Super Eagles to Appoint Substantive Coach ‘Any Moment From Now,’ Says Pinnick

NFF President Pinnick announces that the Super Eagles will have a substantive coach appointed shortly, signaling major changes for the national team.

Amaju Pinnick, a former president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), announced that the Super Eagles are set to appoint a permanent head coach “very soon.”

FIFA Council member Pinnick provided the hint on Friday.

“At any moment now, I’m confident they’ll announce a coach—one who is enterprising,” he stated during an interview on Channels Television’s Sports Tonight.

The Super Eagles have been without a coach since George Finidi departed in June 2024. His departure came after Jose Peseiro left the coaching position following the team’s second-place finish at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), where they are three-time African champions.

Since then, Augustine Eguavoen has held the interim position as coach of the Super Eagles, guiding Nigeria to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Despite his accomplishments, the NFF is set to appoint a new coach for Nigeria in preparation for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers that resume later this year.

The Super Eagles currently hold the fifth spot in Group C of the African World Cup qualification series for the upcoming tournament in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. They have not won any of their four matches so far, earning only three points—four points behind Rwanda, who leads the group.

We Would Still Be Eligible

However, Pinnick remains hopeful about the Super Eagles’ chances of qualifying for the quadrennial tournament.

“We trust that, by God’s grace, we will still qualify,” he said.

“I have conversations with the president of the NFF every other day, and I know he’s deeply committed to ensuring Nigeria qualifies for the World Cup. It will be a challenging task, so I’m cautious not to raise expectations among Nigerians that we will qualify. However, we’ll give it our utmost effort—pushing ourselves to a 10 on a scale from 1-10—and see if we can achieve this goal. We believe divine intervention plays a role.”

Since their debut at the 1994 World Cup, the Super Eagles have consistently qualified for football’s premier event. However, they missed out on participating in the last edition held in Qatar after losing to Ghana on away goals during the playoffs. Nigeria also did not qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.