] U-20 team we have ever seen in any U-20 WC tournament......its a shame cheating could not help Naija do what Ghana did...Thanks F

Bob : 2011-08-15 05:32

Oldest U-20 team ever
> Old legs do not win tournaments
> Becos Ghana won it Naija wanted to win at all cost and the coach cheating with grand pas will help
> Thanks to France for liberating Africa from cheating bragss

Socerates: 2011-08-15 06:31

@ Bob, the last time I checked, ghana neither qualified for this world cup nor played a single match in this world cup so shut up and let the big boyz talk. 9ja 4 Life!!!.

Socerates: 2011-08-15 06:33

@Bob, so are u trying 2 say that ghana used over aged players at the AYC thats why 9ja eliminated their old a.s.s.?

seyi: 2011-08-15 06:37

AS ****y as Obuh, when we should be thinking of how to play and win well against France after playing badly against England, Obuh at the post match conference was talking of how we will meet Columbia at the final match and we can see how he passed the ****iness unto the players on the field of play, but we can still play our final against the Columbians since we both lost out in at the quarters, well FE never agains count your chickens before they are hatch again Obuh, better luck next time Nigeria.

seyi: 2011-08-15 06:40

AS ****y as Obuh, when we should be thinking of how to play and win well against France after playing badly against England, Obuh at the post match conference was talking of how we will meet Columbia at the final match and we can see how he passed the ****iness unto the players on the field of play, but we can still play our final against the Columbians since we both lost out in at the quarters, welldone FE never agains count your chickens before they are hatch again Obuh, better luck next time Nigeria.

Umunede : 2011-08-15 08:04

Naija lost. D tendency is 4 gh 2 insult naija. I am ready 4 u. Opportunity 4 me 2 unleash

Umunede : 2011-08-15 08:10

Keep ur comment within futbal, no problem. U deviate, u wont like wot u wil read.

jck1976: 2011-08-15 08:40

@Bob...Bob sucks! Ghanians with the most urgliest players,why wont they win world...scaring everybody away,even the reff was comfused because of their urg faces.When you talk of trophies,what has ghana got? Bob,dont you have forum like this in ghana..why are you tresspassing into another man's terictory...you go wound yourself.

Umunede : 2011-08-15 08:53

@CHRIS. Pls naija, lets nt insult dem. Let dem draw d 1st blood, so dat i can show dem something

Maphalle: 2011-08-15 10:28

Win or Loose we luv you guys.You fought for Africa not only Nigeria. I wish you were playing for south Africa.

Umunede : 2011-08-15 10:41

@Ngwakos. U re a gud man. Dis is d best comment i hv ever heard in dis forum. U re an example 2 all of us

TeellThemm: 2011-08-15 10:42

I hope we have learn a lesson from this under20 world cup, that Football it self is a religion and one cannot mix his or her religion with the god of Football. god of Football has a simple rules.

Train to have fitness
Eat to have strength

If you don't eat you can't worship this god of Football, it is as simple as that and I hope next time we will give to Football what is his if we want to win and not mix it with other religion and it rules. God bless Nigeria.

GULDERMAX9: 2011-08-15 12:51

To all Nigerian fans , football is like all other game; sometime you win sometimes you loose. F/E you have tried to go all that far , hope you do more better in the future . There is always another time in football, the most important thing we expect from our NFF; is to keep the team together for them to metamorphose into useful team.We are expecting you people back home in safe condition.

Bomber : 2011-08-15 13:08

I said it. See the retrogresion from the group stage to this stage.

Shijo: 2011-08-15 13:42

It is quite disheartening to hear people lamenting that had Okoro been there, Nigeria would have beaten France. This argument beats all logical reasoning. The team had been doing well until they declared they would start fasting. As soon as they started fasting, you could sense a lack of urgency in their play (Saudi Arabia & England). Then since Nigeria makes so much noise about themselves, the left themselves open to scrutiny, and the French coach did his work and mapped out a strategy to defeat the FE, and some people sit here and lament: "Okorooo OOO!" Haba!!

