Nigeria took a tentative step in the right direction during the September international break after their chaotic start to World Cup qualifying.
A 2-1 defeat to Benin in June left the Super Eagles with a mountain to climb in their bid to reach the 2026 World Cup.
However, an assured 3-0 win against the same opponents saw the team gain some revenge last weekend, with Ballon d’Or nominee Ademola Lookman scoring twice either side of a Victor Osimhen goal to mark a victorious start to their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
A 0-0 draw in Rwanda followed, after which the Nigeria coach saga took another turn.
Is Augustine Eguavoen Nigeria’s Head Coach?
NFF technical director Augustine Eguavoen has secured his fourth term as interim head of the Super Eagles after a poor start to the World Cup qualifiers hastened the end of Finidi George’s brief tenure.
Following the standoff with Rwanda, rumours circulated that Eguavoen had resigned from his post – rumours that the man himself was forced to deny.
“Whatever people read is not correct, I am still in charge,” the 59-year-old said, as reported by Nigerian publication Vanguard.
“I am the technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation and it is my responsibility to manage the Super Eagles at the moment. That is where we are.
“I only mentioned that I would sit down with the federation hierarchy after these two games to discuss our approach for the next games.”
Will Bruno Labbadia be Nigeria’s coach?
Eguavoen was expected to take charge of the first and second legs of the October AFCON qualifiers against Libya. The NFF thought they would have a successor to Finidi in place from November, but that was not the case.
At the end of August, former Stuttgart, Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen coach Bruno Labbadia agreed to become Nigeria’s coach.
However, the deal fell through, with the NFF citing “tax technicalities”.
President Ibrahim Musa Gusau said: “The NFF and Mr Labbadia reached an agreement in principle before we announced that he would become the head coach of the Super Eagles.
“Tax details were never part of our discussions, and he had personally agreed to all the terms before the tax issue was raised.
“We tried our best to be flexible in the discussions, but he insisted that the NFF also had to pay the full amount of the tax. We simply cannot do that.”
Why did Finidi George resign from his post in Nigeria?
Finidi George had initially taken over as interim coach when Jose Peseiro left after Nigeria’s defeat to Ivory Coast in the AFCON final in February.
He secured a 2-1 win over Ghana in his first match in charge, the Super Eagles’ first victory over the Black Stars in 18 years. They then suffered a 2-0 defeat to Mali, with both friendlies taking place in Morocco.
He was later appointed to the position full-time, despite concerns from fans that he was ill-prepared for such a prestigious position. His only two official matches in charge of the team were in World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin, which left him with a record of one win, one draw and two defeats in four games.
Candidates for the post of next Nigeria coach
The NFF reached an agreement with Labbadia after failing to reach deals with former Sweden coach Janne Andersson and two-time AFCON winner Herve Renard.
Andersson and Renard are still unemployed and are therefore probably still on the NFF’s radar.
Nigeria were also linked with Steve McClaren before the former England manager took charge of Jamaica.
