Tag: Super Eagles

Nigeria’s quest for a fourth appearance at the African Nations Championship is being taken seriously by players invited to the camp of the Super Eagles B, who continue to sweat it out at the exquisite Remo Stars’ Sports Institute in Ikenne-Remo, Ogun State.

A total of 30 players were assembled last week at the impressive facility, as the Eagles prepare for a potentially-explosive home-and-away qualifying fixture against the Black Galaxies of Ghana.

Only the Enyimba FC duo of goalkeeper Henry Ozoemena and defender Imo Obot were excused, as the two are seen as pivotal to the People’s Elephant’s ongoing campaign in the group phase of the CAF Confederation Cup. Ozoemena was particularly brilliant in Enyimba FC’s encounter against Zamalek FC of Egypt in Uyo on Sunday, with a dozen big saves that enabled the Aba giants to earn a 2-2 draw.

Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2009, 2011, 2021 and 2023 finals of the competition exclusively reserved for players plying their trade in the domestic Leagues of their countries and possessing permanent contracts. However, appearances in 2014 (in South Africa) and 2018 (in Morocco) saw the Super Eagles mount the podium, with bronze medals in the former and silver medals in the latter. The 2016 campaign in Rwanda ended at the group stage.

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Coaches Daniel Ogunmodede and Fidelis Ikechukwu have been working over-time with the players as the countdown begins to the first leg, scheduled for the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, 22nd December.

In two of the four previous times that the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the competition popularly called CHAN, Ghana was the bogey team. In the qualifiers for the inaugural edition in Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria took a 2-0 first half lead in Accra, only to eventually lose the match 2-3. The return at the UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar ended scoreless.

In the qualifiers for the last edition hosted by Algeria, Ghana won 2-0 at home and lost by the same margin in Abuja, only to snatch the ticket after a penalty shootout.

Togo ensured Nigeria’s absence from the 2021 finals, with the Hawks gaining a 4-1 win in Togo. A 2-0 win in Lagos by Nigeria was not enough to overturn the advantage.

Apart from the intense rivalry with Ghana on the field of play, the Super Eagles B see this month’s qualifying fixture as an opportunity to regain their pride of place in the hearts of Nigerian ball fans, having missed two consecutive editions of the CHAN.

Following a  run of poor results  this month,  the Super Eagles  have dropped eight places in the latest ranking released yesterday  by the world soccer ruling body, FIFA.

The Super Eagles have paid dearly for a poor run in the final hurdle of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers that fetched them a miserable point out of a possible six points by crashing in the FIFA Ranking.

The  interim coach Austin Eguavoen-led side  forced Benin to a 1-1 draw in Abidjan, before they were upset 2-1 by lowly Rwanda in Uyo to bring to an end their AFCON qualifying campaign.

Read Also: NFF congratulates Felix Owolabi on 70th anniversary

Thankfully, they have already booked their ticket to Morocco 2025 before those two matches.

They are now 44th in the rankings on account of these results, crashing eight places down from 36th at the previous ratings.

Nigeria also slipped to fifth best team in Africa behind leaders Morocco who  maintained top position on  the continent, with Senegal, Algeria and Egypt in second, third and fourth position respectively.

Theirs  is regarded as  the ‘golden generation’ of Nigerian footballers for their dominant display that culminated  in winning  the  country’s second Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title  at Tunisia 1994 and significantly qualifying for the  USA 1994 FIFA World Cup. Following their retirement  from the game that brought them fame and fortune, many of the 1994 Class of Super Eagles  have since turned their full attention to coaching .

From late ‘Big Boss’ Stephen Keshi to Austin Eguavoen to Samson Siasia and Sunday Oliseh  who have served turns  with  Nigeria Men’s National Team, the Super Eagles, there is a new band  from the 1994 Class of Super Eagles  that is holding their own forte in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL). TUNDE LIADI  here  recounts the achievements  of  those  who had previously handled the  Super Eagles  and further X-rays how well the ‘NPFL  crusaders’  are currently  faring  on the domestic football  scene…  

STEPHEN KESH: Late Stephen Keshi is  regarded as a pacesetter  of some sort  in the annals of Nigerian  football . He blazed the trail of exodus of Nigerian footballers  to Europe  in the 1990s, he was the leader of the team as the Super Eagles dominated the continent  by winning the AFCON title at Tunisia 1994  en route to  their maiden  appearance  at the USA 1994 World Cup. The Big Boss as he was so nicknamed,  was the Flying Eagles coach to the 2001 African Youth Championship in Angola before he was trusted with the Super Eagles assignment that won the  2013 AFCON in South Africa. He also qualified Togo for their historic debut World Cup and worked  thereafter with Mali too.