Austin: 2011-08-15 13:49

Nigerians have always advocated for an attacking brand of football. Amodu was villified for not playing it, though his results vindicated his ultra-defensive style). Siasia is a hero because he plays it. But we must understand that attacking football comes with its attendant risks, greatest of which is that when you attack in ernest, you open your defence up for a sucker punch. Obuh's attempt to build an ever-attacking team had its benefits: 12 goals in 3 matches, but his defending was appaling. England almost nailed us. We lost to France, not because they were better - check out the stats, but because they were more disciplined in the defence and did not attack like a mad bull.

What we should take away from this tournament is to ask Siasia, and Eguavoen, and even the Falcons coach, to pay attention to building a tighter defence. Even the Braizilians have learnt the hard way that always attacking will open up your defence. That is the lesson from this whole thing. Orgnaized attacking and disciplined defending.

All told, Obuh has tried (forget the genuine questions over the age of his player - did you see the size of the Camerounians and Malians?!). His players did not disgrace us. Let us live to fight another day. I know that with proper planning, this cup will one day rest in our rich trophy cabinet. Welcome home guys.

Segun: 2011-08-15 13:50

Culled from fifa.com: Over in Cali, the fans got behind Nigeria for their entire match against France, awarding the Flying Eagles with a standing ovation after the game despite their dramatic defeat. The local fans even gathered to applaud the African squad when boarding their team coach afterwards. Clearly adopted by the public, did the cowboy hat sported by coach John Obuh have anything to do with their popularity?

Without undermining the comments from fellow forumites, it seems the FE received more supports from the Colombians than Africa (including Nigeria). We are just 'fair-weather' fans as Amadu said. Football can best be judged by neutrals. The team must have done something right to have such large following. Do not get me wrong, some things could have been done better but we must also stress the positives and not the negatives only. At least, the U20 tourney is a developmental tournament for unveiling future stars.

Some even attributed the loss to nepotism (too much grammar) and the neglect of the best hands. Can we name players that should have been taken that was not? And nobody should come up with Okoro. The preparation of a team starts from the selection of players. This is not Super Eagles, you have to scout around to select players. If the coach has been able to come up with a team that so much play smooth attacking football like they displayed in this tournament. He passed the most difficult test: being able to assemble group of players that could play real soccer. I hope he has learnt from this. One of the lessons I expect him to have learnt is testing players early in the tournament so as to have plan B when the goings get tough. The Saudi Arabian game would have shown him the good substitutes he has in Sani Emmanuel and Bright Ejike and he would have had enough confidence to bring them on early when his plan A is not working. I expect to see him in another tournament soon as a winning coach. Good job Nigeria, the last African team standing.

Babatunde: 2011-08-15 14:57

Always the same, everytime a good team looses out in a tournament. Criticism from those who do not understand a thing about football.
First of all I would like to point that the boys and the coach did a good job albeit, some small weaknesses which the technical team failed to spot. Musa was playing alone. He could have been delievring the passes for Egbedi and Kayode to slot in, but he was very selfish. I also noticed that the ball was been held up by the boys slowing the attack several times. Were they trying to sell themselves to Europe? If they were, then they were doing it wrong because what the scouts want to see is good sight of the field and not individualism.
Also Stanley Okoro had no place in this team. Discipline must be mantained.
But it was a good try, and we cannot always win everything. Kudos to Obuh!! He has gained some more experience here, and the next step is sendng him off to refresher courses abroad to make him better.
That is the way forward Nigeria!!!

X'Tra9nja: 2011-08-15 15:41

COMPLETESPORTS : ALL WHITE SHIRT FORCED ON FLYING EAGLES BY FIFA
Green In Row With FIFA Reps Before Clash With France


Nigeria Football Federation Technical Committee chairman, Chris Green, had a row with FIFA representatives on Saturday evening here in Cali over a sudden directive that Nigeria must don an all-white attire for their quarter-final clash with France. This infuriated the Nigerian team leader, Green because centre referee, Dario Ubariaco (Uruguay), had earlier during Saturday's morning pre-match meeting certified France's deep blue colour and Nigeria's all-green outfit as being perfect for the encounter.

Representatives, Ortega Lizano Jorge and Rolli Adrian, visited the Flying Eagles' Intercontinental Hotel abode at about 5pm (Colombian time) and told the head of Nigerian team, Green, that FIFA had directed that Nigeria must drop Green jersey and play France with an all-white attire with the team also registered for the tournament.

