The excitement in some football circle about Nigeria’s recent outings in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying series against Benin Republic and Rwanda is instructive, given the dismal performance of the team particularly in the 2026 World Cup qualifying series. Besides bringing some relief to a people, whose national team have gone through its worst times in recent couple of years, the win and draw in the last two matches have no doubt ignited a debate on whether or not Austin Eguavoen, who led the Super Eagles in the games, is the coach that the country is looking for. Eguavoen had led the team on three occasions before, and had been removed for unsatisfactory performance. That of course, does not suggest whether he has improved or not. What is probably germane at this time is the need for a stable coach for the team.
The challenges before Nigeria, to qualify for the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations next year; and the World Cup in 2026, are sufficiently daunting to make the authorities, including the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) and the Ministry of Sports adopt concerted efforts to choose a coach and task him with meeting the challenges. A coach on ad hoc basis, as Eguavon was recently subjected, is certainly not ideal; and indeed, may be counter-productive for Nigeria’s qualification for these top-rate international tournaments. Moreover, there is no suggestion that good coaches are scarce either locally or abroad.
Coming after the disappointing draw with South Africa and the first defeat in 14 games by Benin Republic in the 2026 World Cup qualifying series, Nigerians felt some relief that the Super Eagles are getting back to what they used to be. But the euphoria of those two games should not becloud the reality that the Super Eagles, with the abundance of talent in the squad, is far behind what they should be.
With Austin Eguavoen back in the saddle for the fourth time, many fans of the Nigerian team have started believing that the team will soar again. There may be nothing to justify that belief.
The truth is that Nigeria needs a substantive coach to plan for the Super Eagles next round of games, which begins next month.The ad-hoc arrangement of an interim coach, in the past, has not worked for the country and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) should learn from the immediate past, where the Super Eagles under an interim manager (Eguavoen) failed to beat a poor Ghana in the last qualifying round of games for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The Super Eagles lost the ticket to Ghana on the away goal rule, but Nigerians could perhaps have been saved the agony of having to watch the World Cup in Qatar from their homes if the NFF had employed a full-time coach for the team on time.
Nigeria needs a coach now, whether foreign or indigenous, to start planning for next month’s AFCON qualifiers, which should help the new man to understand and build his squad before the next round of World Cup qualifiers begin in March next year.
The NFF should not be tempted to think that March 2025 is far away.Experience has shown that a coach needs time to blend his side into a cohesive unit. It took Clemens Westerhoff, who is regarded as the country’s best coach ever, more than two years to get the winning team that conquered Africa at the Tunisia 1994 Nations Cup and became the fifth best team in the world.
This is the time for Sports Minister, John Owan Enoh, to intervene and ensure that the NFF employs a knowledgeable and willing coach for the national team to right the ship of the team permanently.It is shameful that since Westerhof left the country about 30 years ago, Nigeria has not been able to get a quality replacement for the self-acclaimed Dutchgerian.The recent embarrassment caused the country by the refusal of Germany’s Bruno Labbadia to take up the job after being publicly announced by the NFF to the whole world is enough for the minister to wade the big stick.In these tough economic times, the NFF and its agents should nottoy with the one game that makes Nigerians happy.
Nigeria is in danger of missing a second consecutive World Cup final for the first time since 1994 when she first qualified. The task of reviving the country’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup slated for the United States, Canada and Mexico is slim. It will take a special magic to reverse the situation and take the sole ticket in Group C from South Africa, Rwanda and Benin Republic. But it is possible. Nigeria must win all its remaining six matches to make that happen. And for that to happen, the country must employ a coach now to start work immediately.
Unfortunately, unlike the Westerhof era 30 years ago, when 80 per cent of the players that made up the Super Eagles were based at home and easy to reach, the reality of today’s football is that whoever becomes the coach must find a way of assembling his team from a plethora of players scattered across Europe, most of whom are not easily available for crucial games.
The task before the Super Eagles in the World Cup qualifying series is daunting enough as Nigeria is languishing in fifth position in Group C behind South Africa, Rwanda, Benin Republic and Lesotho. It will become more difficult if the NFF continued this pattern of drafting Eguavon to stand in the saddle a few weeks to every game.
South Africa, Lesotho, Benin Republic and Rwanda have shown Nigeria that there are actually no more minnows in African football. To assert its position as a giant in African football, Nigeria must be prepared to fight with all it has. That can only be possible if the team has a true leader to guide it through the qualifiers. Nigerianshave lost patience and much time in trying to appoint a new coach for the team.
Again, the NFF, which has said on a number of occasions that it is now 90 per cent financially independent, must find a system that guarantees that it will have the funds to pay whosoever becomes the new national team coach.
The excuse that it lacks the funds to pay any coach, whether foreign or local, should no longer suffice. Else, the sports ministry should take over the management of the national team coach, as it was the case during the Westerhof era, when the Federal Government paid and provided full support for its success.
