2022 World Cup: Augustine Eguavoen to lead Nigeria against Ghana in play-off

Augustine Eguavoen will be in charge of Nigeria when they play Ghana next month in the final round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers according to multiple media reports.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is said to have settled for its Technical Director, Eguavoen, as the substantive coach of the Super Eagles with Emmanuel Amuneke assisting him.

Eguavoen was in charge of the team at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. The former Nigeria international announced he would return to his role as technical director after Nigeria’s shock round of 16 defeat at the hands of Tunisia.

This paved way for NFF to bring in a new coach and Portuguese Jose Peseiro was close to landing the job. However, Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare intervened.

Dare held a meeting with officials of the NFF in which the minister nullified the planned appointment of Peseiro and ordered the immediate draft of Eguavoen and Amuneke to the Super Eagles.

Also, the meeting agreed to give Eguavoen a two-year contract with an improvement on his salary from the present N3 million, although the source did not disclose the new salary.

The winner of the tie will join four other African countries in Qatar for the global showpiece later this year.

Ghana, who have appeared at the World Cup three times, are hoping to return to the tournament after failing to qualify for the 2018 edition hosted by Russia.

Nigeria, six-time participants, were in Russia and suffered a first-round exit after finishing third in a group that contained Croatia, Argentina, and Iceland.

The games will be played between March 24 and 29, 2022 with exact dates and kick-off times to be confirmed after CAF liaises with the two countries’ associations.