Former Barcelona winger Emmanuel Amunike has praised the performance of Nigeria’s Super Eagles coaching team, led by Augustine Eguavoen, Soccernet.ng reports.
Following several unsuccessful attempts by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to appoint a European coach, Eguavoen was named interim head coach in August. Remo Stars’ Daniel Ogunmodede, Rangers FC’s Fidelis Ilechukwu, and goalkeeper coach Olatunji Baruwa were appointed as his assistants.
Under their guidance, the Super Eagles have remained unbeaten in their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, comfortably sitting atop their qualifying group with ten points.
Nigeria require just one more point from their upcoming games against Benin and Rwanda this month to secure their spot at AFCON 2025 in Morocco.
Amunike expressed his admiration for Eguavoen and his colleagues, emphasising the need to support local coaches rather than criticising them for a perceived lack of experience.
“The coaches have done very well, what we need to do is keep encouraging our own,” Amunike told Brila.net.
“The mentality we have in Nigeria is people will say, that person does not have experience but nobody was born with experience.”
The former Super Eagles forward stressed the importance of hands-on development for Nigerian coaches.
“Do your thing, you will make mistakes and learn from it, you win too, learn it,” he added.
Amunike also addressed the recent squad list for the November qualifiers.
With qualification nearly secured, some fans hoped to see more home-based players included in the team.
However, Amunike emphasised that maintaining the strongest lineup is crucial for team cohesion.
“In the national team; whether you play one game or against the weakest team, you need your best team to be around,” he noted.
“It is not just about winning or losing; you are using this type of game to build cohesion in the team.”
Nigeria will face Benin on November 14 at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, followed by a home match against Rwanda on November 18 in Uyo.
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The fans are more critical of our coaches which is also the same of some of our football administrators. We have to change the narratives by believing in ourselves to develop ourselves.
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