It’s difficult narrowing Super Eagles to 23 players, says Eguavoen

Super Eagles’ Interim Manager, Augustine Eguavoen, has said that picking 23 out of a pool of 30 players for Super Eagles’ campaign at the Cameroun 2022 African Cup of Nations is proving to be a difficult task because of the high standard of the players available for selection.

Eguavoen is currently rounding off preparations for the African Cup of Nations, which kicks off on January 9, 2022 in Cameroun.

Speaking with The Guardian on Tuesday after meeting with officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Eguavoen said some of the key players in the 40-man provisional list of players initially submitted by former Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, are facing injury issues, which is expected to impact his selection process.

He disclosed that he met with the NFF on players that would be invited to camp for preparations, adding that as soon as the team’s coordinator sends out invitation letters to invited players’ clubs, a provisional list of 30 players would be released to the public this week.

He assured that all hands are on deck to ensure the Super Eagles had a successful outing in Cameroun, adding, “The names of players for camping ahead of the championship will be released this week.”

Eguavoen, however, disclosed that camping in Uyo on December 28 might not be possible after all due to some players’ commitment to their clubs during the Yuletide session.

“We are looking at shifting the date of Camp to January 2 to ensure all players are in camp at the same time or better still, maintain the December 28 date. All these will be rectified in the coming days.”
 
On the rumoured appointment of a foreign coach to observe the Super Eagles at the AFCON, he said: “I saw the news in the media and I don’t really know anything about it.

“The fact still remains I am an employee of the NFF and still remains the Federation’s technical director. I was appointed as interim coach and I am ready to work with anybody the NFF brings to help make the Super Eagles a better squad and also add value to the team.

“The fact still remains the Super Eagles must be transformed to earn impressive results at international engagements.”