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Tag: Alex Iwobi

  • No Nigerian on 2017 Ballon D’or Shortlist

    No Nigerian on 2017 Ballon D’or Shortlist

    A 30-man list for the year’s Ballon D’or nomination has been fully announced. Names of the notable football players who have been outstanding in their club and national team made the star-studded list.
    Two Africans are also on the list butnone is a Nigerian.  Senegalese striker Sadio Mane, who plays for Liverpool FC, and Borrusia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are the only Africans in the running.
    Victor Moses and Alex Iwobi are some of the Nigerian internationals who have been outstanding in the year 2017 but they were not shortlisted as anticipated.
    Cristiano Ronaldo is favourite to win the Ballon d’Or 2017 after the 30-man shortlist was released by France Football.

    The prestigious award has been won by the Real Madrid superstar or Barcelona ace Lionel Messi for the past nine years.

    Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Antoine Griezmann form the chasing pack, while Premier League representatives include Sadio Mane and Harry Kane.

    The award winner will be named by France Football on 6th December, though there won’t be a traditional gala to celebrate the winner’s achievement.

    Victor Moses, the Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a winger or wing-back on either flank for Premier League club Chelsea was one of the most outstanding players in 2017.

     Another Nigerian outstanding footballer that missed the list is the Arsenal youngster, Alex Iwobi. Recall that the blues no 15 jersey man helped Chelsea to win the Premier League title last season and also to qualify for the final of the Emirates FA Cup.

    The 26-year-old also played key roles in Nigeria qualifying for the 2018 World Cup and was named by the Confederation of African Football in the Best eleven of Match Day 3 and 4 of the CAF 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

    English Premier League side, Arsenal FC, recently celebrated their youngster, Alex Iwobi, who scored Nigeria’s solitary match winner against Zambia in the group B World Cup Qualifier played in Uyo.

    Recall that Alex Iwobi was a member of the Arsenal team that won the Emirates FA Cup last season. For the past nine years, the Ballon d’Or has been won by either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.

    Ballon d’Or 2017 Shortlist So Far

    1. Neymar (Paris SG/BRA)
    2. Luka Modric (Real Madrid/CRO)
    3. Paulo Dybala (Juventus/ARG)
    4. Marcelo (Real Madrid/BRA)
    5. N’Golo Kante (Chelsea/FRA)
    6. Luis Suarez (Barcelona/URU)
    7. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid/ESP)
    8. Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid/SLO)
    9. Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool/BRA)
    10. Dries Mertens (Napoli/BEL)
    11. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City/BEL)
    12. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/POL)
    13. David De Gea (Manchester United/ESP)
    14. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur/ENG)
    15. Edin Dzeko (Roma/BIH)
    16. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/FRA)
    17. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/GER)
    18. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus/ITA)
    19. Sadio Mane (Liverpool/SEN)
    20. Radamel Falcao (Monaco/COL)
    21. Lionel Messi (Barcelona/ARG)
    22. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund/GAB)
    23. Edinson Cavani (Paris SG/URU)
    24. Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich/GER)
    25. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/FRA)
    26. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/POR)
    27. Eden Hazard (Chelsea/BEL)
    28. Leonardo Bonucci (AC Milan/ITA)
    29. Isco (Real Madrid/ESP)
    30. Kylian Mbappe (Paris SG/FRA
  • Arsenal celebrates Iwobi’s World Cup ticket-winning goal

    Arsenal celebrates Iwobi’s World Cup ticket-winning goal

    English Premier League side, Arsenal FC, have celebrated their youngster,  Alex Iwobi,  who scored Nigeria’s solitary match winner against the Chipolopolo of Zambia in Saturday’s 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

    Iwobi, who came in for Moses Simon in the tension soaked match at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium Uyo, scored the winning goal in 73rd minute to send Nigeria to Russia 2018.

    He repeated his feat of being the thorn in the Zambians’ side once again, having scored in the first Group B game between the sides.

    Iwobi  came off the bench in the second half to end Zambia’s  hope  of creating a final day climax on Nov. 6, only for  the Super Eagles to book a spot in the finals.

    READ ALSO: 2018 W/Cup: FIFA Congratulates Nigeria

    The Gunners celebrated the Nigerian on their official Twitter handle.

    “#BIG17 scores the winner as @NGSuperEagles beat Zambia in World Cup qualifying,” the Gunners tweeted.

