Caretaker coach Augustine Eguavoen has mounted a stout defence of some of the controversial call-ups he has made for the Super Eagles.
Based on current form, many fans were up in arms with the invitation of Sadiq Umar and Kelechi Iheanacho for the 2025 AFCON qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda.
Eguavoen has now said that because of the short time for the Super Eagles to train for the AFCON qualifiers he would prefer to work with players he has previously worked with.
“I have had to stick with the players I know, it will be difficult I have not worked with previously because of the short time to prepare for these matches,” Eguavoen told Eagle7fm Sports Radio
“We have had only three, four days for these matches, so the time is not there (to look closer at new players).”
He added: “Time is my biggest challenge because the calendar is so choked.
“I want to improve our large pool of players, so that we could have capable replacements.
“We should be patient when we have friendlies, we will try to bring some new players and work with them.
“I know Nigerians love this game so much, but sometimes we’re not patient.”
