Interim boss of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Augustine Eguavoen has spoken publicly for the first time following supervising over a disappointing campaign of Nigeria at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon, assuring the nation of a strong come back to glory.
The 56-year old Eguavoen won the AFCON with Nigeria in 1994 staged in Tunisia, and had, as former player, been assigned to take the Super Eagles to the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon and win the trophy, but the campaign turned out to be a disaster after a promising start to the tournament with a 100% win rate at the group stages.
Nigeria suffered a second round elimination from the tournament in a 1-0 defeat to the Carthage Eagle of Tunisia following substitute Alex Iwobi’s sent off. The three times Africa champions had beaten Egypt, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau in the group stage to give their fans and pundits high hopes of them winning their fourth (4) AFCON title, but it ended in tears for the fans.
Numerous fans of the Super Eagles least expected such a shocking result, and have since Sunday been expressing huge disappointment over the situation. However, interim coach Augustine Eguavoen has asked the fans to keep calm and maintain their faith in the national team, as he assures them of a strong return of the team to glory.
“Our greatest strength is in the fact that we always come back stronger. Your support of the Team over the past few weeks has been exceptional. Thank you Naija, we will be back”, Eguavoen wrote via Twitter.
It remains to be seen whether or not Eguavoen will continue to handle the Super Eagles in a permanent deal. Nigeria’s next competitive assignment will be the 2022 FIFA World Cup playoff against Ghana over two legs in March, where the two West African countries will battle for one of Africa’s five tickets to represent the continent at the World Cup in Qatar in November-December.
