Benin Republic-based, Nigerian coach Samson Unuanel has called on the Nigeria Football Federation to stop the search for a foreign coach and give the Super Eagles job to interim coach Augustine Eguavoen, Sports247 reports.
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He told Flashscore after Eguavoen led the Super Eagles to a successful start to the 2025 African Cup of Nations qualifying campaign , that the 59 year old tactician has done well enough on the job in the interim, he should be retained for at least one year as a reward for a job well done.
“In football, we say a coach is only as good as his last match. Eguavoen coached one home game and one away, earning four points. The NFF should give him a chance, encourage him, and allow him to manage the national team for at least a year to see what he can achieve,” Unuanel told Flashscore.
He posited that Eguavoen and his coaching crew have shown capacity by transforming the Super Eagles within three months of losing badly to the same Beninoise side that were roundly beaten in Uyo last weekend.
“We have capable people to get the job done. Just look at the commitment from both the players and the coaches against Benin Republic and Rwanda. This is what we want to see, where everyone is fighting to ensure the country isn’t let down.
“We lost to this same Benin Republic in a World Cup qualifier in Cote d’Ivoire. Hosting them in Uyo, the players had no option than to work hard and win because they know that Nigerians would not take it easy with them.
“It was a call to national duty; they fought unitedly and got the points. It was not a bad result and it was a clear indication that there was no need to start looking for coaches.”
The head coach of Benin Republic’s top-tier side Ayema FC, Unuanel also acknowledged the inputs of Eguavoen’s assistants, Fidelis Ilechukwu and Daniel Ogunmodede, in getting the desired result and says their contribution confirmed the abundance of Great coaches in the Nigeria Premier Football League.
“These are great coaches and I have always maintained that Nigeria is blessed with brilliant coaches” he said.
He came to the defence of Finidi George who left the job after two poor results in the FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Played in June which has badly affected the chances of the Super Eagles making it to the tripartite World Cup in USA, Mexico and Canada.
Unuanel says Finidi wasn’t given enough time on the job and believes Finidi would have done better if he was given a better work environment.
“I still feel that Finidi George was not given enough time, and you know he is a young man who would always talk when things are not going well”.
“Today’s Nigeria would not tolerate that. Even when things aren’t going well, they still expect you to remain silent.”
He spokes on the manner in which the last two foreign coaches relationship between the coaches turned as the NFF continues their pursuit of a foreign coach for the Super Eagles
Unuanel said: “It is not by force that the NFF should employ a foreign coach. If we can’t have foreign administrators to run our football, then we should stop this idea of employing foreign coaches.
The Nigeria Football Federation is still searching for a foreign coach, while Augustine Eguavoen continues as interim manager till a foreign manager is hired to take charge of the Super Eagles.
The Super Eagles next assignment is next month during the next FIFA international break where the Super Eagles will lock horns with their counterparts from Libya in a double header in the Matchday 3 and 4 of the 2025 AFCON qualifying series.
Nigeria topped group B in the series after Eguavoen led the Super Eagles to secure four points in two matches as the team played a goalless draw in Kigali against Amavubis of Rwanda after the Cheetahs of Benin Republic 3-0 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State Nigeria.
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