The interim coach of the Super Eagles, Austin Eguavoen, has modestly declined to take credit for the team’s impressive 3-0 victory over Benin Republic in their opening match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The victory marked a significant turnaround for the Super Eagles, who had endured three winless streaks in competitive games under previous coaches Jose Peseiro and Finidi George. Eguavoen, the Nigeria Football Federation Technical Director, was appointed to the role on short notice after Bruno Labbadia abruptly resigned from the position without handling a single game.
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Assisted by Nigeria Premier Football League coaches Fidelis Ilechukwu (Rangers) and Daniel Ogunmodede (Remo Stars), Eguavoen was able to guide the Super Eagles to a convincing win. Despite the result, the interim coach maintained that anyone could have stepped in and achieved a similar outcome.
“The players are always there. When much is expected from Nigerians, that’s when we see performance. We have the calibre and quality to beat any team but we respect teams anyway. Anyone can come in and do the same job (that I have done) it’s just the mindset because we have the potential. It’s just how you check out the opponent and give information and then they’d go out and do the job,” Eguavoen said after the match.
The Super Eagles maintained a clean sheet for the first time in six matches, thanks to a solid defensive partnership between Orlando Pirates defender Olisa Ndah and captain William Troost-Ekong. Interim coach Austin Eguavoen was particularly impressed by their performance.
“We’ve been training for one week. Olisa Ndah is not new to the team, he was with us at the AFCON in Cameroon, he’s worked with Troost-Ekong before now and there’s that synergy. Whoever comes in, we just give specific information and they just go out and display,” Eguavoen added.