Apart from the 2013 AFCON triumph,  Keshi  also led the CHAN Eagles to a bronze medal  finish in South Africa the following year. Keshi was also the head coach of the Super Eagles to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. He did not coach any club on the Nigerian scene.

AUSTIN EGUAVOEN: Currently  heading  the Technical Department of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), he  oversees all national teams in the country. But Cerezo is undoubtedly one of the 1994 Class of Super Eagles that have had long stints in the national team set up. He was a coach of the Golden Eaglets to the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Finland and has also led the  national Under-23,  the CHAN Eagles.

Now having a ‘four time’ spell with the Super Eagles having coached the national team  first  between 2005 and 2007 as well as acting in acting capacity  in 2020 and on interim basis  between 2021 and 2022  when he failed to qualify  the team for the Qatar 2022 World Cup  after losing the final  play-off against the Black Stars of Ghana. He also  took the Super Eagles  to the 2023 AFCON  where  the team faltered to deceive by crashing out  in the Round of 16  despite winning all their first round of matches in Cameroon. Now angling to  take the Super Eagles job on  full term basis, Eguavoen is currently  handling the Super Eagles after taking over the reins of  the team  after his former teammate Finidi George  stepped down on the job just after two round of matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

On the domestic scene, Eguavoen  has at various times  handled a string of clubs including Bendel Insurance, COD United, Gombe United, Sunshine Stars and Enyimba International FC with  whom he helped to the Federation Cup title in 2009.

SAMSON SIASIA: Samson Siasia, another of the 1994 class of the Super Eagles too has led the Flying Eagles, Under 23 and the Super Eagles. He won a silver medal with the Flying Eagles  at the 2005 FIFA Under 20 World Cup in Netherlands after emerging as the  CAF U-20 Nations Cup in Benin Republic earlier that same year.

‘World Cup  Coach’ as Siasia is called, also won a bronze medal for Nigeria with the U-23 National Team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games  in Brazil. He later coached the Super Eagles  in 2016 albeit without success  following the resignation of Sunday Oliseh. Siasia coached Heartland FC and led them to the CAF Champions League competition in 2010. He  was reportedly  being courted by Mighty Jets of Jos who are in the Nigeria National League which is in the second tier of the Nigerian league but nothing concrete has come out of it.

SUNDAY OLISEH: Sunday Oliseh, another member of the 1994 Super Eagles returned to the same team in 2015 as a coach. He was seen then as the Pep Guardiola of Nigerian football as coined by former Nigeria Football Federation President, Amaju Pinnick. But  he left unceremoniously as head coach in 2016 after failing with  the CHAN Eagles in Rwanda and also on the verge of not qualifying Nigeria for the 2017 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea.

IKE SHORUNMU: Ike Shorunmu missed the 1994 World Cup by the whiskers following Clemens Westerhof preference of Peter Rufai, Willy Agbonavbare (late) and Alloy Agu but he was in the team that won the AFCON in  Tunisia 1994. Shorunmu has served at various times  as goalkeepers coach in the national team and has worked in that  same capacity with  some Nigerian clubs.

Shorunmu is currently with Abia Warriors as Goalkeeper trainer. This season, Abia Warriors recovered from their opening day loss to Remo Stars to pick up some commendable results at home and away including a 1-0 win in Benin City against Bendel Insurance.

But results have nosedived since then. They were beaten 2-0 by Heartland in the following game and were also pinned by Lobi Stars 3-1 in Lafia before the draw with Enyimba last weekend. They are 13th  on the table with 15 points and will no doubt be eager to end their unimpressive results as they face Rivers United in Port Harcourt this weekend.

FINIDI GEORGE: Finidi George’s famous goal celebration against Greece has become iconic and after his sojourn abroad especially in Spain which became his base upon retirement he returned to Nigeria and was appointed Enyimba head coach in September 2021.

He won his first title as a coach in June 2023, winning the Nigeria Premier League at Onikan Stadium in Lagos.In April 2024, he was appointed coach of the Nigerian national football team, the Super Eagles.

Before this appointment, he was the assistant coach to Jose Peseiro and was the Interim coach who led the Super Eagles to beat Ghana 2-1in a friendly  ending 18 years of unsuccessful attempts to defeat the Black Stars.

Finidi resigned unceremoniously weeks after his appointment after Eagles poor results in two key 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers following seeming lack of support from the NFF.

