A below-par performance from Nigeria on Monday night has left Augustine Eguavoen struggling to hide his frustration.
The Super Eagles’ 2-1 defeat to Rwanda in the final Group D qualifier wasn’t part of the plan, and the caretaker coach didn’t try to dress it up in the post-match press conference.
Softfootball gathered that Eguavoen kept his assessment blunt, saying:
Below standard. And I feel very sad. This result was not what we planned for. We scored and were pushing for a second goal, but, quite against the run of play, we conceded. I tried to change the formation, but it didn’t work. These things happen on certain days, and today was one of those days.
Despite the setback, Eguavoen wasn’t ready to write off his squad’s credentials heading into the World Cup qualifiers next year, insisting:
We keep trying; football is all about winning, losing, or drawing. But I believe we have a good squad, a very strong one.
He also defended struggling forwards Victor Boniface and Kelechi Iheanacho, calling the former “a top-class player” and saying the latter simply “needs confidence.”
