Former Super Eagles coach Augustine Eguavoen has criticized the Nigerian players' decision to go on strike on Tuesday, just two days before their game against Gabon on Thursday, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Super Eagles camp in Morocco reached maximum capacity on Tuesday, ahead of the CAF World Cup playoffs in the coming days.
They had their first training session on Monday, with the player who arrived early. However, the players decided to boycott the training session on Tuesday due to a backlog our unpaid bonuses.
The NFF did not release a statement at the time, and the only communication was from team captain William Troost-Ekong, who confirmed that they were on strike via social media.
However, the strike was eventually called off on Wednesday, and the players returned to training. Troost-Ekong also confirmed that they had gotten all their outstanding payments.
Following the resolution of the issue, former Super Eagles coach Eguavoen, who also served as the technical director, expressed his displeasure with the players' timing of the strike. Still, he believes that the team can defeat Gabon on Thursday.
“These boys that I know, that I have worked with, want to go to the FIFA World Cup. The aspiration of every professional footballer is to play at the World Cup and enhance their market value,” Eguavoen said via NFF media.
“The timing of the strike was wrong. They might have had their reasons but the timing was not the best.
“Having said that, I have faith in them to rise up to the occasion and do the business on Thursday, and afterwards, on Sunday.”
Super Eagles: All Focus Now On Gabon
Now that the strike debacle is finally behind, the Super Eagles will be looking to deliver the win against Gabon on Thursday.
It is a high stakes game with no room for redemption. For sure, a loss would put them on the bad side of Super Eagles fans, who believe that the team shouldn't have gone on strike in the first place.
However, a win would mean more work, as they will face the winner of the game between DR Congo and Cameroon.
The lads will be hoping that things pan out in their favour.
