Are Fans Right To Be Discouraged About Nigeria's Chances of 2026 World Cup Qualification Under Finidi George?

I am once again putting my camel’s nose in the tent of a conversation around expectations on Coach Finidi regarding 2026 World Cup qualification.

To be honest , my expectations of world cup qualification success was also dealt a harmful blow following Finidi’s appointment as Head Coach of the Super Eagles simply because I thought at the time that there were more suitably qualified candidate and that Finidi is largely untested as a coach of a national team of a country even half the size of Nigeria.

So, I think it will take a miracle for Nigeria to qualify for the 2026 World Cup owing – not to the quality of our oppositions – but the tactical nous and depth of experience of the coaches he will be up against.

But, are my expectations rock bottom? Well, not exactly.

You see, if we fail in upcoming Afcon and world cup qualification assignments, more of my anger and frustrations will be directed at his Glass House employers rather than Finidi himself.

That said, i intend to scrutinize Finidi himself intently for decisions he reaches, activities he undertakes and players he selects pre-, during and post- matches. I will be looking to see whether the way he approaches his tasks is inconsistent with what one would expect of a coach who:

– has managed one of the most successful Nigerian club for 3 seasons

– has recent continental cup competition experience as head coach

– was part of Nigeria’s coaching crew to the second most successful Super Eagles outing in the Afcon in 23 years

– has European coaching experience at any level

– and as a player worked under some of the most accomplished coaches in the history of football.

If one scratches beneath the surface, Finidi has a lot going for him. Does that still make him suitable for the Super Eagles Head Coach job? I will say no; I definitely would never have endorsed his application (solely on the basis of limited exposure and experience). But now that fate and NFF/Sports Ministry politics have conspired to land the role on his fortunate laps, it’s really a golden opportunity for him to leverage his most recent NPFL and Super Eagles experiences and successes to make this role his and to make success of it.

Super Eagles success for Finidi is not impossible though – to be honest – it seems (highly) improbable.

The silver lining is that Finidi should have enough arrows in his quiver to raise the level of his performance with hunger, drive and determination needed to achieve tangible success.