AUSTIN Eguavoen is happy that Emmanuel Amuneke has been added to the Super Eagles coaching crew as they prepare for the Qatar 2022 playoffs.
While Eguavoen is the interim head coach of the Super Eagles, Amuneke was earlier this week named as his first assistant as the technical crew was reshuffled.
Both men were teammates in the ‘golden generation’ of the Super Eagles when the side qualified for Nigeria’s first-ever World Cup and won the country’s second Africa Cup of Nations title in 1994.
Eguavoen, who led the Eagles to the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon before his temporary tenure was extended, described Amuneke’s appointment as a ‘very good development.’
“Amuneke is my younger brother and we have worked together for so long. I think his coming into the team will add a lot of value also,” Eguavoen, 56, said of his 51-year-old assistant.
Eguavoen added that the new crew will give Nigeria Professional Football League players opportunities to feature for the national team.
“Once we get information on a player, I will go round to watch him. And not just me, a couple of my colleagues are also watching,” he offered.
“That gives the home-based players a lot of hope and thinking that they will get a chance one day to play in the Super Eagles.”
Nigeria will battle Ghana in March for one of Africa’s five slots at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, with the first leg in Cape Coast on the 24th and second leg in Abuja three days later.
