Super Eagles coach Augustine Eguavoen has thrown in the towel as the National coach following the failure of the Eagles to qualify for the 2022 World Cup billed for Qatar.
He tendered his resignation on Thursday, following the shocking elimination of the Eagles by arch-rivals, Ghana in the final play off for the World Cup.
Details later…
By Mike Oboh
Technical Adviser Augustine Eguavoen has called up Captain Ahmed Musa, deputy captain William Ekong, midfielder Wifred Ndidi and forwards Moses Simon and Kelechi Iheanacho in a Super Eagles’ provisional list of 32 for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 play-off round against the Black Stars of Ghana.
Also called up are goalkeepers Maduka Okoye and Daniel Akpeyi, defenders Kenneth Omeruo, Oluwasemilogo Ajayi and Abdullahi Shehu, midfielders Oghenekaro Etebo and Joseph Ayodele-Aribo, and forwards Victor Osimhen, Odion Ighalo and Samuel Chukwueze.
Leicester City FC of England forward Ademola Lookman, recently cleared by FIFA to switch international allegiance and former U17 World Cup star Akinkunmi Amoo are officially called for the first time, while defender Calvin Bassey and forward Emmanuel Dennis return to the fold of the three –time African champions.
2021 AFCON forwards Taiwo Awoniyi and Peter Olayinka, defender Chidozie Awaziem and long-time absentee Ogenyi Onazi are in a seven-man standby list.
The camp opens in Abuja on 21st March, with a 24 –man final list for the two big games to be released at a later date.
Nigeria take on Ghana in the 20,000 –capacity Cape Coast Sports Stadium as from 7.30pm on Friday 25th March, with the reverse leg set for the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja on Tuesday, 29th March as from 6pm. The winner over two legs will earn one of Africa’s five tickets to the 22nd FIFA World Cup finals, scheduled for 14th November – 18th December this year in Qatar.
FULL SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa); Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
Defenders: Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Leon Balogun (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); William Ekong (Watford FC, England); Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); Calvin Bassey (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Abdullahi Shehu (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal)
Midfielders: Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England); Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Oghenekaro Etebo (Watford FC, England); Akinkunmi Amoo (FC Copenhagen, Denmark)
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk, Turkey); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain); Victor Osimhen (Napoli FC, Italy); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Sadiq Umar (UD Almeria, Spain); Odion Jude Ighalo (Al-Hilal FC, Saudi Arabia); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Emmanuel Dennis (Watford FC, England); Ademola Lookman (Leicester City, England)
Standby: Chidozie Awaziem (Alanyaspor FC, Turkey); Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07, Germany); Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Taiwo Awoniyi (Union Berlin, Germany); Paul Onuachu (KRC Genk, Belgium); Peter Olayinka (SK Slavia Praha, Czech Republic); Ogenyi Onazi (Al-Adalah FC, Saudi Arabia)
By Mike Oboh
The Nigeria Football Federation on Monday announced the reconstitution of the technical crew of the Senior Men National Team, Super Eagles, with Augustine Eguavoen staying as Interim Technical Adviser while former Nigeria World Cup star and former U20 Boys’ Head Coach, Emmanuel Amuneke drafted in as immediate assistant to Eguavoen.
One of the most garlanded footballers to have come out of Nigeria, Amuneke scored both goals that won Nigeria the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations final match against Zambia in Tunis, scored the goal that won Nigeria and Africa’s first Olympic football gold medal in 1996 and played in the 1994 and 1996 FIFA World Cup finals, scoring two goals in USA ’94.
As coach, the electrifying winger qualified Tanzania for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt and led the Taifa Stars in the finals. He is a Member of both the FIFA and CAF Technical Study Groups.
“The NFF Board has approved a recommendation of the Technical and Development Committee retaining Augustine Eguavoen as Technical Director/Technical Adviser (interim) while Emmanuel Amuneke becomes the Chief Coach of the Super Eagles. Salisu Yusuf will be the 2nd Assistant Coach/Chief Coach of the CHAN team and Joseph Yobo will be 3rd Assistant while Aloysius Agu remains the Goalkeepers’ Trainer,” NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi announced.
The reconstitution comes after the Super Eagles’ outing at the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon, and ahead of the potentially –explosive FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 play-off round against the Black Stars of Ghana next month.
Sanusi added: “We acknowledge and appreciate the interest that Mr Jose Peseiro has shown in Nigeria Football during our very cordial discussions and have absolutely no doubt about his capacity. We believe that perhaps in the future, there could be an opportunity to work with him. However, in view of the positive performance of the Super Eagles at the just-concluded Africa Cup of Nations which has given hope to Nigerians and boosted our confidence in the present coaching crew to qualify us for the World Cup in Qatar, we have decided to accept the recommendation of the Technical and Development Committee to retain the Eguavoen-led coaching crew and strengthen it with the addition of Emmanuel Amuneke.”
