By Dayo Awoniyi
Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) Head of Technical Department, Austin Eguavoen, has expressed confidence that the Super Eagles will seize their second chance to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup through the playoff stage.
Nigeria advanced to the playoffs despite a turbulent qualifying campaign, joining Gabon, Cameroon, and DR Congo in the final phase of Africa’s qualifiers — keeping alive hopes of returning to football’s biggest stage after missing the 2022 edition in Qatar.
Speaking on OGTV, the former Super Eagles coach and defender said the team is determined to make amends and deliver qualification for the nation.
“Everybody’s excited. I’m super excited because we all know what it means to be at the World Cup, and we missed the last one,” Eguavoen said.
“We’ve put that behind us now. The boys understand what’s at stake, and I like the unity and spirit from Nigerians. Now that we’ve qualified for the playoffs, we will not toy with it.”
Eguavoen credited faith and resilience for Nigeria’s progress, adding that the team now has full control of its destiny.
“From where we were, all hope seemed lost, but I never gave up completely,” he said.
“I believed something could still happen — and it did. God has given us a lifeline. We have the quality, the personnel, and the determination. I’m 100 percent confident we’ll make it to the World Cup.”
The Super Eagles are bidding to qualify for their seventh World Cup appearance and their first since Russia 2018.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
