Segun Oluwaniyi

If a 17 year old from Newcastle's academy did something like that in a league match, we would still be talking about, never mind forgetting if it was a first team match or not. Barca is just blessed with that pipeline.

You would think that means Ideye Brown (top scorer from last year) is probably off to one of the bigger leagues in Europe. Belhanda is a top class talent too. They should challenge Shakhtar more strongly this year.

Thought the game was pretty dire, apart from the FKs. Understandable given that neither side bar maybe Cavani gave a s***. >3 goals=good game to most football supporters. I don't really understand why.

McManaman and McClean have had an almost identical first season. and thus should be compared? Mcmanaman is a completely different type of winger than McClean. The reason Mcclean has been "found out" is because he is very one paced (quick, but poor change of pace/acceleration) and lacks the technical ability to get himself into threatening positions when he is man marked and shown onto his wrong foot. Essentially, he is a poor footballer with one or two decent skills. I don't think Collum has those deficiencies in his game. Infact, it is much the opposite for both and he is quicker and much trickier player, imo. To be fair, I didn't see much of James when he was meant to be a top prospect, but I just see any dynamism in his game. Reminds me of James Milner on his worst day.

Comparing Mcmanaman to McClean is like comparing Drogba to Ade Akinbiyi. I'm being facetious obviously, but the Mcclean to Mcmanaman comparisons are almost as lazy as the black, strong, fast African striker comparisons. I've already seen far mar from him than McClean, who I never rated. 7 million pounds is nothing for a young English player and frankly I think we should be interested of that is the sort of bid necessary to bring him here. Him and Haidara can live together and bond over the struggles of young life.

I definitely agree with this. Spain have some sort of juju around their goal. It incredible how many fantastic chances have been missed against them in the past two matches. They have looked nothing like the side that are champions three times over. I know this tournament is of less import, but the Spain sides of 2010 and 2012 especially were very defensively oriented. They have not allowed a goal in the knockout stages of any of the last three major tournaments, and in 2010 and 2012 it is hard to remember them conceding chances. Alba especially looks so frail on the counter. Is the absence of Xabi that crucial? We only play with one DM without Xabi (Martínez could easily fill in though). Thing is, that when Alba runs forward, Busquets is the one that covers, either by him moving to the left, or filling in as CB while Piqué drifts to the left. Either way he leaves a hole in the center that Alonso would usually cover. To be frank, I'm enjoying our matches more this way. I don't care that much about this tin cup, and I expect VDB going back to his usual more conservative self for the real cup. I usually find Spain in big tournaments to be sleep inducing, so the matches here have been an extremely enjoyable surprise. I can see why he approaches games that way though. Such an open style combined with a lack of a clinical finisher upfront and defensively questionable full backs is a bad recipe and extenuates the team's few flaws rather than their many strengths.

I definitely agree with this. Spain have some sort of juju around their goal. It incredible how many fantastic chances have been missed against them in the past two matches. They have looked nothing like the side that are champions three times over. I know this tournament is of less import, but the Spain sides of 2010 and 2012 especially were very defensively oriented. They have not allowed a goal in the knockout stages of any of the last three major tournaments, and in 2010 and 2012 it is hard to remember them conceding chances. Alba especially looks so frail on the counter. Is the absence of Xabi that crucial?

The problem is that Cech is still too good to just get rid of, especially as he is one of the faces of the club and the leaders of the team. I actually think he might be the better keeper for a few more seasons.

Maybe half of that. The other half was Liverpool cancelling the fee of a player that Portsmouth had previously bought from them as their club was heading towards financial ruin.

Moyes's first signing. Captains his country from the bench. Marvelous player.

No, the qualification is the same as now, except there are eight extra spots. 24 spots are automatically guaranteed entry to the group stages. This will be done based on continental distribution and the rankings within that continent (the top 3 ranked CAF qualifiers, top 7 ranked UEFA qualifiers, etc.) The remaining 16 sides have a playoff to be inserted to already decided groups. I want to be the biggest man here.