The former Ajax Amsterdam winger was named Rivers United head coach before the start of the 2024-25 season and masterminded the Pride of Rivers impressive start to the season winning six and drawing three of their opening nine games to go unbeaten in those games. They lost their unbeaten record in Lagos against newly promoted Ikorodu City who beat them 2-0. They were beaten in Port Harcourt in the next game by Bayelsa United but they snapped the losing streak with a goalless draw against Remo Stars last weekend in Ikenne.

Read Also: Morocco 2025: Super Eagles played below standard, Eguavoen says

Finidi’s men are second on the log with 22 points from 12 games and will hope to return to winning ways when they host Abia Warriors in Port Harcourt this weekend.

DANIEL AMOKACHI: Daniel Amokachi is another ex-player from the 1994 class who has transited to coaching. He led the Home based Eagles to the WAFU tournament hosted by Nigeria in 2010 and was later  employed by FC IfeanyiUbah, Nasarawa United before his latest appointment by Lobi Stars.

He joined Lobi Stars recently but the club is already in dire strait  and will need something special to beat the drop at the end of the season. They are 19th  on the log with 12 points and have struggled to win two of the three games they have played at home against El Kanemi Warriors (2-2), Shooting Stars (1-0) and Abia Warriors (3-1) but lost 4-2 to Ikorodu City and 1-0 to Remo Stars.

They were pinned 1-0 by Sunshine Stars in Ijebu Ode last weekend and Amokachi and company will no doubt be under tremendous pressure to beat Kano Pillars in Lafia this weekend.

Amokachi recently announced his  step up to become the club’s Technical Director while Finnish tactician Mika Lönnström is now  charged with  the day-to-day running of the club as head coach.

But in as much as Amokachi  is still attached  with Lobi Stars, he would still be judged by the performance of the club.

EMMANUEL AMUNEKE:  Another coach making waves and a prominent member of the Super Eagles in 1994 is Emmanuel Amuneke, who has coached in Tanzania, Sudan, Egypt and Zambia before returning home. He was the FIFA U-17 World Cup-winning coach  with the Golden Eaglets  at Chile 2015after being an assistant  when Nigeria also won the global cadet championship in 2013. He has  briefly worked as Super Eagles’  assistant Coach in 2016  with Samson Siasia   and  with Austin Eguavoen  in the failed  attempt  to qualify  for the  2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He is now Heartland’s  Technical Manager in the on-going season after serving as a consultant to the club  last season.

The Naze Millionaires’ season started poorly picking just one point from possible 12 in the opening four games against Enyimba (1-3), Rivers United (1-3), Katsina United (0-0) and Shooting Stars (0-0). But results have improved with the club winning four games and drawing two out of their next seven games including the 2-0 victory in Umuahia against Abia Warriors. They were on three game winning streak before the commendable 2-2 draw in Kano against Kano Pillars last weekend.

“It is always a thing of joy to give back to the society that made you. It is normal to return home because no matter the journey you must still come back,” Amuneke told NationSports. “It is not  automatic that you will be a good coach because you are a good footballer. You must go through the rudiments and also work very hard to achieve your goals.”

On Heartland FC’s early season’s struggles owing to lack of requisite experience on the part of some of the newly signed players, Amuneke said he has always maintained that the new players would come good because no one is born with experience.

“I do not have any regrets with the players we recruited at the beginning of the season,” he said in his usual frankness.” I knew the newly signed players would have to learn through the ropes and that it won’t be automatic.

“We set out to sign young players with the hearts to play for the club and I am happy we have been vindicated by our results that we didn’t make any mistakes despite the initial hiccups.”

Heartland are 10th on the log with 16 points ahead of their weekend game with Rangers International FC in Owerri in the recent Oriental derby.

results that we didn’t make any mistakes despite the initial hiccups.”

Heartland are 10th on the log with 16 points ahead of their weekend game with Rangers International FC in Owerri in the recent Oriental derby.

The Authentic Nigeria Football & Allied Sports Supporters Club  (ANFASSC ) is excited by the qualification of the Super Eagles for yet another African Cup of Nations finals; after the team secured top spot in Group D of the qualifiers following a 1-1 draw with the Cheetahs of Benin Republic on Thursday night.

ANFASSC President, Comrade Abayomi Ogunjimi,  has thus heaped plaudits on the team and the NFF for doing a great job which has guaranteed that Nigeria will be among the 24 countries fighting for Gold in Morocco, next year.

“First of all, we must congratulate the Super Eagles, the boys took the AFCON Qualifiers as a serious business and they technically qualified with two games to play. That was amazing. Also, I’ll like to congratulate the NFF, the coaching crew, the backroom staff and the technical committee for supervising the process even in the circumstances we found ourselves within weeks before the qualifiers started. It’s a big statement from Nigeria and everyone involved.

