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Finidi George's reign as Super Eagles manager officially kicked off with a draw against South Africa in the WCQ.
Finidi George's reign as Super Eagles manager got off to a disappointing start as his side was held to a 1-1 draw by South Africa in their 2026 World Cup qualifier on Friday night.
Incredibly, the Super Eagles boss left Bayer Leverkusen's prolific striker Victor Boniface, who contributed 30 goals across competitions for the Bundesliga champions last season, as an unused substitute for the crunch qualifier in Uyo.
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Finidi George speaks on Boniface
Instead, Turkey-based Fisayo Dele-Bashiru grabbed the headline with Nigeria's equaliser after they had fallen behind to the Bafana Bafana.
After the match, the under-fire Finidi faced questioning from reporters over his baffling decision to snub Boniface, who could only watch on from the bench.
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“He was supposed to come in but when we heard [Semi] Ajayi complain that he had a knock, he couldn't continue. So we had to reverse that,' claimed the Nigerian boss in a video posted on Instagram by Nigerian journalist Calister.
Speaking further, the former Enyimba man and NPFL winner promised that the 23-year-old will get his chance in the next game against Benin Republic before asking the media to allow them to do their job.
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“For me it is what you can give to me on the field, everyone wants this or that player to play but at the end of the day if the player is not performing you guys will still be shouting 'take him off’,” he added.
“So, let us do our job. We know who is good to go, we have another game so definitely we’ll see how we can play these guys,” Finidi concluded.
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Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and has managed just three points from a possible nine in their opening three qualifiers for the 2026 tournament.
Finidi's flops, who were among the pre-tournament favourites, face an uphill battle to secure their place at the finals after this latest disappointment.
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