    The club also congratulated Nigeria for becoming the first African side to book a  place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

    The club tweeted:  “QUALIFIED! ?Congratulations, ??Nigeria!

    “ The Super Eagles are the first African side to reach ??Russia!

    “This looks sweet for @NGSuperEagles fans!#WCQ.”

    The Super Eagles will now go into the match against Algeria with calm nerves, having earned an unassailable lead at the top of Group B.

    Nigeria have amassed an unassailable 13 points after the 1-0 win against Zambia who maintain second position with seven points.

    Seen by many as the toughest group of the continent’s five qualifying tables, Nigeria have been dominant, remaining unbeaten throughout and only dropping points  to a Cameroonian penalty in Yaounde.

    The 4-0 win a few days earlier against the reigning African champions was a spectacular  highlight.

    Led by the seasoned Mikel Obi, who made his belated World Cup debut at Brazil 2014, Super Eagles  will be hoping to better their Round of 16 exit from the World Cup  three years ago. (NAN)

  • Nigeria qualifies for 2018 World Cup

    Nigeria qualifies for 2018 World Cup

    Super Eagles of Nigeria on Saturday qualified for next year’s FIFA World Cup in Russia.

    The three-time African champions defeated hard fighting Chipolopolo of Zambia 1-0 inside the magnificent Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.

    Arsenal youngster, Alex Iwobi, was the hero for Nigeria, scoring the decisive goal in the 73rd minute of the encounter.

    Russia 2018 will be Nigeria’s sixth appearance in FIFA’s premier soccer tournament.

    The country participated in the 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2014 editions of the tournament.

  • Alex Iwobi: Zambia’s Nightmare

    Alex Iwobi: Zambia’s Nightmare

    Nigeria international and Super Eagles forward Alexander Iwobi could be one of the danger men in the second leg qualifier against Zambia if he makes Nigeria’s starting eleven on Saturday in Uyo.

    The Super Eagles players are already in top shape for the must win match as they had a closed door training on Thursday ahead the Saturday game.

    Recall that Iwobi and Moses Simon plays the right side of the mid-field and both are currently among the top shape 25-man squad of the Super Eagles for the 2018 World Cup qualifier against the Zambians.

    The Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Arsenal marked his return to the Gunners with a goal against Brighton this past weekend, and Zambia will be hoping that form does not translate to the Super Eagles. The youngster missed a few matches due to injury in September.

    The Chipolopolo still remember that the last time they faced the Arsenal starlet, in October 2016 in an earlier qualifying round in Ndola, the attacking midfielder sizzled imperiously and opened the scoring for his side. His short passing, direct running, and intelligent movement proved too much for the host defenders to handle as the Super Eagles ran out 2-1 winners.

    His return now, after missing last month’s two-legged fixture against Cameroon, will leave Chipolopolo cursing their luck and this fixture’s timing. Incidentally, that goal remains his only strike for the Super Eagles in 10 appearances, since making his international debut in a 2-0 defeat against DR Congo friendly in Belgium nearly a year ago.

    Iwobi’s partnership with Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho can bring the party home fro Nigeria as both players on and  off the pitch have developed this sort of telepathic understanding that defenders get nightmares about.

    When they play together, Iwobi is always looking to give-and-go with Iheanacho; his tendency to pinch into the middle complementing the Foxes man’s own inclination to drift out wide on occasion in search of the ball.

    Even without Iheanacho, Iwobi not only has the ability to link play with whichever central striker is ahead of him, but also to find gaps in defensive positions and thread excellently-weighted passes through them. Whether he starts or not, Iwobi’s return presents all sorts of trouble for this particular opposition.

    With Victor Moses, Moses Simon and Ahmed Musa, the Super Eagles are already spoiled for choice in the wide forward areas. Throwing in the 21-year-old Gunner just makes the competition even stiffer.

    With Chelsea’s Moses out injured previously, Gernot Rohr had settled on Iwobi and Simon as his starting wide forwards. But the Chelsea man is a dead cert to start, leaving competition for the other spot down to the other three men.

    Whoever gets to start does so knowing he has two more champing at the bit, waiting to come in, and mistakes will be harshly judged.

  • ‘Super Eagles going for outright win against Zambia’

    ‘Super Eagles going for outright win against Zambia’

     The Super Eagles spokesman, Toyin Ibitoye, on Wednesday debunked the news that the team would be satisfied with a draw against Zambia, saying instead that the team would be going for an outright win.

