Super Eagles’ interim coach, Augustine Eguavoen has dispelled insinuations in some quarters that his team struggled against Benin Republuc on Thursday because they played for a draw.
It took an 81st minute header by Victor Osimhen to put the Eagles level, after The Cheetahs went ahead on 16 minutes, thereby leaving many critics faulting Eguavoen’s strategy for the game in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
Sports247.ng gathered that the biggest talking point among Nigerian fans about the coach’s tactics on the night in the Ivorian capital was that he detailed his lads to play cautiously in order to escape with a draw.
As if in acceptance of those insinuations, Eguavoen admitted that he and his players already knew that the ticket to next year’s Africa Cup of Nations had been secured before they entered the game in Abidjan, but the former defender and captain insisted it did not have any effect on his gameplan.
However, checks by sports247.ng further revealed that many analysts and fans are ready to argue that the only reason Egu started with a five-man backline in defence was because he was scared of losing and opted to play for a draw.
In fact, several days before the match at Houphouet Boigny Stadium, the group’s standings showed that a draw would be good enough to see Nigeria through to the 2025 AFCON in Morocco.
The task was then surprisingly made easier minutes before Thursday’s kick-off, when Libya won 1-0 away to Rwanda, thereby giving Nigeria an unassailable points margin that could be overtaken by only one team among the other three.
It also meant than even defeat in Abidjan would not stop the Eagles from going to Morocco in December 2025 to January 2026, hence widespread speculation that ‘Egu’ decided to take Thursday’s game lightly.
However, the man who won a bronze medal as head coach of the Nigerian side at AFCON 2006 stressed during the post-match press conference in Abidjan that he would never play for a draw, since the Eagles have enough quality to defeat any team.
He, however, also admitted that he did not want to suffer any defeat while in charge of the Eagles’ AFCON 2025 qualifying campaign, especially against the team that defeated them 2-1 at the same venue during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers earlier this year.
Eguavoen declared, “Coming into this game, we had not lost a match, and we wanted to maintain that.
“We would try to win the game or, worst case scenario, we draw. We want to qualify without losing a game.”
Although that statement appeared to support speculation that he played for a draw, considering his conservative 5-2-3 formation at the start of the match, the one fondly called ‘Cerezo’ during his heyday insisted he knows his team’s winning capabilities.
“We know what we are capable of. We have the quality, and we have what it takes to beat any team, anytime,” Eguavoen added.
He also confessed that there was an element of pressure on him and his players, yet stressed that it was not a factor in his tactics for the match, as he says they all overcame the tension before kick-off.
The defender-turned-gaffer emphasised: “We were under pressure, but we didn’t look at that.
“Having qualified, you could say we would come here and lose. No!
“Nigeria is a team that is respected. We almost won the AFCON last time. We have to try and maintain that standard.”
It is now left to be seen what Eguavoen’s strategy will be for the final group game on Monday at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.
It’s a game that is inconsequential to Nigeria’s AFCON 2025 ticket, but Rwanda need all three points in order to upstage second placed Benin Republic and ward off pressure from Libya, who beat them at their backyard on Thursday.
Though currently placed fourth with four points, Libya could be the ones that would follow Nigeria to Morocco next year, as they will rise to seven points, above Benin Republic (six) and Rwanda (five) if both lose on Monday.
As it is, Libya have the pleasure of playing at home against Benin and are buoyed by Thursday’s historic win in Kigali, which makes victory likely on Monday, while hoping that Nigeria and Rwanda settle for a draw in Uyo.
Victory for Libya and a draw for Nigeria would see The Mediterranean Knights end up ahead of both The Cheetahs and The Amuvubi on six points each.
