If retained as Super Eagles Coach, Can Austin Eguavoen Gather Maximum 6 Points in March's World Cup Qualifiers?

The signs are worrying because the Super Eagles need a tactically grounded technician, planner and strategist who can return the team to winning ways in March’s World Cup qualifiers.

Four points in games against now-familiar foes Rwanda and Zimbabwe will be insufficient in these World Cup qualifiers – only 6 points will send Nigeria's World Cup ambitions back on track. And the 10 million Naira question is, can this USA ’94 Second Round extra-time World Cup villain-turn-coach deliver the goods?

Now, Eguavoen would have played 6 games with the Super Eagles by then in Afcon qualifiers, enough time for him to have run out of steam and ideas and be totally drained of fresh initiatives based on his antecedents.

By that time, the coaches of Zimbabwe and Rwanda would have known what Eguavoen is about and would be very ready to neutralize him effectively.

I still think Eguavoen should see out October’s round of Afcon qualifiers and slowly hand over to a shrewd and sagacious coach in November before March’s World Cup qualifiers.

If however Eguavoen shows indications of going from strength to strength in October’s Afcon qualifiers with clear signs of enhanced tactical diversity, direction and depth, then maybe (just maybe) the embryos of a case for him to continue to World Cup qualifiers in March would have started taking shape. Flexibility and versatility in his coaching methods will do the trick.

But it is too early to make that case based on 2 games where he has actually started regressing from victory with many goals against Benin (who didn’t know how he will set the Super Eagles up) to a draw of no goals against Rwanda (who knew what to expect from him and clipped his wings somewhat, though aided by a corrupt referee).

All that said, many fans remain grateful to Eguavoen for stabilizing the team after the frustrating fumble of Finidi’s reign.

To conclude, if Eguavoen shows marked tactical and versatility improvements against Libya in October, then the case for his continuation will be strong. If not, the NFF should unveil a foreign coach without delay to take over from November onward with him initially serving as the Assistant to aid in the smooth and gradual transition.