ROHR: FIRST HALF AGAINST UKRAINE BEST OF MY TENURE

Gernot Rohr says Nigeria’s first half performance against Ukraine was the best the team has played since he took over as Nigeria coach.

The Super Eagles completely dominated the hosts, racing to a two-goal lead and should have been at least four goals up in the first half but for some great goalkeeping and wayward finishing.

But their performance in those first 45 minutes had Rohr buzzing

“It was a great performance against a very good team,” he said. “The best initial 45 minutes I saw since I am with the team.” 

Despite their dominance, the Super EAgles, playing without a posse of key starters, were to conceded twice late on and tie the game. Rohr pointed to the youthfulness off his side and explained that that may have been responsible for their giving up their two-goal advantage late in the second half

“Age average less than 23. That fact can also explain two minutes of nerves in the second half. And their second goal was clear handball.”

Rohr however was left pleased with the overall direction of the team 

“We saw some new faces and a come back of the goal keeper. The kind of modern football we played is promising for the future.”

YOU HAVE NO RIGHT! BELMADI RILED BY NIGERIA JOURNALIST IN BENSEBAINI SELF-SLAP QUERY IN BUILD UP TO NIGERIA MATCH UP

Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi

It was perhaps the first press conference involving Nigeria at this Africa Cup of Nations where the pre-match vibe quickly turned adversarial. Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi took exception to being asked by Nigerian journalist Chisom Mbonu if he condoned the behavior of his player Ramy Bensebaini, who tried to get Wilfred Zaha sent off, by grabbing the Ivorien’s arm, using it to slap his own face then going down theatrically.

"I'm not really sure this is the place to talk about this," was his response. ”If you try to put pressure on us, it is not the right way. There is a referee for that and VAR for that and it's not your job to talk about this.”

Algerian journalists at the pre-match press conference broke out in applause.

Belmadi subsequently fielded soft ball questions from the Algerian media, but his hackles were already up and the coach finished the rest of the event unsmiling.

If that answer was an attempt to deflect attention away from the Algerians’ penchant for the dark arts, it was not entirely successful as much of the pre-match reporting around the world has been focused on his refusal to answer the question.

This, inspite of Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr, who until then appeared unaware of the incident, trying to play down the incident

“We didn’t see that. We watched the tactical situations of the match, we continue to analyze the tactical things.”

But it definitely set the tone for Sunday’s game between these two old adversaries, who have met multiple times in both Africa Cup of Nations and in qualifying.

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The Super Eagles dominate their recent meetings, with six wins from eight confrontations. That is a record that riles the Algerians and one they are keen to flip, and join the team which won their sole title on home soil in 1990

"The one that we won was in 1990, a long time ago when it was at home. We've never won since. This is away from home, it's more difficult of course," said Belmadi.

"This is our target, we want to write our history and the players want to write their history as well. It's not far - two more steps, but two very difficult steps to this great achievement. We will try our best.”

For Rohr, who has been under some pressure from the start of the tournament, scaling his semifinal bar has taken a lot of that load off his shoulders, but defeat will still not be countenanced, as Nigeria set their sights on a fourth trophy.

Out of 24 have emerged four, and these two richly deserve their place. Hopefully, they will serve up a treat devoid of gamesmanship or worse, those aforementioned dark arts.