The FIFA emissaries said the sudden deviation from the earlier pre-match agreement on the jersey colour for the match was occasioned by the fact that Nigeria's green shirt and France's blue colour will not be television-friendly. They told the Nigerian team chieftain that FIFA discovered this anomaly when it looked at the implication of the two teams' colours to the television streaming of the match. The FIFA reps said it was Nigeria that had to be affected in that impromptu requirement for the match since the Flying Eagles was the team B for the quarter-final encounter.

However, Green did not accept FIFA’s sudden change of decision without a fight. He remonstrated that FIFA was wrong in asking Nigeria to wear a different colour after the centre referee had approved it during the pre-match meeting.

"We have not done anything wrong contrary to the rules, so FIFA cannot turn around and push Nigeria to the tight corner," Green, an attorney at law, defended stoutly inside the lobby of Intercontinental Hotel Cali where the meeting held.

The NFF Technical Committee boss roared further: "We can pull out of this tournament if FIFA thinks we are foolish people. We know the laws of this game made by FIFA itself. So, why should FIFA push Nigeria around like this. An agreement was reached at the pre-match meeting where the referee approved the jersey colours for the two teams. Why is the TV friendly issue considered much later when we have gone ahead to prepare our team with our traditional colour?

"Let me tell you guys," Green further angrily charged at the FIFA reps. "We followed the rules and appropriately registered our shirt colour at the pre-match meeting. And the green shirts that were approved at the meeting have been consecrated by God. It's our tradition make special prayer to God before any match during which we also have our jerseys consecrated. That we have done, and FIFA is now asking us to change the jersey. What will be Nigeria's compensation in all of this?"

The FIFA reps, completely dazed by Mr. Green's resistance, had to come down from their earlier authoritarian slant. They pleaded that Nigeria accept the decision and also offered to take responsibility of printing the players' names on the new white shirts for the match. It also took words from other NFF board members around to make the livid Green give in to the FIFA men's demand.

Green however decided that Nigeria would handle the printing of the player's names on the white shirts. He also warned against the sordid shirt colour issue being replicated in the officiating of the match. The FIFA emissaries left with a lot of gratitude to Nigeria for accepting the impromptu decision.

My take.......................
Certainly something must be wrong with us as a people and as nation.Can you Imagine the arguement of a so called Lawyer

"We followed the rules and appropriately registered our shirt colour at the pre-match meeting. And the green shirts that were approved at the meeting have been consecrated by God. It's our tradition make special prayer to God before any match during which we also have our jerseys consecrated. That we have done, and FIFA is now asking us to change the jersey. What will be Nigeria's compensation in all of this?"

Yes,that the Ref had certified us to wear green and FiFA had to ask us to change to White,a colour and Jersey duely REGISTERED by Nigeria notwithstanding.If we know that this Jersey brings us Ill luck..My question is why register it in the first place.

Why cant the numskulls at the Glass House order the Kit Sponsors to design something else for us if we are too mentally lazy to do so or commission a consultant to design something we want that will be attarctive to the Kit Sponsors.

What really baffles me is the way and manner we call on God for every stupid and meaningless reasons.We dont plan and when we see failure looking us in the eye we call on God.Even God is very meticulous and plans i believe.

Its only in Nigeria that an Armed Robber also offers prayers to God for a successfull mission.

Everybody wants to head abroad,our leaders steal so much and they head abroad with their loot on one hand and their family on the other.Funny enough,the people who forms the socities we all are running to dont go to church or pray.

All they do is plan deligently,work hard and land and are very orderly.In Nigeria ,we are merely a set of religious born fools who are even more Catholic than the Pope and on a daily basis the very low quality of life that we celebrate gets worse.

