Finidi George: Ex-Nigeria Coach Refuses to Blame Super Eagles Boss Despite Poor Run of Results

Finidi George: Ex-Nigeria Coach Refuses to Blame Super Eagles Boss Despite Poor Run of Results

Edwin Kiplagat
June 13, 2024 at 3:40 PM
In this article:
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Nigeria
Nigeria
21
Benin logo
Benin
Benin
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South Africa
South Africa
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  • Finidi George has come under fire less than two months after his appointment as Nigeria's coach after his team lost to Benin
  • The former Ajax forward has managed two competitive matches, against South Africa at home and Benin and got one point
  • Former Nigeria coach, Adegboye Onigbinde, has said the blame lies on the football administrators instead of the coach

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Few Nigerians expected Finidi George to get a point from the South Africa and Benin matches.

They were held to a draw by Bafana Bafana last Friday, June 7, and suffered a painful defeat to Benin, coached by former boss Gernot Rohr.

Former Super Eagles coach, Adegboye Anigbinde, has refused to blame Finidi and instead called out the administrators.

Finidi George, Alex Iwobi, Ademola Lookman, South Africa, Nigeria, Benin
Finidi George's Nigeria have plenty of work to do if they want to reach the 2026 World Cup. Photos by Issouf Sanogo.
Source: Getty Images

The defeat to Benin created a crisis, and Finidi has been put on the chopping block, less than two months into the job.

Nigeria are winless in their first four 2026 World Cup qualifying matches, and sit second from bottom in their group. Rwanda, Benin, and South Africa are tied on seven points, while the three-time African champions have three.

They are in a precarious position, considering only the top team goes through. However, they have six games to kick-start their campaign.

Onigbinde blames Nigerian football administrators

Finidi received his fair share of criticism for his team's play and body language, especially against Benin on Monday, June 10. Onigbinde believes the Super Eagles legend is not the problem.

"The major problem is administrative, not technical. But when a thing like this happens, everybody focuses on the coach and the players," he said per Brila.
"If you crucify Finidi George now, if you can't solve the problem, you can't get it right if you don't do it right."

The Super Eagles missed the 2022 World Cup, and missing the 2026 edition will not go down well with the fans, considering Africa was given nine slots.

Sodje welcomes Finidi's firing

Sports Brief earlier reported on former Nigeria international, Sam Sodje, launching a scathing attack on Finidi following the loss to Benin.

Sodje said Finidi should be sacked since he hasn't got the results, emphasising that the former Ajax man is not the right man for the job.

Authors
Edwin Kiplagat photo
Edwin Kiplagat
Edwin Kiplagat has five years of experience in journalism working as a Sports Editor at Africa Insight Communications and ESPN. Edwin Kiplagat is a Bachelor's Degree holder in journalism from the Multimedia University of Kenya.