Do it with gusto in Germany n all. Sounds class but everyone has to be on board, they tried and failed with it at Arsenal. Arsenal did it when I went to watch them against OM at the Emirates. It was atrocious. GERVIN....HOOOO!! I was laughing at them. Their support was very poor anyway, maybe because it was a European match and not the usual supporters.

They should keep the one that qualifies for the Confederations Cup and consolidate the other tournament into a new 16 team Copa America featuring the ten members of the South American federation and the six teams that makes up the last round of North American World Cup qualification. Also, the World Cup should move to 40 teams, with 24 sides (a certain number from each Confederation, maybe the highest ranked teams from that federation in addition to the host) given automatic passage to the group stage and the remaining 16 made to play single match knockout games to determine the remaining 8 places, whose placement in the group shall be decided beforehand. More nations, more knockout football, more excitement, longer World Cup. I am a revolutionary.

They all live and train in Moscow don't they? Fly in with armoured guards on match days. Sounds like a treat What, living in Moscow and being paid in blank cheques? Sounds good to me. I wouldn't want to be an African in Moscow either.

You don't need to be perfect to win a World Cup. All that is required is high level talent, cohesiveness, and luck. Look at Italy 2006, France 2006, Netherlands 2010 and tell me that these are sides without major deficiencies. One won the cup and the other two came as close as you possibly can without doing so. Brazil are one of about ten teams that have enough of these things to consider themselves top contenders. Many more sides potentially will have enough of those elements to make knockout stage runs. This is what makes international tournaments exciting, especially in the modern era where there should not be any truly weak sides unless we see Jordan/Uzbekistan win the playoff, the Oceanic side winning its playoff, or upsets in African and North American qualifying. If you factor in the home advantage for Brazil, I think they must be considered second favourites at this time.

Ten years ago today, Marc Vivien Foé collapsed in the centre circle during a Confederations Cup semifinal and was taken from this world less than an hour later. Though I was only 13 at the time, I vividly remember watching that match and seeing the replays of Foe as he lied on the pitch. What struck me at the time was his eyes. They were lifeless, as though his soul had already left. You hoped he would recover, but from the moment you saw his eyes you knew that the situation was incredibly serious. However, those we have lost should not be remembered for the nature of their demise, but the nature of how they lived. Foé was like so many of the players from the Cameroon sides of the late 90s and early 2000's in that he truly embodied the form of an Indomitable Lion through his sheer physicality, aggressiveness and sheer will. That was a great team and they inflicted one of our greatest defeats in the 2000 ACN final in Lagos. I recall Foé missing a kick to give them the title, but it was still theirs in the end. It was a dominant side that inspire respect much more than hatred from bitter rivals, and Marc was one of the catalysts. I just really cannot fathom that it was ten years ago. This makes me feel old in the sense of how much time has passed, but at the same time makes me feel young because it seems like it happened last week. From all that I saw of him as a player, and all that we have learned about the generosity of his personal life posthumously, it is just a shame that we only given twenty-eight years of him. I hope he is resting well. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IZXAMfIUWFs/SDE4i1R0tYI/AAAAAAAAAkk/CD7H-6oGlf8/s400/Marc+Vivien+Foe.jpg

One of the better politicians we have nowadays. Everything he says is about as spot on as it could be. I understand why everyone is protesting now.

I don't know how anyone's seen enough of him to think that he "always" does anything. The guy has barely played for us. About 5 starts in three years (most of which were in the cup against poor teams) and a myriad of 10-20 minutes substitute appearances that probably add up to only 1 or 2 matches. It has just been a waste of time for him and a waste of money for Newcastle United.

