The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has officially appointed former ace winger Finidi George as Super Eagles Head Coach following the recommendation of its Technical and Development Committee.
According to reports, NFF has narrowed down its choices to three local coaches: Finidi George, Emmanuel Amuneke, and Daniel Amokachi.
Finidi who served as assistant to José Peseiro for 20 months, stepped into the interim role after Peseiro left following the Super Eagles’ runner-up position at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. He took charge of the squad in an interim capacity during two friendly matches in Morocco last month.
In the first match, his team secured a historic 2-1 victory over Ghana, ending an 18-year winless streak against the Black Stars. However, they suffered a setback in the second game, losing 0-2 to Mali.
Finidi won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Tunisia and impressed at the FIFA World Cup finals in the USA the same year, earned 62 caps for Nigeria. He also participated in the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals and won gold, silver, and bronze medals from the 1992, 1994, 2000, and 2002 AFCON tournaments.
The 52-year-old former Ajax Amsterdam and Real Betis forward made his scoring debut for Nigeria in an AFCON qualifying match against Burkina Faso at the National Stadium, Lagos, on July 27, 1991.
He also featured for Calabar Rovers and Sharks FC domestically before moving to Europe. Notably, he assisted Rashidi Yekini in scoring Nigeria’s first-ever FIFA World Cup goal against Bulgaria in Dallas, USA, on June 19, 1994.
Finidi’s immediate task will be to guide the Super Eagles to victory in two crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against South Africa and the Benin Republic in Uyo and Abidjan, respectively. These matches are must-win encounters, with the Super Eagles lagging in third place in Group C of the African campaign behind Rwanda and South Africa.
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