Sevilla of Spain attacker, Kelechi Iheanacho has served up a strong hint that Nigeria’s national team needs to be properly managed in order to excel this year.
Sports247 reports that the Super Eagles will have to go all out for victory in their remaining matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in order to feature at next year’s Mundial.
However, with the qualifiers set to resume in March, top shots of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are yet to appoint a substantive coach for the squad.
The Eagles had to be taken through the last phase of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers by the NFF’s technical director, Augustine Eguavoen, acting as interim coach of the side, but Iheanacho hinted that the manager’s issue has to be ironed out.
The former Taye Football Academy of Owerri, Columbus Crew of USA as well as ex-Manchester City and Leicester City of England star declared that he is eager to feature at the next World Cup and win the Nations Cup, but insinuated that it would not depend on players’ efforts alone.
Iheanacho affirmed, “I’ve been around the national team for a long, long time. I play for the badge and for the nation. If the squad is managed properly, I think we will go a long way. I would like for us to obviously go to the World Cup again.
I also obviously want us to go really far in the AFCON again. I want us to just go and smash it, then get the trophy.”
Sports247 gathered that is now left to see if the NFF will go ahead and name a full-term coach for the Eagles before the World Cup qualifiers resume in March, or whether they will keep Eguavoen as the Eagles’ interim handler.
It is also instructive to note that a lot of attention will be on the upcoming Championship of African Nations (CHAN), which the home-based Eagles qualified for last week after enduring six years of absence.
Ironically, Remo Stars FC of Ikenne’s coach, Daniel Ogunmodede had to take charge of the CHAN squad due to Eguavoen’s absence, after his shock decision to go for surgery abroad.
It is now unclear whether Ogunmodede will lead the B-squad to the delayed CHAN 2024 and if Eguavoen will also be saddled with the task of bailing Nigeria out of the very dicey 2026 World Cup qualifiers
