By Abiola Olawale
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has announced the appointment of a former Super Eagles, winger Finidi George, as the new head coach of the senior men’s national team, Super Eagles.
George, an assistant to former Super Eagles coach to José Santos Peseiro, who left in February 2024, is set to replace the Portuguese.
The announcement of George’s appointment was unveiled in a statement issued on Monday, April 29.
The 52-year-old is expected to lead the Super Eagles to the 2026 World Cup. The Super Eagles are scheduled to face South Africa and the Benin Republic in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June.
“George, a member of the so-styled ‘Golden Generation’ that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Tunisia and emerged as the second most entertaining team in Nigeria’s debut at the FIFA World Cup finals in USA the same year, won 62 caps for Nigeria, including featuring at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals,” the NFF statement read.
Reflecting on his illustrious playing career, the statement highlighted George’s achievements, which include “gold, silver and bronze medals from the 1992, 1994, 2000 and 2002 AFCON tournaments.”
One of George’s most memorable moments came when he “assisted Rashidi Yekini (of blessed memory) to score Nigeria’s first-ever FIFA World Cup goal against Bulgaria in Dallas, USA on 19th June 1994,” the statement noted.
“The new Super Eagles boss’s immediate task will be to guide the team to victory in two crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against South Africa and the Benin Republic in Uyo and Abidjan, respectively, within the next five weeks.”
George was the Eagles’ interim head coach for two international friendlies against Ghana and Mali in March 2024.
Finidi led the Eagles to a 2-1 victory over Ghana in his first game at the helm, but lost 2-0 to Mali in the second game.
