Augustine Eguavoen, the Super Eagles’ interim coach, has announced that he will stand down after the team’s match against Rwanda in Kigali on Tuesday.
While chatting with OwnGoalNigeria at Kigali Airport, the Nigerian tactician stated that he was given a mandate to oversee the Eagles’ matches against Benin Republic and Rwanda in the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, after which his duty was completed.
He said, “I have been given a mandate to handle two games. I will want to say I am very pleased with the boys, and again, thanks to the NFF leadership and all the boys who supported me in terms of discipline and working hard.
“It ends today, which is the two-game mandate. I can’t talk about Libya because I haven’t been told, but I can talk about it a little bit in case we have another coach; we can talk about it.”
He, however, noted that if another coach is appointed by the Nigeria Football Federation, he would be available to offer tactical advice on how to overcome the Eagles’ next opponent, Libya.
“I want to be closer to the team as it should be, and I can give an inside story and inside information that we need to be able to overcome Libya. No team is a pushover anymore, but with this spirit that these boys have exhibited and from what I have seen, we have a very bright future,” Eguavoen stated.
On Tuesday, the Eagles played an unconvincing 0-0 stalemate against Rwanda’s Amavubi in Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Eguavoen’s team, which defeated Benin Republic 3-0 on Saturday, was left upset by their profligacy and the brilliance of Rwandan custodian Fiacre Ntwari.
Eguavoen made one change, starting Fisayo Dele-Basiru instead of Alex Iwobi.
Victor Boniface remained in the starting lineup, with Victor Osimhen, a late substitute against Benin, beginning from the bench.
The NFF announced Eguavoen as the team’s interim coach on Friday, August 30, 2024, after being unable to gain the services of German coach Bruno Labbadia due to strict German tax rules.e
