AFCON 2025 qualifiers: Nigeria will treat Benin with respect, Eguavoen says

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have struggled since AFCON 2023, losing twice, drawing once, and winning just one of the four matches. However, interim coach Austine Egauvoen believes fortunes can change positively.

Austine Eguavoen, the interim head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, has expressed confidence in the players’s ability to recover from recent setbacks ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Benin Republic and Rwanda.

The Super Eagles have struggled since AFCON 2023, securing only one win out of four matches, with two losses and one draw. Despite this, Eguavoen believes the team’s near-triumph at AFCON 2023 is enough motivation for the team to get back to winning ways.

“We will treat Benin with utmost respect. No doubt about that because if you disrespect people, you will have a problem. We will play them with big respect but hey, this is our home,” he said

“The only thing we have to remind these players about is that they were almost African champions months ago.

“It is not even a year yet. So what went wrong? It is still them. We will do everything we can as the technical crew, and of course, the Federation and Nigerians will rally around them. They are the ones to turn the table around.”

Eguavoen emphasised Nigeria’s respected status and his belief in the team’s potential. “Nigeria is a nation that commands respect, and there is no difference in this one. I am very confident that we will overcome these two games and more. We have the talent, the players, the personnel, and the support.”

The AFCON 2025 qualifiers will be Eguaveon’s fourth managerial stint with the Super Eagles. The former Bendel Insurance coach led Nigeria between 2005 and 2007, and he was reappointed as interim coach in 2010 and 2022 respectively. In his last managerial stint, he oversaw three wins, two losses, and one draw in six matches.

Rangers International’s Fidelis Ilechukwu and Remo Stars’s Daniel Ogunmodede have been appointed as his assistants for Nigeria’s qualifiers against Benin Republic and Rwanda.

As of this report, 22 Super Eagles players have joined the training camp in Uyo.