Disagree with the first statement nearly as much as I disagree about Brazils strikers being better than Germany and Spain's. Fabregas has become very underrated recently too. I'm going to be honest, I only made the first statement as a conversation starter for the rest of you to discuss to my enjoyment. I'm weak at the knees for big, physical midfielders, I know. It can't be helped at this point. I think Javi Martinez is a more complete player in a vacuum (outside of the Barca-created midfield of Spain) than Busquets and can slide into the same role without much fuss at all. Fabregas played a very different role in England in Mata, but I still think what the little boy at Chelsea accomplished the past two seasons is above anything Fab did, even at the height of his powers. He hasn't shown that form for three years anyway. I'd echo the sentiment of wanting to see him back in central midfielders. He's not a striker, #10, or a winger despite where he's been playing.

Harsh. How anyone could watch that game, and claim Nigeria were awful is beyond me. Our finishing was in fact worse than awful, but we made the game a worthy spectacle. Thought we played really well, and had just as many chances if not more in fact. Clown analysis bro. Calm down. The team fought well and a few players (Mikel Obi, Musa, Ambrose, Uwa) were class, but the defence was leaking, Obi had to do the work of three players in the centre, and we lacked simple tachnique going forward. Oboabona is clearly the future, but is still inexperienced and the other guy played hard but clearly isn't good enough. You say the finishing wasn't good enough, but those are the players Keshi made his bed with. He has to deal with that now. I think Moses, Emenike, Ideye, and Musa (as an impact sub) are serious players, but that's only four and injuries happen. That might happen for the next qualifiers and the World Cup (if we make it) too. When has Naija ever not been young? We make a new team every 2-3 years, man, Javi Martinez is better than both Busquets and Xabi Alonso, btw. I don't understand how he doesn't get a spot. Mata is a better player than Fabregas or Silva too.

We just SMASHED Cuba. They could not handle our brilliance. Now all that is needed is to beat South Korea, and with no Yakubu in sight, that should be easy.

Nobody had gotten the better of Barcelona, who are a better side than Spain, either. Spain's weaknesses have always been pretty clear to see. I just think they'll run into a match during the knockout stages of the next WC where their strikers misfire and the other team wins the ball enough in the middle to sustain attack and gets behind the fullbacks when they win the ball.

I don't know whether it will happen in this tournament or the next, but someone is eventually going to absolutely punish Spain on the counter. Their fullbacks are really quite irresponsible, and Alba especially doesn't seem comfortable having to defend. In terms of their midfield the hard part is actually winning the ball because of their insane pressing. Once you have it there is almost always space in front of you. We didn't have the quality, but Spain, Germany, and Brazil definitely will.

What the hell is Mohammed Gambo doing in our colours? I'm sick of Keshi putting useless players in his team, so he can sell them to Europe. I can excuse Ideye, most of his were half chances, but Gambo simply had to score. The team brought has so little quality upfront. It is inexcusable we didn't take any of our chances. I can only pray this is the impetus for him to drop these "youngsters" and local players he has on reserve upfront and bring in some actual depth upfront and wide. You cannot just rely on Moses/Emenike and not find anyone else. I mean we scored 7 in three matches and should have had 25 . Still, we were alright. Musa burned Alba more than once, Obi was once again a giant. Uwa and Ambrose were both pretty decent. A word for Obobona and Egwueke as well. They play for Sunshine Stars and Warri Wolves, so this was a massive test. Both defended very well, though there was some naivety in their defending as you'd expect. Oboabona needs to go to Europe right now, because he has all the talent and tools but needs a deeper understanding of the game to fulfill it.

This has been a fantastic match thus far. I think Keshi wanted to team to approach Spain defensively like any other team would, but when Spain scored on their first attack we just abandoned that and started playing how we always play. They could have had 5 goals, but we also should have definitely had one and could have gotten two or three with better finishing. I wish we had Emenike and Moses today because the latter especially would really trouble their defence when we broke. Mikel Obi and Musa are balling though, it must be said. I'm impressed so far, when I expected to be depressed.