NIGERIA & ALGERIA AT SENIOR LEVEL

10 Jan 1973: Nigeria 2 Algeria 2 – Lagos (All-Africa Games)

28 July 1978: Algeria 1 Nigeria 0 – Algiers (All-Africa Games Final)

22 March 1980: Nigeria 3 Algeria 0 – Lagos (AFCON Final)

10 Oct 1981: Nigeria 0 Algeria 2 – Lagos (World Cup Qualifier)

30 Oct 1981: Algeria 2 Nigeria 1 – Constantine (World Cup Qualifier)

10 March 1982: Algeria 2 Nigeria 1 – Benghazi (AFCON)

11 March 1984: Algeria 0 Nigeria 0 – Bouake (AFCON)

15 Jan 1988: Algeria 1 Nigeria 0 – Annaba (Olympics Qualifier)

30 Jan 1988: Nigeria 2 Algeria 0 – Enugu (Olympics Qualifier)

23 March 1988: Algeria 1 Nigeria 1 – Rabat (AFCON semi, 8-9 penalties)

2 March 1990: Algeria 5 Nigeria 1 – Algiers (AFCON)

16 March 1990: Algeria 1 Nigeria 0 – Algiers (AFCON Final)

13 July 1993: Nigeria 4 Algeria 1 – Lagos (World Cup Qualifier)

8 Oct 1993: Algeria 1 Nigeria 1 – Algiers (World Cup Qualifier)

21 Jan 2002: Algeria 0 Nigeria 1 – Bamako (AFCON)

3 July 2004: Nigeria 1 Algeria 0 – Abuja (World Cup Qualifier)

4 Sept 2005: Algeria 2 Nigeria 5 – Oran (World Cup Qualifier)

30 Jan 2010: Algeria 0 Nigeria 1 – Benguela (AFCON)

12 Nov 2016: Nigeria 3 Algeria 1 – Uyo (World Cup Qualifier)

11 Nov 2017: Algeria 1 Nigeria 1 – Constantine (World Cup Qualifier). Match later awarded 3-0 to Algeria as Nigeria fielded ineligible player. 

ROHR, BAXTER FIGHT FOR “UNDERDOG” TAG

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Stuart Baxter and then Gernot Rohr both opened their pre-match press conference in some accord. 

Both men were a few minutes late to the event and were quick to apologise and of course, blame Cairo traffic and the convoluted maze leading to the press centre.

That was as far as it went. Within the opening few questions, each man was at pains to disrobe himself of the toga of “favourite” as they looked ahead to Wednesday’s Africa Cup of Nations semifinal.

Baxter, unlike his usual brash self, seemed keen to not talk up his side or talk down the Nigerians, instead all but pointing to Rohr as playing mind games when asked about the Nigeria coach’s comment from the day before

“Nigeria have been a powerhouse of African football for a long time and one game doesn’t makes us favourites. 

I think he’ll love to have that tag as underdogs and in that way, slip the pressure from you guys but I don’t think he’s fooling anybody to tell you the truth

“We will go into the game as we do with every game. When we hit that balance between good organisation and still play with pace and closing people down with pace and using that natural mobility with technique, we can give anybody on this continent a good game. Therefore we go into every game knowing that we have a chance to win and a chance to lose

“And that is how we will approach this game. We will be respecting Nigeria but not fearing them

And we will absolutely not think that we are the favourites. We will have to produce a very good South African performance if we are to win this game.”

Rohr was having none of that 

“No, we don’t play this (mind) game,” he said. “We are realistic. We believe that we still have to improve. We had very difficult games. We lost against Madagascar, we suffered against Cameroon, made a lot of mistakes so we are realistic. South Africa played so well against Egypt and they have also the advantage that they know already this stadium and they had success here. We arrived yesterday from Alexandria, not so hot like here. All is different here.

“We have only one day to adapt but I think we will be ready.”

And then he threw in the uppercut

“Also they beat the favourites, the number one team. When you beat the favourites, you become the favourites.”

And then they found common ground again, admitting that it would be no walk in the park

“It will be a tough game,” said Rohr. “They did really well against Egypt and they are very fast.”

Baxter was just as complimentary

“Yes we have done very well against Nigeria recently. But we should be under no illusions that Nigeria are one of the best teams on the continent. It will be a massively difficult game for us and we have to get the mental strength right.”

Perhaps the highlight of the day was Baxter bristling when told to put his results over Nigeria in context, as the Super Eagles were weakened by injuries and suspensions on both occasions. And when they were not, his side needed help from the referee chalking off two good goals

“This is not about prestige for me,” he retorted. “It is about South Africa against Nigeria. Both coaches played to win, and the Nigeria coach played the best team he had available. I am sure he wanted to win. And in that game in Johannesburg, I had six players missing.”

Now, that was the real Baxter almost breaking through. The usual tough talking seemingly tempered by a desire not to give Nigeria any more motivation to want to win.

But favourites or underdogs, one team is certainly going home tomorrow.

ROHR “SURPRISED” BY BAFANA PROGRESS

Gernot Rohr says he was surprised by South Africa’s progress at the expense of favorites and hosts Egypt, but believes that Bafana Banana have earned their passage.

The South Africans, unimpressive in group play and squeaking through to the round of 16 on the strength of one goal, stunned the hosts with resolute play and a back-breaking late goal from Lorch to eject the seven-time champions from the tournament.

They will now meet Nigeria in the semifinal, in a twist that Super Eagles coach Rohr said he did not see coming

“I am a little bit surprised, yes,” he told colinudoh.com soon after the result. “But they played so well against Egypt and they deserve it.

"They beat us in Uyo so we know it will not be easy against this good South African team. But also, we played a good draw in Johannesburg and we deserve to win because of the two goals off Musa but was cancelled even though it was not offside."

The two sides will meet for the third time under Gernot Rohr’s stewardship of the Eagles. The first ended in a 0-2 home loss for the German, who compounded the woes of his injury-depleted side by lining out youngsters.