And yes,we will continue to pray and hope on God.Even the Bible says faith without work is ................

objective bibby: 2011-08-15 16:08

@ Austin & Segun, fantastic insights about the game from you guys!!!
Just to paraphrase Austin's perspective, i think the simple word is RESPECT your opponent. Perhaps, Obuh's philosophy is best form of attack is defense. This obviously didn't work for him in the last two matches.
It is equally a big lesson to SIA1 not to only play to the gallery but also be effective. There has to be a balance!!!France still stays in the competition with effectiveness, bu Nig is out despite all the AYs, shouts from the stands.
@ Ken, we surely needed more of those yesterday (luck)..lol

objective bibby: 2011-08-15 16:14

Hey guys, leave Ramadan out of this. According to report, The guys have stopped fasting since their last match against the Saudis. Pls get the facts right. In fact, even if they were, did Azeez, Musa, Ganiu or Ajagun played like hungry or tired legs? Look for another excuse and stop blaming the guys for their gallant efforts while some are behind the PC tarnishing Nig image.

richard: 2011-08-15 17:45

i repeat time and time again that high handedness hardly pays.yes i mean,we all humans and sometimes when we err,we mst b forgiven and given a second chance.can forumites go back to my plea to coach obuh when he suspended azeez,okoro and anoda guy i forgot his name saying they did not beat his dead line for everyone to be in camp prior to this tournament?i pleaded he temper jstice with mercy not jst for the sake of those three guys but for the benefit of africa in general kos both azeez and okoro are match winners anyday.sure he pardoned azeez but what about okoro whom we all saw how he put smile on everyone's face during the afcon youth championship here jhb south africa a few months back.i mentioned in one of my pleas to obuh that if realy he dreams of winning the world cup in colombia then both okoro and azeez mst be allowed back to the squad.So far so good,i praise him for his efforts but i hold him responsible for the loss ystday kos he knew deep down in him that okoro was going to make a big difference if he was at this tournament especially during ystdays game.Sure it was another very bad day for africa especialy given the fact that everyone's blif fifa inclusive that nigeria was going to win this tournament but obuh made everyone cry like babies kos of high handedness.Game lost and nothing we kn do to reverse the result but i think coach SIASIA and other african national football coaches mst learn one or two things from obuh's blunder.HIGH HANDEDNESS{AUTHOURITARIANISM}HAS NEVER EVER YEILDED A GOOD RESULT AND WE ARE WITNESSES TO THIS ONE.I REST MY CASE FOR NOW.
RICHARD KINGS;JHB SOUTH AFRICA

Farochii: 2011-08-15 18:03

Hello Forumites, I am not the type of person that did criticize a coach but after seeing the game against France, I am but to criticize John Obuh. The only reason why I decide to criticize him was the fact that he hasn't learnt his lessons yet because this was the similar reason ("TACTICS") we lost the under 17 final to Switzerland in Nigeria.

He is too predictable throughout this tournament and the England game was a good warning for him to have corrected his tactics.

Our game plan is one dimensional, we rely on strength and speed only while the french are not as good or strong as us but are far too tactical. I remember someone also in this forum made mention the fact that the keeper normally leaves his post in the first two games.

The same thing Siasia told them after watching their second game that they are too predictable and doesn't retain possession. If 70% of the team are players he has worked with before I don't see the reason why he shouldn't know how to use the player properly.

We all complain of Ajagun wasting set-pieces in dangerous places, these are all tactical decisions. A coach should be able to bring out the best in these players instead of relying on their initiates and this was what a coach like late Yemi Tella was able to do to the likes of Chrisantus, Rabiu, Haruna Ganiyu et al. Coach tella team was such a dynamic team to the extent that each player on his team is a top performer and ready to explode for the team on the pitch.

I also disagree with those that said this team is not good enough and infact if you look at the present u23 team and this u20, they are all gifted players but once again the technical has been found wanting.

