Super Eagles’ head coach, Finidi George, has stated that he cannot beg the team’s star player, Victor Osimhen, to participate in the ongoing World Cup qualifiers.
This statement comes amid widespread criticism following the Super Eagles’ disappointing performance, which has left them in fifth place in their six-team group.
The Super Eagles have failed to win any of their first four matches against Lesotho, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Benin in the ongoing World Cup qualifiers.
Reflecting on the challenges he faced in his initial weeks as head coach, Finidi mentioned the lack of support from his employers, the NFF, and did not hesitate to criticize the players’ commitment to the national team.
A source told SCORENigeria that Finidi used Osimhen as an example to highlight the lack of dedication among the country’s top players.
Osimhen was unavailable for two crucial World Cup qualifiers, officially due to an injury that sidelined him for four weeks.
“Finidi said the Napoli striker could still have managed to play these matches.
The coach went on to say that it appears Osimhen chooses the games he plays for Nigeria, and he cannot beg him to represent his country,” the source reported.
The former Enyimba coach also lamented the complete breakdown of discipline within the team and expressed his disappointment with how the players casually arrived at the training camp for the crucial World Cup qualifiers.
He noted that many players have the backing of powerful NFF Board members, making it increasingly difficult to sanction them, as he would often be warned that a player “belonged” to a certain “big man”.
