Augustine Eguavoen is no longer the coach of Nigeria, but the drama is far from finished. The dust has hardly settled after the Super Eagles have been dumped out by Ghana in the World Cup qualifying play-off in Abuja. Eguavoen had to deny claims that his team selection was controlled by the Nigerian Football Association.”I’ve read the stories that I was ordered to play Calvin Bassey and Emmanuel Dennis by the Nigerian FA. It couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is Calvin Bassey started because he did well in the first leg when he replaced Zaidu Sanusi. He deserved to start in the next game.”Eguavoen and his entire coaching team were sacked immediately after the game, after fans rioted on the pitch. As if the failure on its own wasn’t enough, the coach has now had to deny allegations that Nigerian FA chiefs forced him to play Rangers FC’s Bassey and Watford star Dennis.”The only people I discussed selections with were my backroom staff. They gave me their own selections too and I slept on it and made my decision on the day of the game. Calvin Bassey has been doing well at Rangers and Emmanuel Dennis has impressed at Watford. I stand by my decision to use both of them.”Thursday, 23.55: (2.75) Elite United (2.75) Gamtel (2.80)Nigerian fans have been critical of the tactical approach of Eguavoen, a 56-year-old former international defender who was appointed Super Eagles coach in an interim capacity in December after Frenchman Gernot Rohr was sacked.He led the three-time African champions to the round of 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon this year, where they were beaten by Tunisia. His temporary appointment was then extended to cover the 2022 World Cup playoffs against Ghana, but it all ended in misery.
