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Tag: Super Eagles

  • 2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Super Eagles stage return to Abidjan for Benin Republic clash

    2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Super Eagles stage return to Abidjan for Benin Republic clash

    The Super Eagles will return to Abidjan to play the Squirrels of Benin Republic at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in June for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

    The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matchday four tie has been moved to Abidjan after the Benin Football Federation failed to provide a suitable ground to host the game.

    Recall that the Super Eagles, were based in Abidjan during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and played three of their seven games at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium.

    The West Africans will host the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in a matchday three encounter before taking on the Squirrels in what is termed an away game for the Super Eagles.

    The encounter against South Africa will be played at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo on Friday, June 7.

    The Super Eagles are yet to record a win in the qualifiers after they salvaged a draw in their opening two games against Lesotho and Zimbabwe.

  • Boniface capable of leading Super Eagles to AFCON glory – Oliseh

    Boniface capable of leading Super Eagles to AFCON glory – Oliseh

    Former Nigeria midfielder and Captain, Sunday Oliseh, has said Victor Boniface will lead the country to triumph at the Africa Cup of Nations.

    Oliseh made  this known via a tweet on his platform X account shortly after Boniface led Bayer Leverkusen to their first ever Bundesliga title for first time in 120 years.

    According to him, Victor Boniface is capable of leading the Super Eagles to an AFCON glory.

    Recall that the 23-year-old missed this year’s AFCON due to injury, but was a key member of Xabi Alonso’s squad as they dethroned Bayern Munich.

    Oliseh wrote: “Victor Boniface was once again extraordinary as Leverkusen grabbed its first ever Bundesliga title with 5 games left to play.

    “Boniface is strong, skillful, intelligent, mobile, calm under pressure and I am convinced he will lead Nigeria to AFCON glory & more soon. Congrats.”

  • Finidi, Amuneke to know fate next week as NFF set to decide on new Super Eagles coach

    Finidi, Amuneke to know fate next week as NFF set to decide on new Super Eagles coach

    The Technical Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation, (NFF) will meet next week Tuesday in Abuja to decide on a new head coach for the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

    Reports says that the committee has already shortlisted seven coaches for the vacant position.

    Former internationals Finidi George and Emmanuel Amuneke are the two leading candidates for the position.

    Finidi led the team in interim capacity for the friendlies against Ghana and Mali last month.

    The immediate task of the new coach will be the crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Bafana Bafana of South Africa and Squirrels of Benin Republic in June.

    The games will take place on June 3 and 11, respectively.

    The Super Eagles are yet to record a win in their group after they drew their opening two games against Lesotho and Zimbabwe.

  • I always look up to Sadio Mane – Lookman

    I always look up to Sadio Mane – Lookman

    Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman has revealed the player he looks up to in style of play.

    The Spuer Eagles star said that his game style has been patterned after Senegalese forward, Sadio Mane.

    Lookman played for Charlton Athletic, Everton, RB Leipzig, Fulham and Leicester City before moving to Serie A side Atalanta.

    He joined Atalanta for a fee in the region of nine million euros paid to Leipzig at the start of the 2022-2023 season.

    He has scored 24 goals and made 12 assists from 65 all-competition appearances.

    “The guy who I always looked at the most would have to be Sadio Mane,” Lookman told The Athletic.

    “Looking at his threat in the box, his threat in those little tight spaces, his movement — I have watched a lot of his game in particular.

    “I watch my clips back, and it’s nice to be able to see your performance from a different perspective.

    “It gives you more belief in knowing that you’re getting better and developing in certain areas.”

  • Amunike opens up over offer of Super Eagles coaching job

    Amunike opens up over offer of Super Eagles coaching job

    1996 Olympic gold medalist, Emmanuel Amunike, has said that although he would love to coach the Super Eagles if given the opportunity, he was not desperate for the job.

    Amunike, a former Super Eagles player, said this while addressing newsmen in Owerri on Tuesday.

    The former Nigeria U-17 national team coach and former coach of the Tanzania national team, said the job of coaching Nigeria’s national team should be given on merit and to whom with the interest of football and Nigeria at heart”.

    The Spain based former striker, who played for Sporting Lisbon football club in Portugal and Barcelona football club, expressed confidence that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) would eventually appoint the ideal coach for the Super Eagles top job.

    He said that with a plethora of Nigerian talents scattered across the globe, a lot of professional capacity, technical expertise and consultation would be required to harness the talents, combine them and achieve the needed balance.