    Ibitoye said this in Lagos that the team would be aiming at defeating the Chipolopolo of Zambia in the crucial encounter in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.

    Nigeria is on the brink qualifying for the 2018 Mundial in Russia with an emphatic win over the African champions 4-0 and the reverse fixture in Yaoundé which ended1-1.

    Nigeria will play Zambia on Saturday at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.

    Nigeria got the first goal in Yaoundé after 30 minutes play through Moses Simon while Cameroun got their equaliser 15 minutes to go through a Vincent Aboubakar penalty.

    The super eagles had started the campaign in what many soccer pundits predicted to be the group of death in a blistering form with a defeat 2-1of Zambia in Ndola to pick their first ever away win.

    Goals from the premier league hotshots, Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho in the 33rd and 43rd minutes, ensured the much needed bright start, while Zambia’s Mbesuma scored in the 70th minute.

    Nigeria maintained the record when they defeated the highest ranked team in Africa, the Desert Warriors of Algeria in Uyo 3-1, courtesy of a brace from Victor Moses and a goal from Mikel Obi.

    However, the Gernot Rohr’s men can take a watertight lead on the summit of the Group B if they defeat Zambia on Sunday.

    A win means they will be on 13 points as against Zambia who will be rooted with seven points.

    On the importance of the match against the Wedson Nyirenda-tutored team from the Southern part of Africa, Ibitoye said the team’s management was leaving no stone unturned.

    He said that the Super Eagles Camp at the Le Meriden Hotel, was complete save the absence of Victor Moses who is been expected on Wednesday morning.

    “The camp is bubbling with the influx of the players, they all arrived early enough and they are training well. We are expecting the last person, Moses, who will arrive this ( Wednesday ) morning.

    “It is not true that we are contented with a draw according to some stories circulating around and which was attributed to the coach. All we want is an outright win.

    “At present, there is no injury concern in the team, Iwobi trained with others and he is 100 per cent fit as well as other players. The fitness level is perfect.

    “What we are saying is that the match against Zambia may not necessarily be a whitewash as we did against Cameroun.’’

    “The scoreline may or may not be the same but the points are what we need. Three full points will make us qualify in style,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • Moses, Iwobi absent as Eagles hold first training

    Moses, Iwobi absent as Eagles hold first training

    Super Eagles’ forwards Victor Moses and Alex Iwobi were among players conspicuously absent as the team held their first training session at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on Tuesday.

    The Super Eagles are preparing to face the Chipolopolo of Zambia on Saturday in Uyo in an all-important 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

    According to the official twitter handle of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the Eagles’ first training session saw a total of 19 players taking part.

    The two-hour training session began at about 4.30 p.m. and ended at 6.30 p.m.

    The players who took part in the training include Dele Ajiboye, Elderson Echiejile, John Ogu, Anthony Nwakaeme, Oghenekaro Etebo and Ikechukwu Ezenwa who arrived at the team’s camp on Monday afternoon.

    Also around were team captain Mikel Obi, Odion Ighalo, William Ekong, Leon Balogun, Ahmed Musa, Abdullahi Shehu, Wilfred Ndidi and birthday boy Kelechi Iheanacho who arrived late on Monday.

    Trabzonspor FC of Turkey midfielder Ogenyi Onazi, Olaoluwa Aina and Chidozie Awaziem who arrived on Tuesday also participated in the training.

    Two players on the team’s standby list, home-based Afeez Aremu and Ifeanyi Ifeanyi, were also part of the training.

    Among those missing from the training session were Iwobi and Moses Simon who arrived at about 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

    Chelsea winger Moses was yet to arrive at the team’s camp at the Le Meridien Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort as at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

    The Eagles are expected to hold another open training session on Wednesday, including two more closed sessions on Thursday and Friday.

    A pre-match press parley is also scheduled to hold at Le Meridien on Thursday by 11.30 a.m. ahead of the match on Saturday.

    Meanwhile, Onazi was quoted on the NFF twitter handle as saying the team would give its all to ensure victory against the Chipolopolo of Zambia on Saturday

    “We will give it all it takes as far as football is concerned” -@OnaziOgenyi #NGAZAM #SoarSuperEagles.

    The NFF also took time to congratulate Iheanacho on the occasion of his birthday on Tuesday.

    “Happy birthday @NGSuperEagles forward @67Kelechi. Keep shining!’’, the Federation wrote.