But in the return fixture in Johannesburg, the South Africans were lucky to escape defeat when Nigeria had two goals disallowed. Replays showed that both were legitimate scores.

This third meeting is scheduled for July 10 at the Cairo International Stadium.

EXPLAINING THE SUPER FALCONS BONUS BROUHAHA

Once again, Nigeria were the focus of global attention at a major tournament for the long reasons after the Super Falcons staged a sit-in protest to demand payment of outstanding bonuses.

After their defeat by Germany on Saturday night, the players met and demanded payment of their outstanding bonuses, some dating back to 2016.

By morning, and following meetings with the NFF officials who were with them in France, Aisha Falode and Suleiman Kwande, the players boarded their buses to the airport.

WHAT WAS BEING OWED?

According to the players, they wanted outstanding payment of two match bonuses. The first was from a home game against Senegal in 2016 and the second was another home game, this time against Gambia in 2018.

This was in addition to the daily allowance for the five additional days they spent in France, as well as their 30 percent share of the $1 million participation fee from FIFA.

The main bone of contention were those bonuses from 2016 and 2018. According to the players, they were due N1million for each game for a total of N2million, but were only paid half.

WHAT DOES THE NFF SAY?

The NFF agrees that the players were paid N1m and argue that that is exactly what they are due and not N2 million.

NFF President Amaju Pinnick says the confusion arises out of players expected thatchy were to be paid in US dollars, but under the foreign exchange restrictions of the current administration, that is no longer the case as even the Super Eagles are being paid in Naira for home games

“As far as we are concerned that is a non issue as the bonuses have been paid. The problem is that the players wanted to be paid bonuses for home matches in dollars, but that is no longer the rule under this current government.”

In effect, the players were calculating the amount based on US dollars while the NFF paid in naira.

As to their share of the FIFA participation fee, Pinnick says that will be paid once the NFF receives payment from FIFA, which would not be until after the tournament, around September.

The camp allowances for the five additional days as well as the $4000 match bonus for their win over South Korea are expected to be paid on Monday.

SO WHAT WAS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?

It all comes down to mistrust and miscommunication. For one, it should have been made clear to the players that their home bonuses are not just in naira, but also the exact rate when converted into naira.

The players thought they were due N2million (perhaps from using black market conversion rates), while the NFF had it as N1million.

Second, trust issues remain as the players do not seem to believe that they will be paid unless they make a right stink. Apparently, some of their colleagues from that 2016 team had not received their money.

However, the issues have now been resolved, the air has been cleared and the players are expected back in Nigeria on Monday.

AFCON 2019: IHEANACHO, SUCCESS TOP NIGERIA’S MISSING XI

Isaac Success, left,is on the outside looking in as Nigeria head to Afcon

Gernot Rohr’s picked his squad and the Super Eagles are already in Egypt enjoying sunshine, water and beach while going through their paces as they prepare to make a run for a fourth African title.

For the second tournament in a row, there has been next to no complaint about the German’s squad selection, a far departure from what used to happen in the past. Is that due to a dearth of quality talents, or simply a consequence of Rohr’s consistency in squad selection?

No matter. There are still naturally some players who missed out of the 23 and we decided to draw up a sit of the Nigeria Best XI who did not take it into the squad.

Would any of these have made a significant difference? Is the squad poorer for the absence of any one of them? Who would they have replaced?

This list is limited to players who have been called up by Rohr, but feel free to suggest any outside of that

The Missing XI

GK: Theophilus Afelokhai

Enyimba’s first choice goalkeeper just edges Dele Ajiboye here. His firm grip on the top spot forced Ikechukwu Ezenwa to look elsewhere for first team football and he has just helped Enyimba to another title but failed to make it past Rohr’s standby list

RB Tyronne Ebuehi

Tyronne would arguably have been in the squad were it not for the ACL injury that he suffered at the World Cup in Russia. 

LB Bryan Idowu

Starting left back at the World Cup, Idowu has disappeared from the national team in just the same way as he dropped in, with little fanfare. His stock dropped gradually to the point where he was no longer a factor for Rohr.

CB: Stephen Eze

Title winner with Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Eze has been called up by Rohr but there was little chance he was going to dislodge any of the current centrebacks. At least, not at this time

CB: Valentine Ozornwafor

One of the more recent call-ups to the Super Eagles, and an under 20 international from the recent World Cup, Ozornwafor like Eze stood next to no chance of dislodging the current group of centrebacks

MF: Mikel Agu

Long touted as one who could possibly claim one o the midfield roles as his own, Agu disappointed when he came on as an early sub prior to the World Cup His chances do not seem to have recovered. He was also named on the standby squad.

