“They have to act fast”- Super Eagles star Kenneth Omeruo urges NFF to appoint a new coach ahead of South Africa clash

Super Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo has urged the Nigeria Football Federation to appoint a new coach before the 2026 FIFA World Cup clash against South Africa, Soccernet.ng reports.

Nigeria have been without a coach since Portuguese tactician Jose Peseiro left the job at the end of February, after a decent performance at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

There were reports that the NFF was considering a new contract for Peseiro, but both parties failed to reach an agreement. Following the end of their association with Peseiro, the NFF opened applications for the position in March.

However, the NFF have gone silent since then. Meanwhile, Enyimba coach Finidi George has been in charge of the Super Eagles on an interim basis. He led the team in the last international break to their games against Ghana and Mali. With him in charge, the Super Eagles defeated Ghana, but lost to Mali.

Super Eagles defender Omeruo was quite impressed with Finidi’s tactics during those two games, and he has issued a vote of confidence on the former Ajax man.

“I don’t know about everyone, but for me and a few others, he (Finidi) did well. He was short-staffed. Only one coach working as an analyst, training without an assistant,” Omeruo told Brila.

“I like that he kept the same system we used at the AFCON. But against Mali, I would have played everyone, give everyone a chance to play, and maybe things would have turned out differently, and he would be a strong contender for the job.”

Also, Omeruo urged the NFF to sort out the appointment of a new coach as soon as possible, so they can focus on the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against South Africa.

“We started the World Cup qualifiers poorly, and that’s on us as players, but I do believe we have the quality to qualify for the World Cup. But we need to sort out the issue of head coach real quickly because June is just around the corner.”