NEW SUPER EAGLES COACHING CREW
Augustine Eguavoen – Technical Director/Technical Adviser (interim)
Emmanuel Amuneke – Chief Coach/1st Assistant
Salisu Yusuf – 2nd Assistant/Chief Coach, CHAN
Joseph Yobo – 3rd Assistant
Aloysius Agu – Goalkeepers’ Trainer
By Mike Oboh
Nigeria’s manager Augustine Eguavoen says he countenances a tough duel between his Super Eagles and the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 encounter in Garoua.
Tunisia’s campaign has been somewhat ravaged by positive COVID tests and the team only qualified for the knockout stage as one of the best losers, finishing in third place behind The Gambia and Mali, and winning only one of their three matches while losing the other two.
“I expect a very tough game against the Tunisians. Our group will not be lulled into any sense of superiority over any team here until we do the business on the field. Tunisia is a big name in African football and we must acknowledge that, despite the manner in which they reached this stage.
“We have watched some of their games and from what we know of them in the distant past and in lucid memory, they are never a team to take for granted.”
Eguavoen’s 51 caps for Nigeria did not include an encounter with Tunisia, but he was head coach of the Super Eagles when Nigeria upended the Carthage Eagles on penalty shootout in Port Said in Egypt 16 years ago to send the Cup holders out of the tournament at the quarter final stage.
“That was a huge, huge game and a memorable one for me. The match ended 1-1 in regulation and extra time and we had to go into penalties. We lost two of our first three kicks or something like that and then bounced back when our goalkeeper (Vincent Enyeama) stopped two of their kicks. It was a sweet victory,” Eguavoen said.
At the Al Masry Stadium on 4thFebruary 2006, Obinna Nsofor scored for Nigeria before Karim Haggui levelled for the Cup holders. In the shootout, Joseph Yobo and Yusuf Ayila missed as Chedli and Ben Achour did for Tunisia. Taye Taiwo, Nsofor and Obafemi Martins scored, as did Namouchi, Guemamdia and Jose Clayton for Tunisia. In sudden death, John Mikel Obi and goalkeeper Enyeama scored for Nigeria as did goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel and Hadj Massaoud for Tunisia, but after Nwankwo Kanu scored for Nigeria, Riadh Bouazizi saw his kick saved by Enyeama.
In dim and distant memory, Tunisia reached the final round of the 1978 FIFA World Cup African series after an own goal by Godwin Odiye in Lagos on 12thNovember 1977 eliminated Nigeria, but the following year, Nigeria earned the bronze medals of the 11th AFCON when Tunisia abandoned the match in the 42ndminute following an equalizer by Baba Otu Mohammed. Nigera were awarded the match 2-0.
In 1980, both countries tied 2-2 on aggregate in a Spain 82 World Cup qualifying fixture, with Nigeria proceeding after penalty shootout. In 1985, Tunisia edged their 1986 World Cup qualifying fixture 2-1 on aggregate – a lone goal by Okey Isima cancelled out with a two-goal blitz in the first 15 minutes of the return inside the Stade El Menzah in Tunis.
In recent and decent memory, Nigeria edged their opening encounter of the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations 4-2 in Lagos, with Jay Jay Okocha and Victor Ikpebe earning a brace each. In 2009, a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixture ended 0-0 and 2-2 in Tunis and Abuja, and in 2019 Nigeria won the bronze medals of the 32nd AFCON 1-0 in Cairo at the expense of the Carthage Eagles.
Their most recent encounter was a friendly game in Austria in October 2020, which ended 1-1 with Nigeria’s goal scored by Kelechi Iheanacho.
On Sunday at the Stade Roumdé Adjia, Nigeria will file out with three wins in three from their group phase campaign. The Tunisians were only able to defeat Mauritania while losing to Mali and The Gambia. Both countries are led by indigenous coaches. Mondher Kebaier will sit on the Tunisians’ bench.
The match will be Eguavoen’s 16thfor Nigeria across three stints, during which he has walked off the pitch victorious in 13 of the previous 15, with only two narrow defeats. He is also the only man to have coached Nigeria to win all three group phase matches at the AFCON, achieving this in both his AFCON odysseys in 2006 and 2022.
The usual in-tournament extra incentives – a practice entrenched over the decades – have started flowing in for the Eagles. Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has dedicated the naira equivalent of $250,000 for the team to win the trophy, just as airline owner Allen Onyema has promised N50million if the team marches to the final on 6thFebruary and is triumphant.