MF: Ogenyi Onazi

Onazi used to be one of the first Ames on the team sheet until a disastrous game against England in a pre-World Cup friendly. That cost him his starting place and he did not see action at all a the world Cup. There were reports of a falling out with Rohr, but his absence is mostly down to a long term injury that is currently recuperating from.

MF: Junior Ajayi

The Al Ahly star has only been called up a couple of times but was on the standby squad named by Rohr. 

FW: Kelechi Iheanacho

By far the biggest name on the list. A year ago, few would have dreamed this. But it is a sign of how low his stock has fallen that Iheanacho’s place in the squad has been taken up by two players whose combined senior caps can be counted on the fingers of one hand

Kelechi Iheanacho, right

FW: Simy Nwankwo

Nwankwo was expected to be the next great striker after his performances at Crotone, but he never quite hit it off with the Super Eagles despite making it to the World Cup.

FW: Isaac Success

England appears to be the grave of talented Nigeria junior internationals. Along with Iheanacho, Success was in that under 17 team which conquered the world and between them they were expected to rule the Eagles roost for a long time to come. 

Instead, both players find themselves out in the cold

Must be something in the water. . .

YOUNG GUNS SHOW UP BUT OLD MISTAKES CONTINUE AS NIGERIA STAY ALIVE WORLD CUP

Captain Desire Oparanozie celebrates a first win for Nigeria at the IFA Women's world Cup since 2011

On Wednesday, Nigeria’s Super Falcons gave themselves a lifeline in their quest to break free of the first round of the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time in 20 years with a 2-0 victory over South Korea.

The win revived flagging spirits, and there is now more positivity about the final group game against France.

As always, there were a few things to unpack from the victory, so here goes 

YOUNG GUNS SHOW UP

By the end of the game, the Super Falcons had three 18-year-olds and one 21-year old on the pitch, and they all came to the party. In their own big ways.

Goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie started ahead of the more experienced Tochi Oluehi and one would have been hard-pressed to believe it was her first World Cup. Confident, nimble, aware and boasting reflexes sharp as a razor, not to mention her good hands. She made save after save al game, including on 87 minutes when Yeo Minji turned inside three Nigeria defenders and shot low and hard. Nnadozie was quick to get down and smother the shot.

Her one mistake was parrying the ball into the path of Lee Geummin to slot home. Thankfully, the Korean was offside and the goal was chalked off.

Chidinma Okeke, the other starting 18 year old, has turned heads since coming in as replacement for the injured Faith Michael. She was solid against Norway, and took it up a notch against Korea, battling hard, bombing forward and providing the perfect weighted pass for Asisat Oshoala to round the keeper and give Nigeria a second goal. There are still rough edges around her game, but the tools are there and improvements will come with more games and more exposure.

Substitue Anam Imo replaced Francesca Ordega and brought all the energy of an 18 year old to the pitch, chasing lost causes and tracking like her life depended on it.

The oldest of the young guns was 21-year-old Uchenna Kanu, on for Oshoala late in the game and her contribution to keeping the Koreans honest quelled any ambitions the Asians had of mounting a late siege.

OLD MISTAKES CONTINUE

It was a win, right? Yes. We take it and move on to the next. But to watch the game the first time and then again gives cause for pause as all the troubling old errors continue to peek out.

When Thomas Dennerby reviews the game tape, his first thought has definitely go to be “Where the h**l do I start from??!!”

However, reading his quotes (see below) from the post match conference has got to be cause for worry. Serious worry.

The mistakes were so many that they need to be broken down into different subheadings

Panicked clearances

In defence, continuous panicked clearances and a shocking reluctance, or just plain inability to play the ball out of defence led to the Koreans winning the ball back almost instantly each time. 

That the Falcons did not concede was mostly down to Nnadozie’s heroics and desperate, last ditch body-on-the-line blocks. After all those shots, these ladies need to go check up on their wombs post tournament. 

There are times when it is just safer to make a short pass away from danger rather than trying to blast it, straight into the body of an opposition player. There needs to be more intelligence about the defending. Seriously.

Passing breakdowns

There is nothing more painful to watch than a team that cannot pass the football. And the super Falcons cannot. For most of the game, they could not string three passes together. I kid you not.

By the time they got to the third pass, the play either broke down, or they launched a long ball forward to the strikers which ended up with the opposition. It was pathetic. And that is being charitable.

