Julius OkorieThe ball has been pushed back into the courts of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to confirm Austin Eguavoen as Super Eagles coach or appoint a permanent coach for the team.
This follows Eagles qualification for the next AFCON in Morocco in 2025 with a game to spare on Thursday.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Eagles were held to a 1-1 draw by Cheetahs of Benin Republic in Abidjan on Thursday, a result which was good enough to earn Eagles a ticket to Morocco even ahead of the final match against visiting Amavubi of Rwanda at the Nest of Champions Uyo, on Monday, November 18.
The Cheetahs led by former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr who adopted Abidjan as home venue due to absence of a better stadium in Benin Republic, shot into the lead in the 16th minute of the match against Eagles in what was going to look like a repeat of their 2-1 victory last June in the World Cup qualifiers under former Coach George Finidi, thanks to a strike from Cheetahs defender Mohamed Tijani.
The Cheetahs subsequently went on the defence with intent to maintaining the lead and just keeping the Eagles at bare.
The calculation did not however last for long before the Eagles neutralised it, as changes made by Austin Eguavoen and his consortium of Coaches that also included Rangers Coach Fidelis Ilechukwu and Remo Stars Coach Danie Ogunmodede became the killer weapon.
Second half substitute Moses Simon made a timely cross in front of goal in the 81st minute which Victor Osimhen did not hesitate to nail with flourish.
READ ALSO :AFCON Qualifiers: Super Eagles Upbeat Ahead Cheetah’s Clash In Abidjan
Though the Eagles afterwards struggled to maintain attacking tempo in search of the winner, the match ended in a draw but that was enough to hand the Eagles ticket to the 35th edition of African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.
The feat achieved by Eagles makes the forthcoming tie against Rwanda a formality; the team topped the group with 11 points going into Monday’s encounter with Rwanda with Benin Republic in the second place.
Meanwhile calls are increasing for NFF to either confirm Austin Eguavoen as Permanent coach of the team ahead of AFCON 2025 or name a coach for the team with no interim attachment.
Recall that Eguavoen had been given two games mandate initially followed by an extension to oversee the remaining qualifiers which has now been accomplished even with a game to spare.
Many believe it will be timely to get that sorted out now so that preparation for the tournament can begin with a coach guaranteed job security till after the tournament and also considering that the tournament will snowball into the next world cup in 2026.
The 35th Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for Morocco will take place from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026.
Interestingly the draw against Benin and qualification for the 35th AFCON also emerged record setting moment for Victor Osimhen as he became second All Time Top scorer 23 goals for Eagles, with Legendary Segun Odegbami better known in his playing days as Mathematical Odegbami.
Other All Time Goal Scorers for the Eagles are As follows:
* Rashidi Yekini – 37 goals in 58 appearances
* Victor Osimhen – 23 goals in 37 appearances
* Segun Odegbami – 23 goals in 46 appearances
* Yakubu Aiyegbeni – 21 goals in 57 appearances
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
