The senior national team of Nigeria have moved up from the position of 5th in Africa to 3rd in the latest ranking done by world football governing body FIFA.

Nigeria in the month under review won four of their three games at the Africa Cup of Nations picking nine points in the group stages of the Africa Cup of Nations, before bowing out in the round of 16.

They lost 0-1 to Tunisia in what many regard as one of the shock of the tournament considering how both teams got to the knock round. Tunisia barely made it as they were one of the four best placed third team.

Globally the Super Eagles are 32nd in the world. A sharp rise from where they were four years ago before the appointment of Gernot Rohr as coach of the team. They were out of the top 50 in the world.

Former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr is among contenders to be named as new coach of struggling Ligue 1 side Bordeaux.

Bordeaux are currently 19th on the log in Ligue 1 and after the 5-0 thrashing suffered in the hands of Reims, the club decided to part way with their coach Vladimir Petkovic two days ago.

The search for a replacement has started in earnest and Rohr who was sacked as coach of Nigeria is among potential candidates for the job due to his knowledge of the team as a player and former coach.

He managed the team from 1990 to 1996 and till date still holds the club’s glorious achievement of leading them to an European Cup final, where they were beaten by German giants Bayern Munich after losing 1-3 at home and 0-2 away over two legs in the UEFA Cup final in 1996.

Per reports in the French media he is one of the six names pencilled down for consideration as the team is on the look out for an experienced manager who can help their cause to beat the drop to Ligue 2.

Genk of Belgium Nigerian striker Paul Onuachu says it’s not normal that top teams didn’t make attempts to sign him from Genk after his incredible goal haul last season.

Onuachu ended last season with 35 goals finishing as the top scorer in the division and also winning the Ebony Shoe award for the best black player in the Belgium league.

This season he has 13 goals so far, no thanks to injury and fitness issues. He however lament the fact that he is still playing in Belgium as he was hoping his feat should have earned him a deal in a top league.

“The more the end of the summer transfer approached, the more frustrated I became. I was really mad at the club at one point. I don’t think it’s normal that, when you finish such a season in Belgium, no one comes to get me. I don’t know why it just didn’t happen. Covid, Covid, Covid: I hear that a lot. If a club really wants you, then it will get you right?”, the Gazet van Antwerpen quoted the lanky striker as saying.

He said he is back to working hard after the injury he struggled with towards the end of last year, he further cited the injury as why he believe a move away in January didn’t work out despite having a new agent which he trust more than the previous one.

“I can’t change it. I keep working hard and get myself back on track. This time I had less stress than in the summer. Then I wanted it too hard. I knew my hamstring injury was going to make it difficult now, because in the winter clubs want players who are fit and ready to play right away.

“It was not me. My previous agent also just drove my head crazy, putting my expectations too high in the summer. Now I am calmer and my new agent is more honest.”

As many as five players of the senior national team of Nigeria have expressed their joy at the appointment of Austine Eguavoen to handle the World Cup qualifiers playoff game against Ghana.

Satisfied with how the coach handled the entire team during the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), the players however want the coach to adjust some areas ahead of the game against Ghana in March.

One of the players said he need to basically be more firm in dealing with external influence as during the AFCON, unauthorised staff were allowed access into the team’s private area particularly board members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

” They were too many around the team. In the bus, hotel and even training. That wasn’t the case before now. He need to draw a line on where they are allowed to be at. Gernot Rohr was very firm in that regard”, he said.

Another player said the coach need to have faith in his players and turn deaf towards what anyone has to say citing the issue of not starting Sadiq Umar against Tunisia as one case, where public opinion proved costly.

” To me he has to show unwaivering faith in his players regardless of what anyone is saying. Prior to the Tunisia game he had plans of starting Sadiq because he believe he can trouble them with his size and physical approach. The pressure from public opinion made him start Taiwo Awoniyi. He need to make decisions and stand by it”, he concluded.

On tactics, one of the player said they most times approach games with the mindset of how they want to play not minding what their opponents come up with. It proved costly against Tunisia.

” If we had approached the Tunisian game differently maybe the result would have been different. They did a good job on curtailing us but we didn’t know how to properly punish them until the second half of the game then the red card. We didn’t set up to expose their weakness”, he stated.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has settled for the dates the Super Eagles of Nigeria will engage Black Stars of Ghana in the race to be at the 2002 World Cup in Qatar.

Both nations were drawn against each other in the playoff after scaling through their respective groups as winners. The tie will be played over two legs, the first in Ghana before the return leg in Nigeria.

Per what was approved by CAF, Nigeria will travel to Ghana on the 24th of March for the first leg in Cape Coast before hosting the return leg three days later in Abuja for a spot in the global soccer fiesta.

Ghana and Nigeria both suffered disappointments at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana crashing out in the group stage while Nigeria were knocked out in the round of 16.

Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro has broken his silence over the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in making a u-turn on plans to hire him as coach of the senior national team of Nigeria.

Peseiro was announced as the new coach of the Nigerian team to take over from coach Austine Eguavoen who was appointed in interim capacity following the sacking of coach Gernot Rohr.

The plan was for Eguavoen to handle the team at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and hand over to Peseiro immediately after the tournament with Nigeria set to take on Ghana in March in the World Cup playoff.

Yesterday president of the NFF Amaju Pinnick confirmed OwnGoalNigeria.comexclusive when he said the football hoise won’t be hiring the coach anymore as earlier announced.

Same evening, the NFF released a press statement officially disengaging the football house from the earlier announced plans to hire the Portuguese, they went further to name new set of coaches led by Austine Eguavoen for the team ahead of their game against Ghana.

Reacting to the move by the NFF, Peseiro posted on his verified Twitter handle that talks have ended with Nigeria and he won’t be taking over the team due to finances and other contractual clauses.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

After several weeks of negotiations, during which several news came out from the Nigerian Football Federation that I would be the coach of their national team from the end of CAN’2021, a fact that I never confirmed, these were not materialized by disagreement over contractual clauses and financial matters.

José Peseiro