Lastly, like I said earlier if 70% of this team constitute the same boys that played under obuh at the u17, then tactically the team should have been in better shape. If you look at the French team even where they are lacking, their level of tactical awareness is high and you can agree with me by looking at their second goal. We have every opportunity to win the game after that injury time comeback but like I have said earlier our technical crew run out ideas which may also be the same for the french technical crews as well but you may want to look at where these boys are learning their football which will adequately compensate for their coach short of ideas should he lack it

1 Pierrick CROS GK Sochaux (FRA)
2 Loic NEGO DF AS Roma (ITA)
3 Thomas FONTAINE DF Olympique Lyon (FRA)
4 Florian LEJEUNE MF Istres (FRA)
5 Sebastien FAURE DF Olympique Lyon (FRA)
6 Clement GRENIER FW Olympique Lyon (FRA)
7 Gael KAKUTA FW Fulham (ENG)
8 Gueida FOFANA MF Le Havre (FRA)
9 Yannis TAFER FW Olympique Lyon(FRA)
10 Gilles SUNU FW ****nal (ENG)
11 Antoine GRIEZMANN FW Real Sociedad (ESP)
12 Kalidou KOULIBALY DF Metz (FRA)
13 Francis COQUELIN MF ****nal (ENG)
14 Timothee KOLODZIEJCZAK DF Olympique Lyon (FRA)
15 Lionel CAROLE DF Benfica (POR)
16 Lucas VERONESE GK Nice (FRA)
17 Cedric BAKAMBU FW Sochaux (FRA)
18 Maxime COLIN DF Boulogne (FRA)
19 Alexandre LACAZETTE FW Olympique Lyon (FRA)
20 Enzo REALE MF Olympique Lyon (FRA)
21 Jonathan LIGALI GK Montpellier (FRA)

Although the profile above doesn't mean that we should have lost the game, after-all coach yemi tella also won against the best during his time but all i am saying is that french players level of tactical initiatives cannot be compared to the flying eagles which shouldn't have been noticed or lacking in the flying eagles had it been coach john obuh himself have instructed the boys appropriately.

My final verdict is a question I want to leave open to all forumites to answer, Do you think John Obuh deserve another chance which will definitely be the u23 in 2-3 year's time.

ask : 2011-08-15 18:11

I was seriously surprice at yesterday's game. I know some people might object my opinion but i dont rely like the idea of nigeria wearing white shirt to play. That dressing is not always favouring our team both junior and senior. I thought our coaches should have observe or know that by now. Someone should correct me if i am wrong. I rely pity ejike yesterday. He should have been a hero if the game went on our favor. Nevertheless, we appreciate your effort and we will compensate you in time to come.

stan: 2011-08-15 18:18

segun, i can take your last comment here , Our dear coach don;t have any plan B let our all take a look to our team list how many FW , MF and DF he took then you guys will understand what am talking about i expected our coach to tryed new set of player in our last grop game to know what to know but he did not, well it all over now i thank everyone here who took out his time and talk about how our teams we will be better in near future i hope those on top will read our comments and take a great change ,welcome home E/Eagles

Middlesbro9ja: 2011-08-15 20:17

Well I've been reading everyone's comments so far since the FE lost to France. My only contribution is to inform forumites that the only reason we're not victorious when wearing white Jersies is because our country is not a peaceful place which white symbolises. The land naija is a land of evil people. Like the saying goes "a leader is a reflection of his people" Look at our past and present leaders which one do you think is clean. My people we cannot achieve success the way we are going and doing things. By our actions and deeds we're not far from failures. Once in a while we get transient success we'll think we're doing something right but my people we've to change our ways.

fireFighter: 2011-08-15 20:33

france use juju to eliminate us the same juju ghana use to eliminate the under 23 from the ALL AFRICAN GAMES..

AzraEzra: 2011-08-15 20:47

WHAT CAN NAIJA LEARN FROM THIS LOSE?

AzraEzra: 2011-08-15 20:54

PLS...CAN SOMEONE SAY THERE WAS NOT A LEADER IN THE TEAM LIKE GHANA DO HAVE IN DEDE AYEW WHEN THEY WON THE CUP...A LEADER WITH FIGHTING SPIRIT LIKE THE FRANCE CAPTAIN...

Sunday : 2011-08-15 21:12

I noticed three things...

Sunday : 2011-08-15 21:23

i noticed three things... 1)the french team is comprised of 95 percent blacks..so dey matched us in strenght. 2)our goalkeeper(paul)is too short(1.73)...not good for a goal keeper. 3)Ajagun wasted ALL the setpieces we got...anyawu and suswan ar both playin out of position.

