PFAN begs NFF to sack Peseiro immediately to prevent another World Cup miss.
In order for Nigeria to be eligible for the 2026 World Cup, the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN) has urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to fire Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro immediately.
Nigeria played a 1-1 tie in Abuja and a goalless draw away against Ghana, but was eliminated from consideration for the Qatar 2022 World Cup due to the away goals rule.
Contrary to predictions, the Super Eagles held Lesotho to a 1-1 draw in Uyo, and over the weekend, they traveled to Rwanda to achieve another 1-1 tie in the 2026 World Cup qualifying series against the Warriors of Zimbabwe.
The Eagles are down to two points out of a potential six because of the two draws. South Africa leads Group C on three points ahead of Rwanda, their opponents in today’s second game of the series. A victory in Kigali today would give them a four-point lead over the Super Eagles.
Peseiro attributed Nigeria’s dismal performance on the players’ weariness following their arduous travel to Rwanda. After the game, Peseiro was cited as saying, “Our first half was very bad, second half was much better but we lacked energy to push for a win.”
Harrison Jalla, the chairman of the PFAN Task Force, disagreed with Peseiro, nevertheless. “The coach is a misfit and he is only looking for places to lay blame,” he declared. The NFF must fire him immediately.
Jalla stated, “It is more honorable for us to fumble with our local coach than spend about $70,000 monthly on a foreign coach and get bad results.” This statement brought to mind a similar action taken against former coach Gernot Rohr, a few months prior to the most recent AFCON in Cameroon, where the Eagles crashed out in the Round of 16. The Super Eagles face another catastrophe at the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire if the NFF is unable to fire Peseiro immediately.
Before it’s too late, we must grab the bull by the horns. We are currently in danger of losing our qualification for the FIFA World Cup in 2026. Once more, the Super Eagles’ dismal performance belies the caliber of our NFF leadership. “There is an urgent need for well-meaning Nigerians to break the monopoly of the racket going on in the NFF,” the statement reads. We cannot keep choosing the NFF president from the weakest constituency. I have stated on multiple occasions that it is suicide to let the FA chairman of the states decide who will be the NFF president. Out of 44 votes, only that constituency and the FCT have 37.
Nigerians must take immediate action because Ibrahim Gusau is allowing our football to decline. Gusau must depart as soon as feasible.
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This was announced in a statement released on Wednesday by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
The friendly match will take place at the home site of Portimonense S.C., the Estadio Municipal de Portimão in the Algarve, which has seating for about 10,000 people.
Barely a month between the Super Eagles’ friendly matchup with Saudi Arabia and their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Lesotho in Uyo.
The Eagles will travel to Zimbabwe for their second game in the 2026 World Cup qualifying round in November, all during the same FIFA window.
The Super Eagles and Saudi Arabia will clash for the second time at the senior level.
The score was 0-0 in their 2010 friendly match, which was also their first meeting.
at the Super Eagles’ final 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at Uyo on Sunday, they defeated Sao Tome and Principe 6-0.
While Ademola Lookman, Taiwo Awoniyi, and Samuel Chukwueze each scored a goal, Victor Osimhen scored a hat-trick.
For his Super Eagles debut, Victor Boniface assisted Chukwueze in scoring the sixth goal.
