La Liga Coach Slams Eguavoen for Fielding Injured Super Eagles Star in AFCON Qualifier
- The Super Eagles of Nigeria recently completed their Africa Cup of Nations qualification series with a clash against Rwanda
- The fixture, which came in the aftermath of the Super Eagles qualifying for the showpiece, was more of a celebratory clash
- Real Sociedad manager, Imanol Alguacil, has criticised Augustine Eguavoen for fielding striker Sadiq Umar in the match
The final 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier, which the Nigerian team played against Rwanda, has continued to stir seemingly unpleasant reactions from several footballing stakeholders.
Whilst fans of the Nigerian team were left disappointed with the performance of the Super Eagles on the night, others have continued to focus on the manager's approach and the calibre of players that coach Augustine Eguavoen opted to field.
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One of those displeased with the latter is Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil. The La Liga tactician has called out the interim coach of the Super Eagles for choosing to field Sadiq Umar in what was essentially a dead-rubber fixture.
La Liga coach slams Eguavoen
Speaking to the media ahead of his team's UEFA Europa League fixture against Ajax, the veteran tactician expressed his confusion over Eguavoen’s decision to field Sadiq in a match of little significance.
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The Basque coach emphasised that the striker was already dealing with an injury but still featured for the Super Eagles despite his condition.
"Well, you know there are times when I don’t tell you things because I understand that not everything needs to be shared, but since you’ve asked, I’ll answer. It’s very simple," Alguacil said during the pre-match press conference, as quoted by Futbol Fantasy.
"He played only five minutes in his last game with the national team because two days before, he hurt his hamstring. He played that game because the coach believed it was necessary, even though he had discomfort.
"When he returned here, I told him he was in the squad for the Copa match, but he informed me he wasn’t available and didn’t train for two days.
"On Saturday, he trained and said he was ready for the derby. So, I included him, but I knew he wasn’t 100% fit. I sent him out to warm up—more to involve him in the team’s dynamics than with the intent to play him."
The Super Eagles, to the surprise of many, lost the match against Rwanda’s Amavubi. Sadiq, who has struggled for playing time this season, will now undergo thorough assessments to determine how quickly he can regain full fitness.
According to data courtesy of Fotmob, the forward has only managed one assist in eight appearances this season.
Dennerby backs Andersson for Super Eagles job
Legit.ng in another report detailed that former coach of the Super Falcons, Thomas Dennerby, has backed Janne Andersson to succeed as the coach of the Nigerian team.
The 65-year-old stressed that the appointment of his compatriot could help Nigeria get their FIFA World Cup qualification campaign back on track.
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Source: Legit.ng