Blind shooting

Time after time, the players kept shooting without looking, especially the midfielders. The moment they got anywhere around the box, the first instinct was always to shoot, even if there was forest of bodies in front and teammates in space. Credit to Oshoala and Desire Oparanozie, they always peeled wide whenever the other players got into those positions but hardly ever got service. One particular moment stood out. Ngozi Okobi arrived at the top of the box around the hour mark, the two forwards immediately drifted wide and unmarked. But rather than pass to them, she shot into a posse of Korean defenders. Naturally, the shots either ended up blocked or off on a trip to Mars.

Uncoordinated pressing

Pressing is as much a skill as any other in football. And if a team must press, they have to do so well and as a unit. The Super Falcons did not do either. They pressed on the wrong side, timed their approach wrong, and allowed the Koreans to simply pass their way around them, leaving the Nigerian girls chasing after them and expending more energy than they should. And they did not do it as a team, which made life a tin easier for the opposition. 

Thomas Dennerby has got to sort this side out out, and quickly.

Failed Tackles

One can almost count the number of successful tackles the Falcons made on one hand. A leprous hand, that is. It was worse for second balls. Because they were always so badly positioned and missed their timings, getting to the ball was always a problem. The Koreans were quicker to those balls, judged them better and moved them around faster. No surprise that the match stats weighed heavily in favour of the losers. They had 58 percent ball possession, 82 percent pass accuracy in their favour and 518 total passes to the Nigerians 271!

Constructing plays

There was no evidence that the Nigerians were constructing plays that would lead to goalscoring opportunities. The idea seemed to be to simply launch it forward and allow Asisat and Oparanozie to use their strength and pace to get in behind and shoot. It worked twice. They won. So there’s that.

However, this team is much too talented for such basic, easily countered tactics. They need to move the ball around, spread the play, cut back, whip in crosses, heck, even try to play combinations in the box!

Route one worked against an inferior opposition. Won’t be quite so successful against top sides.

“Today our discipline was better than against Norway – no mistakes at all. If we can be as compact as we were today, don’t let teams overplay us in midfield and find passes through, we know we’ll get opportunities for players like Asisat. The players followed our match plan and that’s all you can really ask. Now we go to play France, a really good team. If we can come out with a point everyone would be extremely happy. But you can’t just go to defend – you need to know what to do when you win the ball back. And hopefully we can have a little bit of success.” - Thomas Dennerby, Nigeria coach

GOOD THINGS TOO

It was not all bad. Honest.

There were many good thing the ladies did. 

For all the problems with the defence, one of the major reasons for the clean sheet was the centre backs’ positional play. Onome Ebi and Osinachi Ohale were always quick to read the play and get in position to make key blocks and interceptions. They will need some serious massage to get through the pain of taking all those shots to the body.

Then there was the aforementioned Okeke. For a youngster, her ability and reading of the play are excellent as are her defensive strengths. Only minus would be her distribution but the kid is 18, so she gets a pass. Especially after that perfect weighted ball for Oshoala.

The breakaways were also - for the most part - executed quite well. If not for a heavy second touch from Oshoala (and the way she covered her face after, says it all) Nigeria would have had a third goal after Halimatu Ayinde picked her out with another perfect ball, this time on the opposite channel.

WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN

Holding midfielders must “hold”

First things first. Someone needs to take responsibility for keeping the ball, even if the tactic is to cede possession. At least when they have the ball. Not giving it away cheaply.

The major reason for those embarrassing possession and passing (in)accuracy numbers was because the two holding midfielders (Rita Chikwelu and Chinaza Uchendu) were not exactly “holding”.

They constantly strayed too far away from the play and kept trying ambitious balls upfront.

This has to stop. One or both of them need to play the Mikel Obi role, maintaining ball circulation by dropping back to pick it up, and very importantly, be constantly available as an outlet for every player who has the ball. The other should also be close by in support on the other side.

An example of this gap was around the 80th minute, just before she was subbed when Oshoala intercepted a ball in the middle, held it up waiting for support. When none came, she passed blindly and it went straight to a Korean.

When the midfielders get the ball, they also need to keep it simple with short passes to the nearest person and leave the ambitious balls to the more advanced midfielder, Ngozi Okobi.

At 31, Chikwelu may not quite have the legs to do all that running, but she can pass a football. It might be a good idea for Dennerby to switch her up with Okobi.

Construct plays upfront that play to the strengths of the forwards

Play to the strengths of our forwards! 

Oparanozie is a great attacker of crossed balls. Deliver good, whipped crosses to the box for her to get her head onto. She is clinically accurate and also has the strength and skill to hold up defenders and link up play.  

Asisat Oshoala scores for Nigeria

Oshoala is quick and strong. She showed it in scoring that second goal. Play good balls in behind the defence for her to chase. But not all the time. Mostly when she can isolate a defender or two. Or play her balls out wide where she can deliver whipped balls to Oparanozie.

