AFCON 2024: Believe in Super Eagles, Eguavoen tells Nigerians

By Ifeanyi Eduzor
Following the draws for next year’s AFCON finals in Cote d’Ivoire, Technical Director of NFF, Austin Eguavoen has advised Nigerians to believe in what the Super Eagles are capable of doing at the continental showpiece.
Nigeria was last week drawn in Group A alongside host nation, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau and Equatorial Guinea in what many described as a tricky group.
Speaking to newstap.com.ng on the sidelines of the ongoing Nigeria National League ( NNL) seminar for coaches currently going on at Remo Stars Football facility, Ikenne Ogun State, Eguavoen insisted that Nigeria has what it takes to win the championship for a fourth time with an appeal to Nigerians to believe in the team.
” I will not agree with you that the Super Eagles lack character or that any department of the team is not living up to expectation. We have a compact team and all the players are doing very well in their various clubs.
“I believe that instead of castigating the team because of one or two errors, they must be encouraged to deliver because it has been long we won the competition last which was in South Africa in 2013.
” There is need for the Nigerian press to emulate their British counterparts. In England, you hardly see their press criticizing English players and that gives the three Lions confidence whenever they’re playing and that’s what I want to see Nigerians do”, he stressed
On the goalkeeping department, the former national team handler believes that the goal keeper trainers knows what to do even as he stated that Francis Uzoho is not as bad as people think.
” I don’t want Nigerians to judge Francis Uzoho based on the last international friendly game with Saudi Arabia. It’s true he made one or two mistakes but that’s not enough for people to write him off because in football, mistakes do occur.
“It’s better we leave the judgement with the goalkeeper trainers and the Chief coach who are in a better position to take decision on that department of the team”, he concluded.