The head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Augustine Eguavoen has resigned for the second time in two months, two days after he failed to help the country qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Recall that Augustine Eguavoen who is the technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) took over the Super Eagles of Nigeria as an interim coach less than a month before the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
He replaced coach Gernot Rohr who coached the national team between 2016 and 2021 before he was sacked.
Ahead of the AFCON which took place between January and February 2022, most Nigerians were skeptical about Eguavoen’s appointment because of his poor track record.
Yet, he led the Super Eagles to the tournament. In the group stage, the team played so well that most football enthusiasts tagged them as favorites to win the tournament.
In the second round of the tournament, Nigeria faced Tunisia. To the dismay of many football enthusiasts, Tunisia knocked out Nigeria with a slim 1-0 win.
Immediately after the journey of the Super Eagles ended in the tournament, Augustine Eguavoen resigned and returned to his role as the NFF technical director.
But the NFF decided to allow him to continue as the head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria. He was given the mandate to qualify the country for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The first leg of the tie which took place in Ghana on March 25, 2022, between Nigeria and Ghana, ended in a 0-0 draw. On March 29, 2022, Ghana came to Abuja for the second leg of the tie.
Unfortunately for Nigeria, the second leg ended in a 1-1 draw which was enough for Ghana to qualify for the World Cup over Nigeria on away goal rule.
The fact that Nigeria failed to qualify even though they were favorites to do so, infuriated the country’s fans at the MKO Abiola stadium with a 60,000 seating capacity. Things went so bad at the stadium that a video surfaced on the internet showing the fans destroying the facilities at the stadium.
On Thursday, March 31, it was announced that Augustine Eguavoen has stepped down as the coach of the national team.
Also, the NFF withdrew the two-and-a-half-year contracts offered to the rest of the national team coaching crew.
Recall that Eguavoen’s coaching crew comprised Emmanuel Amuneke, Joseph Yobo, Salisu Yusuf, and goalkeeping coach Aloysius Agu.
“We thank the coaches and team officials for their service to the nation and wish them success in their future endeavors,” NFF general secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi said.
As it stands, a new coaching crew for the Super Eagles of Nigeria will be constituted after the performance of the previous coaching crew has been reviewed.
Meanwhile, Augustine Eguavoen is expected to remain the NFF’s technical director until further notice.
NFF disengages Super Eagles’ Technical Crew https://t.co/bmA88niYc2
— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) March 31, 2022
