AFCON fall-out: I will return to my Technical Director’s job – Eguavoen

Super Eagles interim boss, Austin Eguavoen, has said that he would return to his role as the Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) after Nigeria’s exit in the 2021 AFCON.

The Super Eagles promising start to the competition came to a disappointing end in the second round after losing 1-0 to the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia.

Heartbroken 💔

📸 – @modovictorekene #AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/FnPlQwVDXj

— Soar Super Eagles (@SSE_NGA) January 24, 2022

Eguavoen had received praises for the team’s performances in the group stages, which saw them blitz through with three wins- the only team to do so.

The former Gent defender was appointed as the interim coach after Gernot Rohr was sacked just a month before the tournament.

However, preparations were far from ideal for him as he had to deal with the withdrawals of four key players ahead of the tournament.

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But that did not affect the team’s performance in the group stage as Nigeria scored six, conceded one to qualify with a 100% record, leading to calls for Eguavoen to be named the permanent coach.

Before the tournament, the NFF had already announced the appointment of Jose Peseiro as the permanent coach to take over, but there were claims that Eguavoen could continue in the role if he leads the team to the title.

However, following the team’s exit at the hands of Tunisia on Sunday night, Eguavoen revealed he would not continue in the role as he would return to his position as the Technical Director of the NFF.

“I am here as the interim coach, I am the Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), what will happen is I will go back to my job and we let the authority decide what next to be done,” Eguavoen said as per Modo

The NFF will have to make a decision as soon as possible, though, as the Super Eagles have a huge World Cup 2022 two-legged playoff against Ghana in March.