Segun Oluwaniyi

Bale is significantly more effective than Ben Arfa. At his best Ben Arfa is electric and nearly unstoppable, so his peaks may be higher, but Hatem has never shown the ability to be consistent at any stage of his career.

How prevalent is performance and drug use is football? The number of people who have been caught using over these years seems to be incredibly and remarkably low. My favourite sport is basketball and I am always stunned that a sport featuring power athletes who are repeatedly jumping and sprinting has almost no suspicion or conviction of drug use. It is similar in football. Considering the athletes at the top level play nearly all year round and the amount of strength, pace, and endurance required to play in the best leagues, I just find it difficult to believe that no one is looking for ways of improving unnaturally.

That is because he was at least 40 by the year 2000.

On the contrary, Bradley is arguably our best player. Bradley is probably our most cultured CM since Claudio Reyna, who I rated immensely. I always wonder what Charlie Davies could have developed into had he not had that horrible car accident, his career took a dive after it. His career looked on the up too - damn shame. My memory of him is from US-Nigeria in the 2008 Olympics. America had ten men for about 89 minutes, so we dominated, but Davies was easily the best player on the pitch and was terrifying. I thought he had the potential to make it at the top level, but the accident changed all of this. From what I understand, it is a miracle he is even playing, though.

That's half the point though isn't it? Players who haven't really made an impact after randomly appearing in a top side or looking s*** hot for half a season of so? Baba wins the Superbowl and gets grumpy. He can't handle success, let him be for a while... I am actually elated beyond measure, and will be doubly so if Nigeria win on Sunday. It does not translate through the internet. Anyway, let me join the festivities: Femi Obabunmi http://omojuwa.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Femi-Opabunmi1.jpg

This is useless. Nearly all of these players are still active.

Away matches during qualification are difficult regardless of the team or the continent. It is just one of those things about football. The United States and Mexico will qualify with ridiculous ease as always. Hopefully, Jamaica can sneak through. I know enough Jamaicans to know that every one in that country is completely mad and somewhat violent so it would be fun to have them in Brazil.

Hosting a World Cup is a great advantage once the tournament actually arrives, but playing all of these ridiculous friendlies instead of going through an actual qualification campaign is the worst possible preparation.

Is something wrong with your head? Why would you talk about these things before the final? It probably was Amokachi. He is our assistanct coach.

Ghana's penalties were horrendous. I notice Gyan didn't volunteer himself after the misses in 2010 and 2012. After Zambia last year, I'm not particularly keen on playing Burkina Faso in the final, but on our current form I think Naija are definitely the better side. Sunday will be a massive day.

Clottey's penalty almost as bad as Vorsah's....

VORSAH :lol:

The hair in this match is an embarrassment to Africa as a whole. Gyan's is disgusting. Bance has missed at least six chances to win the game! Where is Ghana's defence? Penalties now. Yes. I don't know if CAF has any rules on overturning bans though.

The referee sends Pitroipa off for diving on what should be a penalty. The standard of it has just been poor throughout the tournament.

According to Colin Udoh: Asked Emenike about his injury. Says 'I'm feeling good and by the grace of God, I'll be ready for the Final.' Bance off the line again! Brukina Faso are really pressuring Ghana here.

A fantastic match by SE. I am very proud of that performance, and impressed with our attacking verve which is something that has been missing under Keshi. Good performances all around, but Moses is going to be a special player, I'm happy England didn't want him. It is amazing that the team is now ninety minutes from a title given that they were 10 minutes from being kicked out by Ethiopia. Burkina Faso-Ghana is decent. Extra-time and it is tied 1-1. Bance just missed a massive chance to give Upper Volta the lead. The Burkinabe team is full of pace and strength. Not so much skill without Traore, but dangerous on the counter. Now they've had a goal disallowed. Ghana hanging on.

Ronaldinho, Neymar, Luis Fabiano, Paulinho all flew in two days ago from Brazil after having played domestic games. I don't think it's a matter of being f***ed to run around, it's more a fact of lack of energy and for Ronaldinho it's a matter of being f*** old and a c***. Why are you slating Ronaldinho? Your genius of a manager that you named your account after is the one that thinks its a good idea to pick him in 2013. Friendly.

Valbuena is a top footballer and always has been.

MALI GK-1-Mamadou Samassa RB-2-Fousseni Diawara CB-13-Molla Wague CB-4-Adama Coulibaly LB-3-Adama Tamboura DM-6-Mohamed Sissoko CM-12-Seydou Keita © CM-18-Samba Sow RW-20-Samba Diakité LW-10-Modibo Maïga CF-15-Mahamadou Samassa NIGERIA GK-1-Vincent Enyeama © RB-5-Efe Ambrose CB-22-Kenneth Omeruo CB-14-Godfrey Oboabona LB-3-Uwa Elderson Echiéjilé CM-17-Ogenyi Onazi CM-10-Mikel John Obi CM-19-Sunday Mba RW-11-Victor Moses LW-9-Emmanuel Emenike FW-8-Brown Ideye Off to watch the match. It should be a great encounter, but I think we are the better team and we should win. I just hope that the youth of this team can deal with the weight of expectation now that they have beaten the favourite.

I think the Americans should get the drunk old white man that is always calling the Ravens. Dan Dreddreff or something like that. He rambles on incoherently for the entire course of the game.

Rooney 2004 aside, Rooney has never been particularly dynamic for England. He has been a very good footballer since he arrived on the scene over a decade ago, but it hasn't translated for some reason.

I don't even think Ameobi is a particularly bad Premiership footballer. He is just an average one that is now rapidly declining at the age of 31 because of debilitating injury and inadvisable changes to his physique.

Why is he a donkey? Because we have replaced him with a superior player? The treatment of this guy by supporters of his own club is frankly an embarrassment and shameful. Incidents like this are why I am against alcoholism and do not partake of alcohol other than a few sips for public appearance. Even still, I have been in a fair share of physical battles. Luckily, I have been competent and/or sober enough to avoid being knocked from my conscious. Given what I read in the "chat" section of this very message board, most of you are hardly in a position to be judgmental regarding this sort of thing. I am happy the boy is alright.

Definitely just Suarez does this. Not every single player that has ever played football.

How and why do footballers take so much vicious abuse on twitter and continue to post as though it isn't happening? I was looking at Osaze Odemwingie's twitter as he was supporting SE during the game and every thing he's tweeted for the last week has received an endless supply of people either taking the piss out him or directly insulting his personal character. Why would continue to deal with this every day?