    “The Super Eagles’ upcoming World Cup qualification matches against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa and their counterparts from Benin Republic would necessitate the appointment of a substantive coach who would also need some time to put the house in order for best results.

    “I am not desperate to be Super Eagles coach, though I nurse the ambition to coach. If I have the opportunity to serve my fatherland , I will accept it and deliver my all,” he said.

    He however, called for the development of football at the grassroots for further development of the Nigerian league for harnessing of more talents.

  • Former NFF president, Amaju Pinnick backs Finidi for Super Eagles coaching job

    Former NFF president, Amaju Pinnick backs Finidi for Super Eagles coaching job

    Amaju Melvin Pinnick the former President of the Nigeria Football Federation, (NFF) has backed Finidi George for the vacant Super Eagles coaching job.

    It would be recalled that about 12 local and international coaches applied for the vacant Managerial position but the NFF is yet to name a substantive head coach for the Super Eagles.

    Finidi acted on interim capacity when the Super Eagles played two international friendlies against Ghana and Mali during FIFA international window in March.

    The Super Eagles defeated Ghana 2-1 and lost 2-0 to Mali.

    However, Pinnick has thrown his weight behind the former winger and claimed he is the most suitable candidate for the job.

    “Even though Jose Peseiro started slowly, the end justified the reason we brought him, so I don’t have any regrets,” Pinnick told Arise TV.

    “Under his internship was a player that was once regarded as one of the best wingers in the world, Finidi George, one of the best wingers at a point, a player that had a formal or informal internship as a player under one of the best coaches in the world Luis Van Gaal, a player that at Real Betis, he was excellent. He(Finidi) was at Ajax, and if you know Ajax, they believe in developmental football, where they teach you how to chest, trap, and play the ball again. So he has those virtues, and my opinion is that we encourage him.

    “He played two friendly games, he lost one and made negative history because Mali have not beaten Nigeria in over 40 years, and positive history because Nigeria has not beaten Ghana in over 30 years.”

    Pinnick also named some of the virtues which have endeared him to the former Ajax and Real Betis player.

    “In my opinion, I’ve seen him, I’ve worked with him, I brought him on when I was president as one of the assistant coaches. He has some virtues that we need as a coach. He has leadership, dexterity, and most importantly, humility,” he added.

    Pinnick further stated: “There’s no encumbrance, if you wave Finidi round, you will not see any encumbrance around him. There is a lot of information and many things I know.

    “So what do we do with someone like Finidi that played under some of the best coaches in the world, that also played at that level, and coached one of our indigenous and one of the most successful teams in Africa? We build capacity around him.”

    NFF is expected to name a new head coach for the Super Eagles this month.

    The Super Eagles will next be in action against South Africa and Benin Republic in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June.

  • Explainer: Why Super Eagles dropped two places in latest FIFA rankings

    Explainer: Why Super Eagles dropped two places in latest FIFA rankings

    The FIFA Rankings have officially released by world football governing body FIFA for March 2024, with some interesting developments from the African nations.

    Nigeria’s Super Eagles have experienced a slight setback in the latest FIFA ranking, dropping two spots from 28th to 30th in the world.

    The drop comes in the wake of the team’s performances during the recent international break, where they faced off against the Black Stars of Ghana and the Eagles of Mali in friendly matches.

    While they secured a victory against Ghana in the much-anticipated ‘Jollof Derby’ with a 2-1 scoreline, they suffered a defeat to Mali in Morocco.

    The Atlas Lions occupy 13th spot in the world but retain pole position on the continent, followed by Senegal who are 17th in the world and second in Africa.

    African champions, Cote d’Ivoire move up to 38th in the world and take up the fifth spot on the continent, just behind fourth placed Egypt who are 37th in the world.

    North African powerhouses, Tunisia and Algeria remain 41st and 43rd respectively on the global rankings and are followed by Mali who moved three places up to 44.

    The top three nations in the world are world champions, Argentina followed by France and Belgium in third.

  • VIDEO: Why I rejected handshake from Kano Governor – Ahmed Musa

    VIDEO: Why I rejected handshake from Kano Governor – Ahmed Musa

    Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa has  stated reasons he chose to ignore stretched  hands of the Governor of Kano state, Abba Kabir Yusuf when he offered the footballer a handshake.

    In a viral video on Platform X, Musa was seen shaking and bowing for the Kano State deputy Governor, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo but instead ignored the Governor Yusuf’s stretched hands and opted only to bow to greet him.

