Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
Venezuela
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Dessers has final chance to bring glory to Nigerians after miserable season

goal.com, 25 May 2022, 06:42
GOAL takes a look at the biggest transfer news and rumours from the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and around the world A West Ham winger that has enjoyed a stellar 2021-22 campaign at club level has been rewarded with a spot in the Three Lions' Nations League ranks With UEFA expanding continental competition in 2021-22, there are now more opportunities than ever for teams to chase down major silverware

Whilst observers focused on the semi-final first leg encounter between Leicester City and Roma, bigging it up as the final before the final, Cyriel Dessers was making his mark against Olympique Marseille in the other semi.

The Feyenoord forward was the undoubted key man heading into that game with the Ligue 1 outfit in Rotterdam having netted eight times in Europe's embryonic competition at the time, one fewer than Roma's Tammy Abraham.

A brace against Marseille lifted the Dutch outfit to a 3-2 success on home turf, handing them a slender advantage going into the reverse fixture in France.

Getty

Both goals came at crucial points in the game, too. The first opened the scoring after 18 minutes, 11 minutes after failing to tuck away a clear-cut opportunity following Luan Peres' misjudgement handed the Nigerian a chance and the second, one minute into the second half, put the Eredivisie outfit back in front after they had lost a two-goal advantage.

The second was all his doing as he pressed the Marseille defence in isolation and profited from Duje Caleta-Car's under-hit back pass to score what proved to be the winning goal on the day and in the tie.

That strike set up Wednesday's decider against the competition's favourites and sees the two leading scorers in the competition battle with the Super Eagle one goal ahead in their duel.

Getty Images

Most of the attention has been on Mourinho's feat in guiding the Giallorossi to its first major European final in which he also became the first coach to reach the decider of a continental competition with four teams.

Roma supporters have had to watch year after year for the past 14 years without any trophy of any kind, adding to the importance of this year's Europa Conference League for the Serie A club whose last honour was a Coppa Italia title in 2008.

They are 90 minutes — possibly 120 — away from ending that prolonged wait for a title, and they would have none other than Mourinho guiding them through what would be a testing 90 minutes against Dessers and his free-scoring colleagues.

For the Nigerian's part, the challenge of claiming the club's fourth major European title is the goal and success would undoubtedly be welcome by Super Eagles fans who have witnessed setback after setback for several of its stars in the 2021/22 campaign.

While Victor Osimhen set a new individual record, scoring 14 times in Serie A, Napoli undoubtedly missed a huge opportunity to claim its first Scudetto in decades.

Getty

Luciano Spalletti's men were the form team heading into the final weeks of the season, yet they were undone by the absence of a killer instinct at key moments in the run-in to end the Partenopei's dream.

For Samuel Chukwueze, despite a decisive goal in the quarter-final of this year's Champions League at Bayern Munich, the wide attacker will not return for next year's competition owing to Villarreal's seventh-place finish in La Liga.

Rather than participate in Europe's premier club competition for successive seasons, or even have the chance to reclaim the Europa League title they won in 2020/21, the Yellow Submarine will have to make do with the Europa Conference League next season. A disappointment for Unai Emery's side who undoubtedly underachieved this year.

Furthermore, Terem Moffi's struggles to hit the heights of 2020/21 with Lorient was remarkable, while Emmanuel Dennis' relegation with Watford and Alex Iwobi's close shave with the drop stood out. Having said that, Rangers' Nigerian contingent likely ended this season wondering what might have been.

Getty

Joe Aribo opened the scoring in last week's Europa League final, but the 'Gers could not hold on and ultimately lost on penalties. Calvin Bassey was a standout performer in Seville, yet it was not enough for the Scottish side who also failed in its Premiership title defence, losing out to fierce rivals Celtic.

The aforementioned pair and Leon Balogun featured in the weekend's domestic cup success over Hearts, preventing a hat-trick of let-downs.

Indeed, Nigerian football fans will be drawn to rooting for Dessers in Wednesday's Conference League final. The competition's top scorer represents the nation's last hope in what has been a campaign of fiascos and near misses for the national team and some standout players across Europe.

