AFCON ouster: I am responsible for my errors, says Eguavoen

Super Eagles interim coach, Austin Eguavoen, has admitted that he was wrong to leave Chidera Ejuke out of the squad that lost to Tunisia in the second round of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Nigeria crashed out of the 2021 AFCON following a 1-0 loss to the Carthage Eagles in the round of 16 on Sunday night.

The Super Eagles had been brilliant in the group stages, but they struggled to break down a well-organised Tunisian defence.

🇳🇬 🦅 Many thanks to the Confederation of African Football for this award.

The Best coach of the Group stage. Wouldn’t have been possible without my fantastic group of players and colleagues.

Thank you Nigerians, for your support. It’s needed now, more than ever💚#TeamNigeria pic.twitter.com/FXE799JuP5

— Austin Eguavoen (@coacheguavoen) January 22, 2022

Nigeria’s attacking threat in the group stages came from the wings, but the lively Moses Simon was kept quiet while Samuel Chukwueze struggled throughout the minutes he played.

Although Eguavoen made a couple of changes from the bench, he could not bring on Ejuke, who was one of the creative players in the squad.

Ejuke made a cameo against Egypt in the opening match, while he started against Guinea-Bissau, but he was not on the bench against Tunisia.

Eguavoen has now admitted it was a mistake to leave him out as he could have solved Nigeria’s problems in the attacking third.

“I think it was a mistake on my part not dressing Chidera Ejuke for the game against Tunisia,” Eguavoen told soccernet after the game.

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“I take responsibility for whatever that happened at the round of 16,” he added.

The Super Eagles will not turn their attention to the 2022 World Cup playoffs, where they will face Ghana across two legs.

The winner of the tie will join the other four African teams in the other fixtures to represent Africa at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.