‘Nigerian coaches are not good enough for Super Eagles’

Usman Abdallah, former Enyimba head coach, has expressed his doubts about the capability of Nigerian coaches to lead the Super Eagles, as the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) searches for a new coach.

Several local and foreign coaches have been linked to the Super Eagles’ job following the resignation of Finidi George in June. He was the 10th local head coach to manage the three-time African champions.

While a section of Nigerian football enthusiasts believes local coaches are still capable of managing the Super Eagles, Abdallah, in an interview with Punch Sports Extra, said none are qualified for the role, whether based at home or abroad.

“It doesn’t bother me whether the NFF is considering bringing Jose Peseiro back or if they want to hire Hervé Renard as the Eagles coach as long as they can afford to pay their salaries,” Abdallah said.

“The issue is, I have heard people say they don’t want us to spend money on the foreign coach but show me a coach qualified for the Eagles job who is a Nigerian whether home or abroad. The fact is we don’t have it.”

However, the former Super Eagles assistant coach advised the NFF not to let the appointed foreign coach impose their own assistants on the team.

“Appointing Peseiro or whoever is no issue, but why allow them to come with their assistants when some of us have always been named?

“How do we tap from their experience and grow to become the national team coaches? This is the mistake the federation has always made, and they need to correct that,” Abdallah said.

Two matches into his appointment as Eagles manager, George resigned after the NFF declared their decision to appoint a foreign technical adviser to oversee his operations.


The former Ajax winger oversaw a 1-1 draw to South Africa and a 2-1 loss against Benin Republic in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification series. As it stands, Nigeria have only picked three points from a possible 12 in their opening six fixtures.

Now ranked fifth in their six-team qualification group, the Super Eagles need to win their remaining matches to stand a chance of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, and a coach that can achieve that is essential