Former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh has thrown his weight behind Augustine Eguavoen, who currently serves as the interim coach of Nigeria's national team, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Nigerian national team recently secured the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations ticket and will be among teams to participate in the tournament.
Speaking about the challenges the Super Eagles face in their quest for qualification, Oliseh praised Eguavoen's leadership and urged Nigerians to rally behind him.
“Austin Eguavoen is a smart guy. He is not stupid. And I also want to say that he has my full support. Because he is somebody I respect a lot. He is somebody I struggled with, bringing glory to our fatherland. He is an honest and decent guy. Furthermore, he is my compatriot, so he has my full support,” Oliseh said to News Central.
Addressing Nigeria's current position in the qualifiers, Oliseh acknowledged the difficulty of the task ahead but drew parallels to a similar situation during his playing days.
He added: “The task ahead is a difficult one, but it is not impossible. We can still qualify. Of course, we need to get some perfect results. Of course, we need that. We are four points behind, and it is not like we are the only one. There [are] two or three teams who [have] the same points, which makes it more difficult when you are playing these teams. But that, notwithstanding, is not undoable if you are a Nigerian. We had to do that in 2002 to go to the World Cup when I was captain. We were five points behind, and we had to really work hard with almost the same amount of game.”
Oliseh also clarified that the challenges facing the Super Eagles are not of Eguavoen's making and commended him for stepping in to help the team navigate its current predicament.
“The situation we found ourselves [in], Eguavoen is not responsible at all. He is trying to salvage what has been there before he came. If you are Nigeria[n], the best you can do for your fatherland is to support the person in charge. If you like or you don’t like him, he is not representing his own family; he is representing you at home. So, give him the moral support.” he continued.
Eguavoen's tenure as interim coach comes at a critical time for Nigerian football, and with support from Nigerian football fans, many hope the team can turn its fortunes around.
We need excellent play makers in the midfield.
We have the attackers that can break down any defence but our Midfield is very ineffective.
We also have to find a way around our Players relaxing during a match.
Our players must learn to fight from the start of a game till the very end.
These are the two important things we need to work on.