Ademola Lookman (brace) and Victor Osimhen gave the Super Eagles a strong start to the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium qualification series, propelling them to victory under Eguavoen.
Eguavoen has been left in charge of the team for the second time in the last two years in the absence of a permanent coach.
After German coach Bruno Labbadia abruptly resigned from his position and former coach Finidi George abruptly resigned, the 59-year-old was tasked with turning around the team’s dismal performance in the June 2026 World Cup qualifiers and advancing them to the AFCON qualifications
Due to the team’s bad results against South Africa and the Benin Republic in June, Finidi was let go, but following their strong performance on Saturday, Eguavoen thinks the team’s quality will always be there.
“There are always players present. Eguavoen stated following the game, “You know when much is expected from Nigerians—that’s when we see performance.”
“We know we have the players to beat any team, but the boys were unaware of the negative feedback we’ve been receiving.
Therefore, it’s not an issue for anyone to walk in and perform the identical task. That’s just how you think. We possess the capacity. It’s how you research your rivals before taking on the task at hand.
Coincidentally, Eguavoen’s clean slate started against the same team—the Benin Republic, captained by former Nigerian coach Genort Rohr—that had defeated the Super Eagles in their previous assignment.
Lookman’s brilliant goal and eventual lead into halftime gave the players and technical staff relief after a nervous first half that nearly finished goalless.
With seven minutes remaining in regulation time, Lookman finished his brace, and Osimhen came off the bench to double the lead. Eguavoen made the necessary adjustments when the score was still 1-0.
Nigeria had not won a competitive match since February 2, when they defeated Angola in the 2023 AFCON quarterfinals in Ivory Coast. This victory was their first in five games.
It was also a delicious kind of payback for the 2-1 setback suffered in the June 2026 World Cup qualifiers against the Cheetahs.
The former Nigerian defender, who stuck to Jose Peseiro’s 3-4-3 formation during the 2023 AFCON, also discussed the formation of the team.
We can choose to play any system since we have talented players. We talked about it, and I too had trouble sleeping about it. And I am confident that we can choose to play any formation and succeed because of the caliber of players we have.
Nigeria’s next assignment is to travel to Rwanda for their second series match, but it’s unclear if the former international and his gathered assistants would be given the team’s management for the upcoming international windows in October and November.
A few Nigerians have also requested that the NFF offer him a permanent position with the Eagles.
The last time I witnessed the Super Eagles perform well on the football field was during the AFCON 2021 tournament, which was coached by Eguavoen. We won all of our group matches but were unlucky to lose to Tunisia in the round of 16.
“We would be a better team if they hadn’t left Eguavoen until now.”
I don’t give a damn about your opinions on him or about his past with the Super Eagles.
Ibukun added, “It’s time to give Coach Austin Eguavoen the Super Eagles job again.”
“Austin Eguavoen is not just a leader, but a good technical director,” added another admirer, Edo Solomon. Even if he isn’t the greatest, he has repeatedly shown that if you give him the boys, he can get them as far as they are willing.