Tackle and win second balls

Players need to learn how to tackle, improve their timing and get goal side of the opposition. Running after balls when the players have turned and long gone is mostly expending energy.

To be clear, while he still has a lot to answer for, these issues go beyond Dennerby. Some of these are things that need to be taught over and over from a young age until they become ingrained muscle memory.

These were the same issues with u20 and u17. Even the Super Eagles are no exception and are sometimes guilty of the same troubles, but theirs is masked by the combination of outstanding individual talent and years of playing at a high level in Europe.

In the meantime, enjoy a first World Cup victory since 2011.

ROHR’S AXE, IHEANACHO AND OTHER MATTERS

Kelechi Iheanacho has been shut out of the Super Eagles

Such has been the consistency of Gernot Rohr’s squad and team selection that there was next to no surprise when his final 23-man squad list for the African Cup of Nations was released.

And while Semi Ajayi’s cut may have stirred a flutter of emotion from fans, the axing of Kelechi Iheanacho, expected as it was, cut to the quick.

It has been less than four years ago since the forward made a blistering start to his senior international career. Since then, his club fortunes have taken a nosedive. Offloaded by Manchester City, Iheanacho’s career at Leicester City has stalled to the point of stagnation.

For the first time ever, he was left out of the Nigeria squad for games last March, and suffered a public chiding by the Nigeria manager.

Even when he was called up to the current squad it was little more than a token recognition, and after he failed to feature in the friendly against Zimbabwe, it was clear that the deed was done.

From the high of being one of the most talented players of his generation, perhaps a future leader around which the team could be built, Iheanacho finds himself cut from the Nations Cup squad, and replaced by Paul Onuachu and Victor Osimhen.

It is a rude awakening for the forward, if he will take the lessons. Rohr agreed that he spoke to the striker, but declined to say what was discussed

“I speak to the players but our conversations are confidential,” he told me.

It is clear however, that whatever the conversation was, it would have involved pulling up his socks and knuckling down for next season. Moving clubs, if necessary and possible.

For a player of his talent and potential to fall so low in such a short time is as shocking as it is unacceptable.

Kelechi’s failure is not his alone. It is also Nigeria’s failure. To put it in perspective, Christian Pulisic is the poster boy for the future of the US national team. After a successful spell at Borussia Dortmund, he will now join Chelsea where his growth trajectory is projected to continue to stay on the upward curve.

While it can be a dangerous pastime trying to predict the future (Freddy Adu, anyone?), Pulisic’s foundational grounding and management means he is more likely to hit his expected heights than Iheanacho or most other African talent.

Looking at the bigger picture, the same basic foundational issues that afflict the likes of Iheanacho (a leaden first touch, amongst other things) was also on exhibition when the Flying Eagles stank up the joint at the FIFA Under 20 World Cup in Poland, and when the Super Falcons let in three goals against Norway at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

These are all symptoms of a much bigger malaise, one that needs immediate surgery and reconstruction. 

At the moment, there is too much of a dependence on the hit or miss approach. It is time to start taking a more structured approach to both identifying, developing and grooming talent for the long haul.

It is the only way we can avoid seeing a major talent gradually slink into oblivion, or two (and more) national teams display disgraceful performances at the international stage.

Otherwise, the only way is down.

ZONAL MARKING FAILURES AND OTHER TAKEAWAYS FROM NORWAY’S LASHING OF SUPER FALCONS

Norway handed Nigeria a 17th Women’s World Cup LOS on the back of three quickfire first half goals on Saturday.

Guro Reiten scored in the 17th minute as the Super Falcons failed to deal with a corner kick, and Lisa-Marie Utland made it two 17 minutes later when she flashed a fierce shot past goalkeeper Tochukwu Oluehi from close range.

The African champions were overwhelmed in the encounter and this showed as defender Osinachi Ohale put the ball into her own net in an attempt to steer the ball away as the Scandinavians again threatened from the left side of the Nigerian defence.

Asisat Oshoala rounded the goalkeeper late in the second half but with no support, skewed her shot into the side netting.

Here are some takeaways from the game

ZONAL MARKING DOESN'T WORK

First, let’s get the obvious out of the way. Whoever told Thomas Dennerby to plump for zonal marking at cornerkicks needs to un-tell him.

It is a difficult tactical plan to execute even under the best of circumstances, and with players who have spent months coming to grips with it. Our girls simply did not look not equipped to do the thinking on the fly that comes with trying to deal with that approach and it showed in the first goal.

Because everyone was so focused on staying in their zones, no one stepped up to challenge the short corner kick. By the time they realized the danger, it was too late and a crowded box makes for some unpleasant outcomes, as it happened.

