Nigerian football stakeholders call for Peseiro’s sack over poor results
Football stakeholders in Nigeria have called for the immediate sack of the Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro following the team’s second straight draw in the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
This comes after the Super Eagles on Sunday struggled to a 1-1 draw with the Warriors of Zimbabwe at the Huye Stadium in Butare, Rwanda.
Recall that Nigeria had also laboured to a 1-1 draw against the Crocodiles of Lesotho in the opening fixture at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo last Thursday with South Africa’s 2-1 victory over Benin Republic’s Cheetahs on Saturday meaning the Bafana Bafana are top of Group C, even before taking on Rwanda in a Day 2 encounter on Tuesday.
This has sparked widespread criticism from lovers of Nigerian football with many pointing out that both results were unacceptable for a country of Nigeria’s stature.
They argued that Peseiro was not the kind of coach for the Super Eagles, adding that it was high time he was relieved of his duties.
A former chairman of the House of Representatives, Godfrey Gaiya lamented that Nigeria should have been a sure bet going by public ratings in the group.
Gaiya said that many Nigerians had celebrated the 2026 World Cup qualifying group comprising of Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Benin Republic, Lesotho, and South Africa as easy, going by previous antecedents.
He expressed disappointment in the fact that after Matchday 2, it was unfortunate that optimism is reducing to skepticism despite facing opponents ranked 153rd and 125th in the FIFA rankings.
According to him, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) under Ibrahim Gusau has been doing its best so far, there was a need for a push and competent guidance from a well-coordinated secretariat.
He said that the Super Eagles current squad was star-studded but far from being a team, adding that virtually every department was leaking, with the goalkeeping almost always a disaster.
He bemoaned the over reliance on purely foreign based players to execute the qualifiers adding that the match against Lesotho should have been played by six home-based players in Uyo.
Mouktar Mohammed, Chairman, FCT Football Association, said the recent poor performances recorded by the Super Eagles calls for deep soul searching.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers resume in June 2024 with Nigeria hosting South Africa, current leaders of Group C, before travelling to an away game against Benin Republic.