    NAN

  • Emirates Cup: Iwobi shines in Arsenal’s five star performance

    Super Eagles’ Alex Iwobi was on target as Arsenal ran riot in their first match in a four-team friendly tournament at the Emirates Stadium in London, England on Saturday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a brace from Theo Walcott and one goal each from
    Olivier Giroud and Iwobi, including an own goal saw Arsenal thrashing Benfica 5-2.

    Arsenal’s new signing, Alexandre Lacazette also made his Gunners home debut in the Emirates Cup.

    Lacazette, introduced to a huge roar, had few chances to impress in his brief cameo, but the French international is likely to start against Sevilla on Sunday.

    Franco Cervi and Eduardo Salvio were the scorers for Portuguese champions Benfica, who looked lost at the back following the sale of Sweden defender Victor Lindelof to Manchester United.

    Walcott started for Arsenal with Lacazette on the bench as want away forward Alexis Sanchez is not due to return to training until Sunday after Confederations Cup duty with Chile.

    But Walcott’s headline-grabbing show came after Arsenal fell behind in the 11th minute as Jonas set up Cervi to drill a low strike past David Ospina.

    Sead Kolasinac, a free transfer recruit from Schalke, made his reputation as a buccaneering left-back and, although the Bosnian was deployed in a back three by Wenger, he got forward to help Arsenal equalise in the 24th minute.

    Pressuring Pizzi into surrendering possession as the Benfica defender tried to shepherd the ball out of play inside his own area.

    Kolasinac saw goalkeeper Julio Cesar was out of position and chipped a cross towards Walcott, who volleyed home from 10 yards.

    Walcott bagged his second in the 32nd minute, converting a Francis Coquelin cross from close range.

    Coquelin then limped off having been caught on the ankle earlier in the half and Benfica equalised in the 39th minute.

    Ainsley Maitland-Niles squandered possession outside the Arsenal penalty area and Pizzi pounced to set up Salvio, whose deflected effort beat Ospina.

    But Wenger’s side regained the lead in the 52nd minute when Walcott’s cross towards Giroud was deflected into his own net by the lunging Lisandro.

    Giroud then netted Arsenal’s fourth with a volleyed finish from promising youngster Reiss Nelson’s pin-point cross and Iwobi made it five with a ferocious strike into the roof of the net in the 70th minute.

    In Saturday’s other Emirates Cup match, Sevilla beat German Bundesliga runners-up RB Leipzig 1-0 thanks to Wissam Ben Yedder’s 34th-minute penalty. (NAN)

  • Iwobi, Lacazette dream victory against Chelsea

    Iwobi, Lacazette dream victory against Chelsea

    Super Eagles forward Alex Iwobi and his Arsenal teammate and latest Emirates Stadium import Alexandre Lacazette will be hoping to hit target when they face Chelsea on Saturday in Beijing, China.

    The duo have been in super form scoring goals and posting impressive assist when not in a better position to personally score in the club’s on going pre-season  tour.

    The Arsene Wenger tutored side were hit by stomach bug which earlier ruled out some of the players but have now recovered ahead of the clash with Chelsea with Wenger submitting that any match between the two rival teams cannot be dubbed a friendly.

    A handful of players fell ill before Wednesday’s game against Bayern Munich at Shanghai Stadium, but Per Mertesacker, Olivier Giroud, Sead Kolasinac and Aaron Ramsey both took full part in an open training session at the Bird’s Nest Stadium on Friday.

    Theo Walcott, who like Ramsey finished the Bayern game feeling unwell, only watched the final part of the session from the sideline. Mertesacker and Giroud missed that game, while Kolasinac came off in the first half. Manager Arsene Wenger identified the illness as food poisoning in Shanghai, but the team has since changed the diagnosis to a stomach bug.

    Regardless, it should give Wenger a few more options when he picks his team for their final game of the two-week trip to Australia and China.

    “Today we had 21 players fit. Theo Walcott was not ready and I don’t think he’ll be ready for tomorrow. But there’s nothing major,” Wenger said.

    Laurent Koscielny also declared himself available after missing the Bayern game with a back problem. The French centre-back also took full part in Friday’s session to boost Wenger’s defensive options.

    “My back is better,” Koscielny said. “I had a little pain on Tuesday morning, so I did treatment. Today I trained and I was OK. Not 100 percent, but I’m OK for playing. So we’ll see tomorrow.”