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele says the CACOVID (a coalition of private sector companies set up to fight COVID pandemic in Nigeria) will shell out the sum of $120,000 for the six goals already scored by the Eagles in Cameroon, and $50,000 (naira equivalent) for every goal in the Round of 16 clash with Tunisia.
Airline owner Onyema had earlier promised the team the sum of N10million for every goal.
By Mike Oboh
Head Coach Augustine Owen Eguavoen says his already-qualified Super Eagles have no reason to look down on their opponents or approach the game in a carefree manner when they take to the pitch of Stade Roumdé Adjia in Garoua against the Wild Dogs of Guinea Bissau on Wednesday.
Nigeria have eased into the Round of 16 as group leaders, with a match to spare, courtesy of the wins over Egypt and Sudan in their two matches and the combination of other results, notably Egypt’s defeat of Guinea Bissau on Saturday.
Yet, Eguavoen says his team will deduct nothing from their consolidated one-match-at-a-time and win-all strategy adopted for the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations, even as there is no serious pressure going into that final group phase encounter.
“It is important for us to sustain the winning mentality while we keep our heads on our shoulders. Just as I told the boys after the match against Egypt, we are yet to win anything here except points. Guinea Bissau need the three points because they have only one so far and we must be prepared for a massive fight.
“If we let down our guard, we could be punished, and that would not be good for the team’s psychology. We will go for the three points.”
Guinea Bissau drew 0-0 with Sudan in their first match, losing a penalty awarded to them late in the gane, and then fell to a Mohamed Salah goal in a match they gave their all and even felt they should have been awarded an equalizer that was cancelled late in the encounter.
“With a little more luck, they could have beaten Sudan and could have drawn with Egypt. That is the kind of opposition we face on Wednesday. Nobody will tell me they’re pushovers,” added Eguavoen.
Eguavoen, 56, is the only man to have coached Nigeria to win all three matches in the group phase of the AFCON since the country started participating at this level since 1963. He was head coach when the Eagles defeated Ghana 1-0, Zimbabwe 2-0 and Senegal 2-1 at the Al Masry Stadium, Port Said to sweep the stakes at the 2006 finals.
In 14 previous matches across three stints, the 1994 AFCON winner and two-time FIFA World Cup defender has left the field victorious in 12 matches, losing only two – the 0-1 defeat to Cote d’Ivoire in the semi final of the 2006 finals and a 2012 AFCON qualifier in Guinea that was embroiled in circumstances of uncertainty, which the team lost by the odd goal.
As he surveyed his boys at training on Sunday morning and thereafter entertained questions from the media, the former defender smiled easily at a suggestion that his team could end up playing hosts Cameroon in the final match, as he also was involved as a player in the 1988 final against the Cameroonians in Morocco that Nigeria lost by a lone goal, and the bronze medal match of the 1992 edition that the Super Eagles won 2-1.
“That is still a long way off. We are focused on the match against Guinea Bissau. One game at a time.”
The Confederation of African Football has appointed Kenyan official Peter Waweru Kamaku as referee for Wednesday’s encounter. The 39 –year old has a doctorate degree in Pure Mathematics and is a university lecturer. He will be assisted by compatriot Gilbert Cheruiyot (assistant referee 1), Mozambican Arsenio Maringule (assistant referee 2) and Moroccan Redouane Jiyed (fourth official).
The match commissioner will be Youssouf Guedi Guirreh from Djibouti.
By Mike Oboh
The Nigeria Football Federation has appointed Mr Augustine Eguavoen, currently its Technical Director, as the Technical Adviser of the Super Eagles on an interim basis. This is with immediate effect, and follows the termination of the relationship with Franco-German Gernot Rohr, who has been in charge of the three –time African champions for the past 64 months, and is Nigeria’s longest –serving manager.
Following a virtual meeting of the NFF Executive Committee on Sunday, it was decided that Eguavoen will work with Salisu Yusuf (Chief Coach); Paul Aigbogun (Assistant Coach); Joseph Yobo (Assistant Coach); Dr Terry Eguaoje (Assistant Coach) and Aloysius Agu (Goalkeeper Trainer). Former Nigeria captains Augustine ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu and Garba Lawal have been appointed to provide technical and ambassadorial support for the crew.
General Secretary of the NFF, Dr Mohammed Sanusi said: “The relationship between the Nigeria Football Federation and Mr Rohr has come to an end. We thank him for his services to the Super Eagles and Nigeria.
“We also want to thank the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports for their collaboration and guidance all through.”
Eguavoen, a former Nigeria captain, was coach of the squad when it finished in third place at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt in 2006. He was on-field captain when the Super Eagles lifted the Africa Cup for the first time on away ground, in Tunisia 27 years ago.
He will now take charge of the team as it begins preparations for the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Cameroon 9thJanuary – 6th February 2022, and until the appointment of a substantive Head Coach.