National Teams
Kenneth Omeruo tasks NFF to fill Super Eagles vacancy before South Africa clash
By Monsurah Olatunji
Nigeria defender, Kenneth Omeruo has reminded the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) the importance of having a new head coach in place for the team’s next 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Bafana Bafana of South Africa and Squirrels of Benin in June.
The NFF is still exploring its options after parting ways with Jose Peseiro in February, just three weeks after he had guided Nigeria to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final.
Although the three-time African champions are still without a substantive head coach, Enyimba coach Finidi George has since been handed the reins of the national team on an interim basis as the governing body continues to mull over applications for the job.
Omeruo, who was part of Peseiro’s AFCON squad, however, felt George did an admirable job under the circumstances during the 2024 FIFA Series friendlies last month as Nigeria beat Ghana 2-1 before suffering a 2-0 defeat to Mali.
Considering Nigeria’s underwhelming start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, the 30-year-old centre-back believes the West Africans must have a permanent man at the helm in place before their clash against Bafana Bafana.
The Super Eagles only managed successive 1-1 draws with Lesotho and Zimbabwe in November 2023 to leave them third in Group C.
Omeruo, who plays for Turkish club, Kasimpasa reiterated his support for Finidi to get the job on a permanent basis.
“I don’t know about everyone, but for me and a few others, he (Finidi) did well. He was short-staffed. Only one coach working as an analyst, training without an assistant,” Omeruo told Brila.
“I like that he kept the same system we used at the AFCON. But against Mali, I would have played everyone, give everyone a chance to play, and maybe things would have turned out differently, and he would be a strong contender for the job.
“We started the World Cup qualifiers poorly, and that’s on us as players, but I do believe we have the quality to qualify for the World Cup. But we need to sort out the issue of head coach real quickly because June is just around the corner.”
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