The Feyenoord forward will not be a favourite in Tirana, but the unfazed forward will strive to show his decisive quality and put smiles on supporters' faces to somewhat lift the gloom of a testing 2021/22 campaign.

Top News

23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Moreirense and Porto return to action in the fourth round of the Taca de Portugal when they go head to head at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas on Sunday. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City have supposedly shortlisted Sporting Lisbon and Uruguay wide man Maxi Araujo as a possible signing for 2025 to address their issues on the left-hand side. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Looking for what would be a first league win since September, Sparta Rotterdam and AZ Alkmaar will do battle at the Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel on Sunday afternoon. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk In-form sides NEC and FC Utrecht will be looking to keep their momentum going when they face off against each other at the Goffertstadion on Sunday afternoon. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Fulham boss Marco Silva has revealed that Harrison Reed will have to undergo surgery to resolve a knee issue. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have reportedly identified RB Leipzig defender Castello Lukeba as a possible successor to William Saliba if the latter is lured to Real Madrid. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea have supposedly earmarked Ipswich Town frontman Liam Delap as a possible transfer target for the summer of 2025. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool will not take risks by using players who are not necessarily at full fitness against Southampton such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reds expert David Lynch has claimed. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk In a match that could affect both the relegation battle and the race for European football, Borussia Monchengladbach are set to welcome St Pauli to Borussia-Park on Sunday in their 11th Bundesliga game of the campaign. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Harry Kane continued his fine form this season to inspire Bayern Munich to victory on Friday night. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Holstein Kiel will hope to use their home crowd at Holstein-Stadion to spur them to victory against Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga on Sunday, as they continue their quest for survival. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Football fans will forever cherish the intense jubilation that comes with their team scoring a late winning goal. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides separated by one spot will go head-to-head in the Turkish Super Lig when Besiktas welcome Goztepe SK to Tupras Stadyumu on Sunday. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk After seeing their seven-match unbeaten run in the Turkish Super Lig end, Samsunspor will hope to pick up the pieces when they welcome Alanyaspor to the Samsun 19 May Stadium on Sunday. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Trent Alexander-Arnold is a major doubt for Liverpool's visit to face Southampton this weekend. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Arsenal hope to have Bukayo Saka available when they face Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this weekend. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bournemouth will have the opportunity to set a new club record when they take on Brighton & Hove Albion in Saturday's Premier League contest. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Steven Gerrard has hailed the performances of Liverpool's academy graduate Curtis Jones this season. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Reece James faces an uncertain future in football due to his ongoing injury problems. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea Women will look to maintain their 100% record in all competitions when they face Manchester United Women in Sunday's Women's Super League contest at Kingsmeadow. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will be looking to record their 12th La Liga victory of the 2023-24 campaign when they travel to Celta Vigo on Saturday night. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United will be bidding to make it 10 straight away league victories over promoted teams when they head to Portman Road on Sunday afternoon to tackle Ipswich Town. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has revealed that he will not make a final decision on his squad for Sunday's Premier League clash with Ipswich Town until after Saturday's training session. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has labelled Pep Guardiola the best manager in the world and "probably the best to have ever existed on Earth". 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Two places separate Willem II and NAC Breda in the Eredivisie table heading into Sunday's gameweek 13 meeting at Koning Willem II Stadion. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Premier League football returns this weekend, with the final international break of 2024 now being completed. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Jack Grealish has revealed whether or not he would ever appear on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Pep Guardiola has insisted he will remain Manchester City manager even if the club are relegated over alleged breaches of financial rules. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aiming for a victory to start Patrick Vieira's tenure positively, Genoa seek maximum against a Cagliari side one place ahead of them in the Serie A table ahead of Sunday's gameweek 13 match at Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Ruben Amorim takes charge of his inaugural Manchester United match on Sunday afternoon, when his Red Devils side face Ipswich Town at Portman Road in the Premier League.