They didn’t give up anything, at least not much in the second half, but it was still touch and go. And against France, who have the tallest defender in the tournament, that would be courting disaster.

It can’t be too far fetched to imagine the French looking at the game and rubbing their hands in glee.

BASICS LACKING

With that said, it is easier to list to a serial criminal’s rap sheet than the amount of things wrong with the Super Falcons play, especially in that first half.

Their passing was so tawdry, one can count how many times they completed three passes in a row on one hand.

Their touch, for the most part was about as good as Godzilla trying to control a felele ball. And they kept turning the ball over, especially in dangerous areas because they could not live with the high press from the Norwegians. When they did get forward, service to Desire Oparanozie and Asisat Oshoala was criminally inadequate. As for the crossed balls, the least said about those the better. 

Leaves one wondering what exactly Dennerby was working on all those days in training camp.

Admittedly, the basics should not be taught at national camp, but at least dealing with pressing is as much tactical as foundational. And delivering decent crossed balls should not be rocket science?

Dennerby has a lot of work to do. It is doubtful if a few days will be enough to resolve them. The good news however, must be that second half performance, which provided both positive and negative takeaways. 

On the one hand, restricting Norway to virtually nothing in 45 minutes is a good look. On the flip side, the fact that failed to create anything of note of their own is a monumental worry.

INDIVIDUAL ERRORS

As much as the coach needs to take the blame for much of the issues that afflicted the team, the players also have to take responsibility. They committed kindergarten errors all over the park. Faith Michael was too easily beaten for the cornerkick leading to the first goal. A failure to track back and contest balls, not to mention defenders being hopelessly out of position led to the second and Tochi Oluehi’s poor clearout to the opposition saw the ball come back to her for the third goal.

The midfield of Rita Chikwelu and Ngozi Okobi practically ghosted their way through the entire game and just could not maintain possession. Michael had to be subbed off injured after her second collision with goalkeeper Oluehi. That was just horribly poor positioning and lack of communication. And her replacement, the youngster Okeke could defend, but her passing was all o er the place. Francisca Ordega towered over everyone else in effort and application. But she was a lone wolf. Dennerby has a lot of work to do to fix his squad.

THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS FOR SUPER FALCONS IN FRANCE

Nigeria’s Super Falcons are one of an elite group of only 7 nations to have played in each and every FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament since inception in 1991.

Brazil, Germany, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the United States make up the rest of that rarefied group. Of that lot, Nigeria are the only team never to have made it past the quarterfinals.

It has been 20 years since the Super Falcons made their first and only escape from the group stage, and as they head into the 2019 tournament, there are expectations that they at least match that performance.

To do so, however, they have a couple of demons to overcome

MENTALITY

That 99 team was fuelled by determination. A mentality that they could win and that they had to win. The top eight sides at that World Cup would qualify for the 2000 Olympic Games and so they were determined not just to make the next round, but to qualify for the Olympic Games.

But first, they head to negotiate a difficult pool where they had been drawn with hosts and favourites USA, Scandinavian powerhouses Denmark and the emergent North Korea. Two wins - against Denmark and Korea - punched that quarterfinal ticket.

This team must also play with the same mentality. For too long, the Super Falcons have lost games before even stepping on the green grass, intimidated by the names and profile of their opposition. 

As a result, once they concede goals, their heads drop and finding a path to victory becomes all but impossible.

Now, they must shed that inferiority complex and go into every game with a winning mentality, a refusal to be intimidated by name, profile or crowd. They must confer on each other a mental strength borne of confidence in their own abilities and the work they have done to get this far. Norway  are beatable. Korea are beatable. France are beatable.

It starts in the mind.

TACTICAL AWARENESS

Previously, the Falcons have been out-coached and outfoxed from the bench. The USA and European nations especially, have found joy moving the ball around and then switching play with diagonal balls that would leave the African champions flummoxed.

Thomas Dennerby’s appointment was made largely with the aim of countering that.

Since taking over, the Swede has slowly implemented a change in the team shape, getting them to play more narrower and much closer to each other. While his attempts to create more cohesive play has not quite hit the mark, there were signs that they were getting there.

Goals were hard to come by at the African Women Nations Cup as forward’s Asisat Oshoala and Desire Oparanozie struggled.

But the players looked to have come back into form, and have been joined by the quick and clinical Uchenna Kalu. If they can get good supplies from behind, that fierce pace and power should count for something.

SET PIECES

Speaking of tactics, setpieces have always been the team’s Achilles heel, at both ends of the pitch. In that 99 quarterfinal, a freekick from Sissi in extra time condemned the Nigerians to a 4-3 defeat.

