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U-20 AFCON: Five Reasons Why F’Eagles Crashed Out

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Nigeria’s Flying Eagles
will not be in Zambia next year to defend the U20 AFCON trophy they won last year after they were shocked out of the qualifiers by Sudan.
After beating the Sudanese 2-1 away, the Flying Eagles on Saturday fell 3-4 to the visitors, who finished the game with 10 players in Lagos to lose out on away goal rule with 5-5 aggregate scores.
Below are perhaps, five major reasons behind yet another monumental disaster in Nigeria football.
Again, the U17 World Cup curse
The excitement of having won a record fifth U17 World Cup in Chile in November got the better of coach Emmanuel Amuneke, his assistants and even the players, who felt they have arrived on the world football stage after what they had achieved in South America.
They probably equated the demands of U17 football to what is expected of a team at a higher U20 level, where the players are a lot more matured with some even knocking on the door of the full international side.
Such thinking almost derailed coach Manu Garba last year, before he welcomed superior ideas to open his team to players outside those he has previously worked with at the U17 cadre.
The wrong assumption that there is not much difference between U17 and U20 has affected over time the appointment of the coaches for the Flying Eagles as well as the faulty selection of players for the country’s youth team.
Poor tactics
On a day the rains poured down on Lagos, Amuneke got his tactics totally wrong by still insisting on the boys playing his passing game on a waterlogged pitch, while the more experienced and bigger Sudanese chose the more practical kick and rush style to their advantage.
The Flying Eagles lack of size certainly did not help their cause as they always played second best to their opponents even after they were reduced to 10 men midway in the second half.
When it was 3-3, Amuneke should have shut the game down as a draw was enough to qualify Nigeria.
Is Amuneke really the tactical genius he has been packaged as?
Team not good enough
The Flying Eagles Class of 2016 did not have the quality and had they managed to advance to Zambia 2017, they would have been badly exposed by better teams at the AFCON finals.
Even at the U17 level, what got them going was their raw determination, the goals of Victor Osimhen as well as their conditioning.
The team were shut out from other players even after a much-advertised screening exercise as Amuneke insisted on working with only the players he tinkered at the U17 level.
This killed the competitive spirit in the team as players in Amuneke’s U17 pool were always considered ahead of those who were outside this group.
Team selection was biased and there was hardly a serious consideration for the physical size of the players especially in key positions like goalkeeper, defensive midfield and central defence.
It must say something about the quality in this team that after all the hype and expectations, only a handful of these players have since secured contracts overseas.
Goalkeeper Akpan Udoh was safe at U17 level, but was clearly exposed at a higher level, the team’s defence was below average, skipper Kelechi Nwakali failed to shine after he was named MVP at the U17 level and Osimhen could not reproduce the magic that fetched him a pro deal a top Bundesliga club Wolfsburg.
Both players, coaches lost focus
At last year’s U17 World Cup, these same boys had fought like wounded lions to make a name for themselves even when they had not received any allowances and bonuses.
Their character and focus were praised, but only eight months later, it was a different story altogether after it got out to the media that they threatened to boycott Saturday’s match over unpaid monies.
Attitude and discipline were sacrificed for immediate financial gains.
“They lost the game even before they kicked the ball because suddenly they lost their focus and drive,” a top former international told newsmen.
It was also understood that several of these players openly challenged the instructions of their coaches with Amuneke also angling to be Super Eagles coach after he was brought on board in an interim capacity for the AFCON qualifiers against Egypt in March.
For Amuneke, it was not about qualifying for the AFCON, but winning the elusive U20 World Cup in South Korea next year.
It is possible nobody really told him that you first have to qualify for the AFCON before you could start targeting the World Cup.
Inexperience and lack of exposure
At the U20 level, experience is a major factor and these Flying Eagles lacked it because most of the players are still with academies with not one of them playing even in the lower Nigeria National League.
It was only three years ago that the likes of Paul Pogba and Kurt Zouma helped France to win the U20 World Cup in Turkey and today they have established themselves at Juventus and Chelsea, respectively.
Amuneke’s team prepared for these qualifiers by playing mediocre academies around Abuja with their only tough test games being against the country’s U23 team.
Matches against Premier League sides like FC IfeanyiUbah, which could have toughened them and got them the much-needed experience and exposure, were rejected outrightly.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) would have done better by arranging for test matches in neigbouring countries like Benin and Ghana as was the case in previous years.
Probably, these big wins in their friendlies mostly at their training base deluded them into thinking they were unbeatable until Sudan delivered the sucker punch right in front of their home fans.
Culled from
Africanfootball.com

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Tottenham Fight Back To Hold Brighton

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Tottenham fought back from two-goals down to secure a deserved point against Brighton.

The Seagulls were second best for much of the match but found themselves 2-0 up after 31 minutes thanks to Yankuba Minteh’s early strike and Yasin Ayari’s powerful drive.

However, Richarlison halved the deficit just before half-time when he stopped a shot by Mohammed Kudus before slotting in.

Spurs dominated the second half but their finishing let them down as Richarlison and substitute Xavi Simons were both unable to make the most of promising opportunities.

