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00:00 And fans of the Super Eagles bargained for 3 points against Equatorial Guinea and now
00:04 it's a must have, in fact even a requisite when they face tournament hosts Ivory Coast
00:09 on Thursday 6pm Nigerian time.
00:11 Here's a preview of that game.
00:14 And my name is Aminé Shuthuman, this is an Up Next right here on Guardian.
00:25 And yes, shortly we'll start by reflecting on that draw against Equatorial Guinea and
00:29 joining me to do that is Organ.
00:31 Organ, how are you doing?
00:32 I'm good, very well.
00:33 And first, your impression about that game against Equatorial Guinea, absolutely is a
00:39 tale of missed chances for me.
00:40 Of course, of course.
00:44 I do not know what to say initially but you see, the point is we lost so many chances
00:49 and that actually cost a detriment to our 3 points.
00:55 So I just feel that we should be able to do much better in the next game.
00:59 And now of course, the Super Eagles face Ivory Coast next and you know what it is, Ivory
01:05 Coast are leading the group already and then don't forget they have a dominant midfield
01:10 because I really want to talk about the midfield now.
01:12 Alassane Youssef had a fantastic debut in some sorts and he was quite energetic, gave
01:18 us what we were probably given.
01:21 We don't know as of this time whether he will feature in that game, I mean he was stretched
01:24 off, not a good way to start your Super Eagles journey.
01:28 But then what more problems need fixing?
01:31 I know there are a number of them right off the top of your head.
01:33 Alright, I feel that Youssef actually gave his best but the pairing together is, we are
01:43 looking at a bread and butter thing here.
01:45 You don't give us bread and butter.
01:51 The blending of the game, I know that these guys have not played together for a long time.
01:54 I mean it was the first time, that pairing in midfield was the first time they ever played
01:57 together.
01:58 So I believe that all the clips should be shown to them and let them see what did they
02:04 do.
02:05 I know that Posero for now should have looked at it, okay what was my mistake in the first
02:09 game in my midfield because I believe that the midfield wins the game.
02:15 We are playing Cote d'Ivoire, the midfield was the best for them.
02:20 I was coming to the midfield that they have, we are talking about the likes of Sekou Fofana,
02:27 Ibrahim Sangare, these are established players in their teams.
02:31 Kese.
02:32 Kese, Frank Kese.
02:33 Frank Kese was not so much of a dominant force against Guinea-Bissau but hey against Nigeria
02:41 with that midfield, that pale midfield we have, it's a big worry.
02:46 I believe that we are going to have a difficult game against Cote d'Ivoire because of that
02:52 midfield.
02:53 Our midfield is struggling, our best player in the midfield right now is injured.
02:59 We do not know the result of the injury, we don't know how far it's going to go.
03:04 I believe that Nigeria came into this competition having more injuries.
03:08 We are a broken leg team as it were and Cote d'Ivoire they have a stronger team in the
03:15 midfield.
03:16 I mean these three players have the way they controlled the game.
03:22 I still believe that when we get into the game it's still the first game, every team
03:27 are putting trials, they are probably doing trial and error but we continue to try.
03:34 The more they play together, the more they are able to blend together.
03:38 Something that comes to mind really is how do you get to compete against the likes of
03:43 those guys?
03:44 The options we have, whether or not Alassane Youssef will play in that game, the options
03:48 we have is Joao Ribo on the branch and there is also Raphael Onyedika.
03:53 The jury is out against Franco Iuka starting as the holding midfielder but against an established
04:00 team in midfield, perhaps Seko Fofana, perhaps Ibrahima Sangare.
04:04 I'm not trying to make so much about these players but these are established players
04:09 who understand themselves better than the Super Eagles at this point.
04:13 How do you compete against the host, especially the backing of the fans right behind them?
04:20 I feel that right now or in that game the wingers might be doing more of the works.
04:27 They might be protecting the team, the midfield.
04:32 As it were, we do not even know what exactly is our coach planning.
04:36 We do not know because each time he comes in to different matches with different patterns
04:42 and we do not know what we are expecting next.
04:46 I believe that the midfield was open in the last game.
04:51 If the wingers can come back to protect them, we will be doing more of markings in that
04:59 game because of the kind of midfield structures that the Super Eagles could come up with.
05:06 And really we hope he gets the structure right because there was some questionable selection
05:11 in that game against Uketobe Guinea as ever.
05:13 As we've always had, Jose Pesero, Zaidu Sanusi missing a seater early on.
05:17 He's not really had the best of games.
05:19 The defensive pairing of Atruste Kong and Semiha Jai.
05:22 Kemeto Melro is on that bench and he's a very experienced head.
05:26 Probably the most experienced head in the squad and he's not getting game time.
05:29 But then we'll wait and see how that will pan out.
05:32 Last, just before we go, your predictions for the game.
05:34 I know before we already said perhaps the best we could get is a draw.
05:38 Do you reckon we could even get a draw or maybe overachieve and get more?
05:42 Well, yes, we spoke about Cote d'Ivoire's midfield, very strong.
05:49 But their defence, looking at the last game, their defence were not that strong.
05:54 But the midfield protected the defence.
05:57 And looking at Nigerian Super Eagles, we have the attack doing more than the midfield.
06:03 So I believe that Nigeria, if they are committed, if they are hungry for three points,
06:10 they can still go all out and get three points.
06:13 But what role, because we have to talk about Victor Osime very quickly.
06:16 What role do you think he'll have to play?
06:18 I mean, he missed some big chances and it's probably not the best performance in the Super Eagles' GC for him.
06:25 Even though he got a goal.
06:26 Yeah, I feel that the pressure is more on Osime in the last game.
06:30 But the whole team were looking forward to Osime.
06:35 They were playing all the balls to Osime.
06:39 That's one of the reasons why I'm missing Boniface.
06:43 Honestly speaking, I miss him.
06:45 But they will have Thierry Murphy.
06:47 Maybe that could make some difference, don't you think?
06:49 See, rat is a rat, cat is a cat, dog is a dog, lion is a lion.
06:55 You can't compare Boniface to anybody.
06:57 That's just it.
06:58 Thierry Murphy has been a decent option in the past.
07:00 Oh, like I said again.
07:02 Lion, lion, rat, rat.
07:04 We'll have to bring it to a close here.
07:06 Thank you very, very much for watching.
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07:17 Thank you very, very much for watching.
07:19 Gorgan, thank you for making it to the show again.
07:21 Thank you very much.
07:23 We hope that when we come here to discuss Super Eagles next time, we speak of their good luck against...
07:28 Yeah, three points all the way.
07:30 Yeah. See you then. Bye.
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07:40 (whooshing)