BY KUNLE SOLAJA

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has clarified the position of interim manager of the Super Eagles, Austin Eguavoen. “He is still in charge”, the NFF Head of Communications, Ademola Olajire told Sports Village Square, this Wednesday.

Austin Eguavoen who is the Technical Director at the NFF was drafted to handle the Super Eagles when the negotiation with Germany’s Bruno Labbadia broke down.  Eguavoen, a former Super Eagles player and later coach was drafted to  rescue the situation.

It was claimed that having executed the Super Eagles’ immediate assignments, his job was done. But the  NFF spokesman has clarified that nothing has changed from the initial announcement concerning Eguavoen.

“He remains with the team and his is an employee of the NFF which has drafted him to the Super Eagles. He remains there until the federation takes another decision.

 “He was surprised when we landed from our Kigali trip and I showed the trending news on the social media.”

  The Super Eagles’ next assignment will be on MatchDay 3 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers next month when the team hosts Libya in Uyo.

Hitherto first choice striker, Victor Osimhen was again benched in Nigeria’s second  match of the on-going Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series.

In Saturday’s match with Benin Republic, his having to start from the bench was hinged on his late arrival to camp. He came off the bench and found the net within six minutes.

 But on Tuesday, he came in much earlier in the second half. Another striker, Taiwo Awoniyi who sat all through in the first match was a late substitute in the game against Rwanda.

At the post-match interview in Kigali, Eguavoen said that the striker’s fitness level was put to the test after a difficult summer that saw a failed move to Chelsea and a falling out with Napoli.

“Osimhen is our brother, you can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. We know what he is going through in Napoli. He just moved to Galatasaray and has not been playing active football for a while now,” Eguavoen explained.

   “We are trying to manage his fitness. He played the last 25 minutes in the previous game, and today we had a word with him that he can’t play 90 minutes or else he will get injured,” he added.

The coach also addressed his decision to limit minutes for other key players, including Taiwo Awoniyi, stating that fitness and the need to balance squad rotation were key factors.

“Awoniyi had a few minutes at his club before joining us,” Eguavoen explained. “We have 23 to 40 players to choose from, but only 11 can start. It’s frustrating, but the bonding is there, and everyone is on board.”

On the team’s formation, Eguavoen revealed the challenges of preparing the squad in a short period.

“We trained for three or four days before the Benin game and then had to come here. It’s very difficult to change formation,” he said, noting that the limited time prevented the opportunity for tactical adjustments.

Despite the tactical and fitness challenges, Eguavoen remains confident in his squad’s ability to qualify for AFCON 2025.

Benin Republic came from behind to defeat Libya 2-1 in the second match of Group D’s MatchDay 2 contest in Abidjan on Tuesday night.

With the victory, Nigeria’s western neighbours now rank next to the Super Eagles of the group’s log. The Nigerians on four points and not conceding any goal yet remain atop of the group while Benin Republic with three points rank next.

The Cheetahs of Benin however have a two goal deficit in goal difference. They opened their Tuesday night game with their back on the wall as they conceded a 9^th minute penalty kick that was converted by Libya’s Faisal Saleh.

The Libyans carried the lone goal advantage to half-time. Five minutes into the second half, Benin Republic restored parity from a rifling shot by Steve Mounie.

They seized the momentum and got a penalty kick which Junior Olaitan converted. The match day 3 will hold next month as Nigeria hosts Libya while Benin, playing back-to-back at home will host Rwanda. Both matches will hold on 7 October.

Tuesday’s match results

Rwanda 0-0 Nigeria
Benin 2-1 Libya
Gabon 2-0 CAR
Botswana 0-4 Egypt
Cape Verde 2-0 Mauritania
Liberia 0-3 Algeria
Chad 0-2 CIV
Zambia 3-2 S’Leone
Guinea 1-2 Tanzania
Eswatini 0-1 Mali
Mozambique 2-1 G’Bissau
Namibia 1-2 Kenya
Zimbabwe 0-0 Cameroon
S’Sudan 2-3 S/Africa
B’Faso 3-1 Malawi