    The one month old video has recently  generated a lot of reactions on social and traditional media with the Skippo of the Super Eagles getting  backlashes from netizens.

    Bothered about the negative reactions the video generated, the Super Eagles captain took to social media to clearly state  his own side of the story.

    His words: ” It has come to my attention that on a moment captured almost a month ago, has unexpectedly become the center of attention on social media. Its disheartening to see a simple act of cultural respect blown out of propotion.

    ”In our Northern Culture, the gesture of kneeling, shaking hands signifies the highest form of respect.This was my intention when i greeted the deputy governor, but when it came to the Govenor i chose to bow and shake hands honoring him in a way that is deeply rooted in tradition.

    ” Its unfortunate that amidst all the pressing issues our nation faces -economic hardships, security challenges, religious clashes and more -this seemingly insignificant moment has garnered so much attention. Even national media outlets like Ariste TV have also jumped on the bandwagon, deverting focus from issues that truly matter- Highly disappointing I must say.

    ”What’s even more disheartening are the comments questioning my respecticfulness especially from those who don’t me personally”

    Concluding his statement, Musa urged all and sundry to channel collective efforts towards addressing the real issues at hand.

     

    See Video below:

     

  • Coach Alonso gives update on Boniface’s injury

    Coach Alonso gives update on Boniface’s injury

    Bayer Leverkusen striker, Victor Boniface will be back in the squad for Wednesday’s German Cup semi-final against Fortuna Dusseldorf following a three-month injury absence, coach Xabi Alonso said on Tuesday.

    The 23-year-old Super Eagles forward underwent surgery on an adductor muscle injury in January after being injured while preparing with Nigeria for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote D’Ivoire.

    “We are in a super situation. We have no injuries and a full squad. Boni (Boniface) is also back in the squad,” Alonso told a press conference, with the Bundesliga leaders in the hunt for three trophies this season.

    Asked how long Boniface could play in the game, Alonso said: “Not 90 minutes. 45 maybe not. But maybe 30. He has done a good recovery and has trained well.

    “He has a strong mentality to come back. He can’t wait to get back.”

    Boniface had scored 10 goals and set up another seven in the Bundesliga before his injury.

    Leverkusen are on course for a first ever Bundesliga title with a 13-point lead over second-placed Bayern Munich and seven games remaining.

    They are also through to the Europa League quarter-finals having gone 39 matches unbeaten across all competitions this season.

    “We have to take it one game at a time. That’s the way we have done it until now and we will not change that,” said the Spaniard, who confirmed last week he would be staying at Leverkusen despite interest from major European clubs.

    “We have done a lot but have won nothing so far. We still have a lot of work to do. We have done a few things well to get here but we should not speak too early.”

    “We have to remain focused and that is the message I give my players and they know it,” he said.

    Saarbruecken face Kaiserslautern in the other semi-final on Tuesday.

  • Oliseh denies applying for Super Eagles job, names two best coaches NFF should pick from

    Oliseh denies applying for Super Eagles job, names two best coaches NFF should pick from

    Former Super Eagles defensive midfielder and captain, Sunday Oliseh, has denied applying for the vacant Super Eagles coaching job, saying that the narrative that he applied is false.

    Olisheh, however, picked two of his former colleagues as best suitable for the job.

    According to the former Super Eagles skippo,  Finidi George and Emmanuel Amuneke, are the two men best suitable for the  vacant coaching job.

    The former midfielder also slammed the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, in their search for the next Eagles coach.

    Jose Peseiro left the position after taking the team to the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

    The NFF has since declared vacant the position of head coach of the national team and outlined some requirements for interested and qualified individuals.

    Oliseh, while criticizing this approach, cited the example of Liverpool’s method in searching for a new coach following Jurgen Klopp’s announcement of his departure from the club in the summer.

    Oliseh said: “Let’s look at it this way: when Jurgen Klopp came out last month to announce that he was leaving his position as coach of Liverpool, did you hear or read anywhere that the club announced that coaches should apply for the job?

    “The only thing they (Liverpool) are doing currently is that they are in search of a coach that fits their philosophy and style.”

    While  throwing  his weight  behind Amuneke and George, he said: “If we cannot offer our indigenous coaches opportunities to help the country’s football, then who else will?

    “I did not apply for the Eagles job. Reports that stated so are false. I only stated that if Nigeria needed my help as a coach, I would be willing to help if the conditions are right.”