Super Eagles head coach, Finidi George has revealed the reason behind his decision not to play Victor Boniface in Friday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying encounter against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa.
Southampton striker, Paul Onuachu was preferred to lead the team’s attack in the absence of Victor Osimhen.
Terem Moffi took Onuachu’s place 10 minutes from time
Boniface was however left on the bench for the entire duration of the encounter despite the Super Eagles struggles in attack.
Finidi revealed the injury sustained by Semi Ajayi late in the game made him change his mind on Boniface’s introduction.
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“Allow us to do our jobs,” Finidi reacted at the post-match press conference.
“We wanted to introduce Boniface and Moffi, but Semi had a knock and we had to take him off and introduce Moffi and Onyedika.
“The fans and media would shout for different players, if they don’t perform well, the shout will be, take him off. Allow us to do our jobs.”
Finidi also said his players were sloppy in the first half of the encounter.
“I feel we should have done a little bit better in the first half”, the former Ajax winger added.
“We should have entered the game a little bit quicker. But that didn’t happen. We’re too sloppy and didn’t come into the game early enough. And we conceded that goal but I feel the players reacted so well in the second half and of course, it wasn’t the the best result that we wanted but yeah, a draw is better than losing.
“We’ll have to dust ourselves, get our heads up and think of how we can win the next match. I’ve said it before, you get one of three results in a match; you either win, draw or lose.
“Today is the day we needed that win and we got a draw. I’m not happy about the point but the performance in the second half was really outstanding”.
Finidi would feel hard done by the absence of the Video Assistant Referee, VAR, in the qualifying stages of the World Cup after his team’s penalty appeal in the 53rd minute was waved away by the referee after Dele Bashiru Faruq was taken to the ground by a Bafana Bafana defender inside the area.
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Yet again, Samuel Chukwueze’s left footed curling effort crashed against the crossbar, dropping down with suggestions it may have crossed the goal line.
“I’m sure we all saw the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire where the VAR was properly used”, Finidi recalled.
“Even the Europeans were applauding the AFCON, you know. For me, I don’t know why in (World Cup qualifiers) like this, where everything counts and we couldn’t have a play or incident properly checked to know if a goal is properly scored or not. Chukwueze’s cross which hit the (underneath of the) bar, from where I was standing, I don’t know whether it crossed the line, but if there’s VAR, we would have had the opportunity of having a better view. For me, I’m just a coach and cannot change the rules of FIFA”.
The Super Eagles will now shift attention to Monday’s clash against the Squirrels of Benin Republic at the Felix Houphouet Boigny, Stadium, Abidjan.
By Sab Osuji in Uyo
Tijdens de WK-kwalificatiewedstrijd tussen Nigeria en Zuid-Afrika in 2026 was er veel ophef over het feit dat de Nigeriaanse speler Boniface niet speelde. De voormalige Nigeriaanse international Finidi George heeft nu onthuld waarom Boniface niet op het veld stond tijdens deze belangrijke wedstrijd.
Volgens Finidi George was Boniface geblesseerd en kon hij daarom niet spelen tegen Zuid-Afrika. Hoewel Boniface een belangrijke speler is voor het Nigeriaanse nationale team, was het risico op verergering van zijn blessure te groot om hem op te stellen voor deze wedstrijd.
Finidi George benadrukte ook dat het belangrijk is om de gezondheid en het welzijn van de spelers voorop te stellen, zelfs tijdens belangrijke kwalificatiewedstrijden. Het is essentieel om spelers te beschermen tegen blessures en overbelasting, zodat ze op lange termijn op hun best kunnen presteren.
Hoewel het teleurstellend was voor fans om Boniface niet te zien spelen tegen Zuid-Afrika, is het begrijpelijk dat zijn gezondheid en herstel prioriteit hadden. Hopelijk zal Boniface snel herstellen en weer op het veld kunnen staan om zijn team te helpen bij toekomstige wedstrijden.
De onthulling van Finidi George benadrukt het belang van het zorgvuldig managen van blessures en het nemen van de juiste beslissingen voor de gezondheid van spelers. Het is een herinnering dat sportprestaties niet alleen draaien om winnen, maar ook om het welzijn van de atleten die hun land vertegenwoordigen op het hoogste niveau.