“All ANFASSC members are very excited by this qualification because, it means that we’ll join the rest of the world in showcasing our love for Nigeria in Morocco in our own very unique way.”

Abayomi further  urged the Nigeria national team to take same fighting spirit into the world cup qualifiers when it resumes next march.

“We all now need to focus on the World Cup Qualifiers. The world cup is arguably the biggest sporting event in the world and we can’t afford to miss out again. I want to urge the players to remain resolute and believe that Nigeria can still make it. All we need is full focus and all of us must all play our part. The group is still very open and our boys must take the bull by the horn.”

Read Also: Super Eagles hold Benin thro’ to 2025 AFCON

Meanwhile, ANFASSC through its President, has  consoled  Stanley Nwabali on the demise of his father, praying that God gives him the fortitude to bear this affectionate loss.

“On behalf of all members of the ANFASSC, I commiserate with my brother and Nigeria number one goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali over the death of his father which he announced on Instagram. We want him to stay strong and rest assured that we’re with him. May his father soul gentle his peace.”

The Super Eagles have now secured a 21^st  AFCON appearance in Morocco where they will compete with the rest of Africa. Nigeria have made the podium 16 times at the AFCON. Winning the trophy three times, five silver and eight bronze medals.

Amid stuttering  defending  in recent  games by the Super Eagles, former Plateau United  hard-as –nail centre  back, Ibrahim Buhari has offered   to help the  national team  in the bid to  pick a ticket for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The Super Eagles are in dire  straits  having scooped just three points  in four matches  in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group C where they  lie in distant fifth position in a six-team group  with only  the  first team  guaranteed an automatic  ticket  to the  first Mundial  to be co-hosted  by three countries namely USA, Mexico and Canada.

Battle  for the ticket  would yet  begin in March with the Super Eagles   first away to  Rwanda  before hosting Zimbabwe  and  the 23-year-old Buhari who now plies his trade in the  Swedish professional league  with Elfsborg FC, believes  he can be of great help to the Nigeria Senior Men’s National Team.

Buhari  who moved to Sweden in 2022on a  four-year  deal with Elfsborg,  has  been in excellent form in the on-going campaign  and was recently in the  mix  in  the Europa League  Matchday 8 against  Victor Osimhen’s Turkish outfit, Galatasaray.

“ My game has improved tremendously since I  came to Europe  and I’m so grateful to my agent, Moses Adams  who made it all possible, “the sturdy defender  said . “He  discovered me  in the Nigerian  domestic league and promptly  brought me to Europe.

Read Also: BREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for 2025 AFCON

“ That was the kind of opportunity I have been praying  and I believe  the sky is my limit.

“ But my major target  is to get a place  in  the  Super Eagles in order to serve my father’ s land  and without any doubt, I’m ready to contribute my quota  towards the success of the Super Eagles,” he stated.

Buhari is regarded as  a strong and athletic centre-back with good passing skills.

He is also said to  be  an offensive weapon during set pieces with good eyes  for the game but it remains  to be seen when the national team selectors would give him a chance ‘ to serve my father’s land.”

 Super Eagles  have qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations even before  holding Benin Republic  to a 1-1  draw in their   Matchday Five  encounter   played   last night  in Abidjan, Cote ‘d’Ivoire.

With Libya’s shock 1-0  defeat of Rwanda earlier in the other Group D  match in Kigali,   the Super Eagles were handed a ticket to the AFCON  2025 to be held in Morocco  following  their 10-point advantage  before  going into yesterday’s  game against  Benin. 

In Abidjan,  the  Super Eagles had to  fight back from a  first half goal deficit  after  Mohammed Tijani  put the Beninese side  under  coach Gernot  Rohr, in the lead as early  as the 16^th minute of the game.

Read Also: AFCONQ: NFF beat CAF deadline, push for Libya’s punishment

The Cheetahs held to their lead throughout the first half  and  were looking  forward  to another  heroic win against their illustrious  neighbour until  red-hot Galatasaray striker, broke   their resolve  barely 10 minutes to the end of the encounter.

With the results, the Super Eagles  are in pole position  with 11 points  and are followed by  Benin on  seven points  going into the last round of matches next week.

Libya will host Benin Republic on Monday while  Wasps of Rwanda  who are on five points , face the Super Eagles in Uyo.

Meanwhile, other countries who booked tier tickets to the AFCON 2025  yesterday include South Africa, Equatorial Guinea as well as cup holders, Cote d’Ivoire,