A member of the technical committee of the Nigeria Football Federation, Victor Ikpeba, has said Nigerians called for the appointment of a local coach following the departure of erstwhile manager Jose Peseiro and painstakingly searched for the best, Finidi George.
The former African Footballer of the Year said that despite the poor show so far, Finidi has the full support of the NFF to remain as Super Eagles coach.
Nigeria languish second from bottom of Group C with three points from four matches after Finidi drew his first official game in charge of the team with South Africa before he lost 2-1 to Benin.
“Nigerians asked for a local coach and Finidi was found to be the best man to lead the Super Eagles at this time,” Ikpeba told ScoreNigeria.
“The technical committee chose the best in the interest of the country.
“Finidi will therefore continue to enjoy the full support of the NFF, despite the recent results posted by the Super Eagles.”
Ikpeba continued: “Mathematically, the Super Eagles can still qualify for the World Cup, it’s not over for us.
“We can win our remaining six matches next year to qualify for the World Cup.”
The former AS Monaco player therefore demanded the players step up to do this.
“The players have become too comfortable, they now have to step up and take full responsibility,” he urged.
“The talent is there in the team for them to turn things around next year.
“History will be kind to them when they fight back and qualify Nigeria.
“We missed the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and it was a special tournament.
“The next World Cup to be hosted by the United States of America, Canada and Mexico will be even much more special and they cannot afford to miss it.”
The Super Eagles will resume the World Cup qualifying series in March 2025 with a trip to group leaders Rwanda before they host bottom-ranked Zimbabwe.
The matches will be played between March 17 and 25.