    Over 50,000 fans were at the Bird’s Nest on Friday, with several hundred local Arsenal fans cheering the team on during training. Before his news conference, Wenger exchanged gifts with the local organiser, handing over a signed Arsenal shirt in exchange for a personalised Chinese stamp.

    Even though this is only a friendly, the Gunners are keen to maintain their unbeaten record on this tour — especially given the fact that their rivalry with Chelsea will pick up again at the start of the season. They play each other in the Community Shield in a fortnight and Arsenal then travel to Stamford Bridge in the fifth game of the Premier League season.

    “It’s a friendly between Chelsea and Arsenal, and that means it’s not really a friendly,” Wenger said. “There’s always some pride at stake and some London desire to have superiority.

    “We know each other very well, and it’s difficult to know how prepared Chelsea are, and how far we are with preparations but tomorrow will be a good indication. It was good against Bayern, and this is another test for us before the season.”

  • Iwobi shines in Arsenal victory over Bayern

    Iwobi shines in Arsenal victory over Bayern

     

    Nigeria international and Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi was in super form Wednesday as the Gunners survived an initial scare to run away with a 2-3 victory over Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in International Champions Cup clash in China.

    The Bundesliga side had shot into the lead less than 10 minutes into the match thanks to Robert Lewandowski who effectively converted a penalty. Bayern maintained their lead and looked good to walk away with a lone goal victory but it was last-gasp header by Iwobi that drew Arsenal level. The victory forced the game to penalty shootout that saw Arsenal claiming 3-2 victory.

    New buy Alexandre Lacazette started his second straight game for Arsenal, but was brought off at half-time, while Per Mertesacker was replaced just before kick-off by Mohamed Elneny at centre-back due to illness.

    After Lewandowski netted the opener, Bayern had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside as Corentin Tolisso finished off Thomas Muller’s flick on, but while the Germans dominated the ball in the first half, Arsenal did have their chances on the break.

    First Mesut Ozil could only find the body of Tom Starke on the volley from Danny Welbeck’s superb ball, before Starke also got the better of Lacazette as the Frenchman was released one-on-one from Ozil’s through ball.

    James then forced Cech into a fine save after being found in acres of space at the far post from a quickly-taken free-kick, one of 20 attempts on the Arsenal goal to the Gunners’ six.

    Colombian James, who joined Bayern on a two-year loan from Real earlier this month, should have scored after the break, but Cech was again down low to save superbly from Kinglsey Coman’s ball across the face of goal.

    Sub Theo Walcott had one of Arsenal’s best chances in the second half, forcing Christian Fruchtl into a save when passing to Iwobi looked the better option, as the Gunners changed from a back three to a back four after the break.

    They got their leveler with the last touch of normal time, Iwobi guiding his header into the bottom right corner from sub Ramsey’s deft cross from the left flank as Renato Sanches was caught in possession for Bayern in midfield.

    David Alaba, Sanches and Bernat all missed for Bayern in the shoot-out, while Ramsey, Nacho Monreal and Iwobi made no mistake as Arsenal took the points in Shanghai.

  • Nigeria 3-0 Togo Rohr salutes Alex Iwobi

    Nigeria 3-0 Togo Rohr salutes Alex Iwobi

    Coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has praised the performance of Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi in Nigeria’s 3-0 win over Togo in a friendly game decided last night in Paris.

    Iwobi helped Nigeria start the game on the front foot with two assists in the opening 17 minutes of the game, both to Ahmed Musa who scored two of Nigeria’s three goals in the big win.

    After the game Iwobi’s contribution was highlighted by the manager, who was pleased with the manner they secured victory over Togo.

    ” We really got going very early into the game. Iwobi played a big part in helping us build momentum from the start of the game”, Rohr told Owngoalnigeria.com.

    ” Togo responded very well in the second half just like every good team will do after going three goals down. We were dominant in the opening exchange. We have to keep the momentum going ahead of the South Africa game.

    FA Cup winners Arsenal were delighted with the performance of their winger Alex Iwobi in the Super Eagles 3- 0 hammering of Togo on Thursday, June 1.

    The Hale End Academy provided the two assists for both goals scored by Leicester City striker Ahmed Musa in the first half.

    Iwobi posted on Twitter : ”Delighted With The Win Today, Team Put In A Good Performance. Happy To Contribute With 2 Assists #SuperEagles”

    And Arsenal retweeted and replied him: ”Well played, @alexiwobi ”

    A former England U16 international, Iwobi made his competitive debut for Nigeria against Egypt in March 2016.