Since then, they have struggled to defend dead balls, just like their men counterparts.

Dennerby should hopefully have seen to that in his preparation, especially after seeing France’s abilities at those sorts of positions.

Their first consideration should be to cut out the fouls. Right or wrong, Nigeria have a reputation as a physical side at the Women’s World Cup. This means they hardly get the benefit of the doubt in any coming together. They need to play smart and minimize giving away free kicks in potentially dangerous positions. 

When they do give them away, the defending must be absolutely on point. This is where Onome Ebi and Tochi Oluehi need to direct traffic in the area. 

It will still be difficult times, but there has never been a better time to join that team of 99 in the Book of Legend.

BREAKDOWNS AND SCOUTING FAILURES: HOT TAKES FROM NIGERIA'S LOSS TO USA

Heading in vain. Valentine Ozornwafor's best efforts were not enough to stop Sebastian Soto/FIFA

Even as the Flying Eagles routed Qatar 4-0, the warning signs were clear and ominously present. The inexperienced Qatari moved better, passed the ball better, exploited openings better and carved the Nigerians open with ease that was at times embarrassing.

Their only drawback was the lack of efficiency in front of goal. It was clear that the Flying Eagles style would not survive much sterner scrutiny.

And the USA duly proved it on Monday. Here are three takeaways from the game.

SCOUTING FAILURE STARTS COLLAPSE

One of the most important things a coach does going into a game is prepare for the opposition by scouting them to the minutiae. Especially for a tournament where the draws had been made in advance.

Failing that however, the next best thing is to use the opening five to 10 minutes to assess the opposition, how they defend, how they attack and what weaknesses there are to exploit.

The USA played soon after Nigeria’s game against Qatar. Paul Aigbogun and his team had plenty of time to study them. They obviously did not.

Ukraine’s tactics were to sit in a low block and exploit spaces left by the USA when they poured forward. It worked. Aigbogun chose to start with a high press, which left yawning gaps all over the field. It was a gift the Americans were only too glad to accept as they calmly played their way out of trouble, and then pinned the Nigerians to their half, putting particular pressure on the fullbacks who had been the major attacking outlets against Qatar.

Aigbogun failed to react, failed to shut down the spaces as his team attempted to go on a passing toe to toe against a side as well-drilled as the US. The failure was spectacular. At one point during the first half, possession was 66% to the US.

In fairness to the Flying Eagles coach he made an adjustment within half an hour, hooking Tom Dele-Bashiru after a shocking error-strewn play. The Manchester City youngster was hooked for Aniekeme Okon, who brought energy and stability into the midfield.

At least we can’t say Aigbogun doesn’t know when to make a change.

NO BASICS

Aigbogun may have been quick to react, but he was also hampered by the tools he had. His players lack of basics was painfully accentuated by the technical ability and near-scripted execution of USA. 

They passed with crisp fitness, moved economically, exploited space and switched play almost telepathically. Their choreography left the Nigerians running around chasing their own tails.

When they did get possession, their touches were so heavy they could barely string three passes together before turning the ball over. Individual breakdowns littered the pitch.

Players appeared determined to forget that football is a team game, preferring to run into two or three-man cul de sacs when it was easier and more effective to pass their way out of trouble. 

The second goal was of such embarrassing simplicity it cold only be compared to a chess player falling for Scholar’s mate, an elementary checkmate in four moves. Four US players were involved, starting with the goalkeeper as they ran the length of the pitch without a single Nigerian player tracking within yards!

Thursday is not so far away, but Aigbogun needs to sort these out. Fast.

OKAY, THERE WERE SOME POSITIVES. . .

For all the hysterics that attended the game - and yes, said hysterics were justified - it wasn’t all doom and gloom.

There were a still positives to glean from the defeat. For one, the players did not roll over. Once the coach made the small but significant tweak of bringing on Okon, the midfield stabilised, Kingsley Michael became more influential and the Flying Eagles gradually wrested control. Oh, and they started passing the ball too! Shocker!

This proves that this team can ball, if they set their mind to it and have the right tactics and selection.

Success Makanjuola surely must have done enough over two games to have eared himself a starters shirt over Okechukwu Offia. And impressive as Tom Dele-Bashiru was in the first game, Aniekeme Okon’s energy, passing and vocal authority may just have nicked him a shirt for the next game 

Beyond personnel, Aigbogun needs to lay down the law on at least two things. First, players must stay tight and tackle to win and keep the ball. Two, they must look to release the ball as quickly as possible keep passes over 10 feet to the barest minimum. In other works, play as a friggin team!

Not a bunch of Messi-photocopies from a decommissioned copier