But the equaliser came eight minutes from time when Jan Paul van Hecke turned Kudus’ cross into his own net.

Spurs then pushed for a winner as they looked to continue their impressive start to the season, but Brighton held on for the point.

Bundesliga: Kane Continues Goal Harvest (5)

Harry Kane scored his second hat-trick of the season as Bayern Munich overcame a shaky start to win at Hoffenheim and continue their 100% start.

The England captain, 32, broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time with a clinical first-time finish from a cleverly worked low corner, and doubled Bayern’s lead from the spot after Albian Hajdari was harshly penalised for a handball.

That broke Hoffenheim’s resistance and Kane completed his ninth Bundesliga hat-trick with another penalty, given for a foul on substitute Michael Olise after a video assistant referee (VAR) check.

This time Kane sent home keeper Oliver Baumann the wrong way for his 13th Bayern goal in seven matches across all competitions this season, adding to his Champions League double against Chelsea last Wednesday.

“Hat-trick Harry is what they called me in school,” Kane told Tidesports source after the match. “That one kind of stuck when I was younger.”

“Any ball in the box, whether penalty or not, I back myself to hit the target.”

Hoffenheim had the better of the first 45 minutes, Fisnik Asllani only able to hit the post after goalkeeper Manuel Neuer passed straight to the Kosovan.

They eventually got some reward for their efforts, former West Ham full-back Vladimir Coufal’s deflected free-kick beating Neuer to earn the Czech his first goal for the club.

Ex-Liverpool winger Luis Diaz hit the top of the bar late on as he failed to continue his record of scoring in every Bundesliga game this season, but Serge Gnabry added a fourth for Bayern with the last kick, converting a rebound from a tight angle after Baumann saved from Joshua Kimmich.

Nicolas Jackson made his first start since joining Bayern on an initial loan deal from Chelsea, but the Senegal striker had a very quiet game before being replaced in the 62nd minute.

In Italy, Lorenzo Pellegrini fired Roma into the Serie A top four as Lazio had two players sent off in a fiery derby.

The midfielder found the bottom corner in the 38th minute as Roma extended their unbeaten run to four games against their city rivals.

Lazio have lost three of their opening games of the season and had Reda Belahyane and former Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi dismissed in late drama.

Roma started well and Rome-born Pellegrini claimed the vital goal – his fourth in a Rome derby after being available for transfer in the summer – following good work down the right by Matias Soule.

But the hosts will rue missed opportunities as Boulaye Dia, Mattia Zaccagni and Alessio Romagnoli all had openings.

With four minutes left substitute Belahyane was shown a red card for a late studs-up challenge on Manu Kone.

Danilo Cataldi struck the outside of the post for Lazio in a last-gasp effort to snatch a point, while team-mate Guendouzi was sent off for dissent after the final whistle.

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Zidane’s Son Switches Allegiance To Algeria

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Luca Zidane, the son of France’s World Cup-winning playmaker Zinedine, has switched his international allegiance from France to Algeria.

Born just outside Marseille, the 27-year-old goalkeeper had appeared for France at various youth levels.

The move, which was approved by Fifa, may enable Zidane to follow in his father’s footsteps by appearing at a World Cup, with Algeria expected to secure a place at the 2026 finals in North America in their qualifier against Somalia next month.

Zidane, who is the second of four brothers, all of whom came through the Real Madrid academy, currently plays for Spanish second tier side Granada.

He played two matches for Madrid and has La Liga experience at Rayo Vallecano, but dropped a level in 2022 to play for Eibar before heading to Andalusia in 2024.

Zidane qualifies for the North African country through his father, whose parents hailed from the Kabylie region of Algeria.

Zinedine Zidane, who is regarded as one of the games greatest players scored twice for France in their 1998 World Cup final victory over Brazil, but was famously sent-off in the 2006 final, which was won by Italy after a penalty shootout.

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Man Utd Beat Chelsea To Ease Pressure 

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Manchester United capitalised on Robert Sanchez’s fifth-minute red card to secure a crucial victory over Chelsea in torrential rain at Old Trafford.

The first match in Premier League history to see two or more goals, red cards and substitutions in the first half was settled by goals from United skipper Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, who was the other player sent off before the break.

It was Sanchez’s dismissal that set the course of the game though.

The Spain international raced from his goal to meet Bryan Mbeumo as the striker ran beyond the Chelsea defence.

Sanchez then upended the forward outside his area rather than allow him past to tap the ball into an empty net.

Enzo Maresca’s response to the red card was to take off both Pedro Neto and Estevao Willian and, as Cole Palmer had to be replaced after suffering a recurrence of a groin injury, Chelsea had lost three attacking players in the space of 20 minutes.

Trevor Chalobah pulled one back for Chelsea with a header 10 minutes from time but United kept their nerves at bay to make it to the final whistle with their lead intact.

The victory was United’s second of the season and came in front of minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who gave head coach Ruben Amorim assurances over his future 48 hours earlier.

It also means Chelsea have still not won at Old Trafford since 2013, when Sir Alex Ferguson was United manager.

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