Game147: 2011-08-15 21:26

Its sad to see the flying Eagles lose in a painful manner. Anyway , there's no need to cry over spilt milk. Back to drawing board and I don't think its the right time to point accusing fingers. We lost. Omeruo should be invited to Super Eagles, he's a good and solid defender. Omeruo might be young and inexperienced but he is a good central defender in making. Alessandro Nesta was almost Omeruos age when the Azzuri drafted him into the senior team. Well done to Flying Eagles and Obuh. Naija for life.

ola2014: 2011-08-15 22:37

It is sad to learn at this day and age there are still those who believe in superstition.What has the color of jersey have to do with sring goals and playing defense? How can anybody take us serious when they hearn the so called attorney invoking God has blessed the green jersey. Have we lost our minds? If prayers is all we need, we might as well pick any 18 Nigerians to represent us at the world cup.
We lost the game for two reasons; first is fitness, it is foolishness to fast and still think you can play at a uptimum level, I think God will excuse you if you skip the fast until after the tournament. Secondly we lost because our boys are not technically sound and the coach is not technically sound either. The coach should have scouted the French team and design a way to contain lacassette. He was running circles arond our defense. The strikers dont have a clue about how to work together, they could easily have scored 4 goals if they knew how to set up the defense and get the ball to the open players just like the French did. That was why they had so many one v one with Paul to beat.When # 13 kept the player that scored the 1st goal onside, he should have gone to the bench. He was slow, he never recovered on time the rd goal was scored on his side.

ola2014: 2011-08-15 22:37

It is sad to learn at this day and age there are still those who believe in superstition.What has the color of jersey have to do with sring goals and playing defense? How can anybody take us serious when they hearn the so called attorney invoking God has blessed the green jersey. Have we lost our minds? If prayers is all we need, we might as well pick any 18 Nigerians to represent us at the world cup.
We lost the game for two reasons; first is fitness, it is foolishness to fast and still think you can play at a uptimum level, I think God will excuse you if you skip the fast until after the tournament. Secondly we lost because our boys are not technically sound and the coach is not technically sound either. The coach should have scouted the French team and design a way to contain lacassette. He was running circles arond our defense. The strikers dont have a clue about how to work together, they could easily have scored 4 goals if they knew how to set up the defense and get the ball to the open players just like the French did. That was why they had so many one v one with Paul to beat.When # 13 kept the player that scored the 1st goal onside, he should have gone to the bench. He was slow, he never recovered on time the rd goal was scored on his side.

red skin: 2011-08-15 23:22

Though the boys are lacking in substance and Obuh is a mediocre coach when juxtaposed with the tactical prowess of his counterpart, I hate seeing Nigeria play on all white and I always assume that they will definitely lose the game or at best struggle so much.Immediately I saw the players on white I sighed and asked rhetorically "..ooh! why are they wearing white today?" My friend( also a Nigerian)cut in to say that they will definitely lose this match and wanted to go for a bet with me but I wouldn't put my money on that shirt! It's a kind of gut feelings developed from history and at the end it was a déja vu.

Birikiti: 2011-08-16 13:31

I think we lost because of two reasons: Overconfidence and individual play!

Clearly our guys were not as committed as in the 1st round games. They were not closing down spaces as fast and generally allowed France to build up from the back. Whereas they kept pressuring our defence line so we can play long ***** upfield.

Also, on countless occasions our players refused to pass to those better placed in front of goal. Musa was most guilty of this and even Egbedi, Kayode & Sani didn't fare better. I had noticed that before the match players were saying things like "i want to be MVP.." "I want to be highest goal scorer..."! This selfish mindset ultimately cost us the match.

iicc1984: 2011-08-16 19:42

Birikiti: 2011-08-16 13:31 [ Report ]


I think we lost because of two reasons: Overconfidence and individual play!

Clearly our guys were not as committed as in the 1st round games. They were not closing down spaces as fast and generally allowed France to build up from the back. Whereas they kept pressuring our defence line so we can play long ***** upfield.

Also, on countless occasions our players refused to pass to those better placed in front of goal. Musa was most guilty of this and even Egbedi, Kayode & Sani didn't fare better. I had noticed that before the match players were saying things like "i want to be MVP.." "I want to be highest goal scorer..."! This selfish mindset ultimately cost us the match.

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