US-BASED COACH ANTHONY USHURHE: How Super Eagles can soar high again

• Published date: 08 January 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

NIGERIAN football failed to soar in 2022, missing the World Cup along the way, how do you think this can be reversed?

We need to understand that football has gone beyond hypes; we can't be called giants of Africa and never live up to such expectations. We have to move beyond past glory, several countries have done the same thing we are being called giants of Africa for. Our football needs total retrace for the youths to be engaged in the future. I don't want to be emphatically on Morocco, the Moroccan team displayed absolute football commitment during the World cup.? There are several problems the national team of Nigeria is facing apart from technicality; we must fish out and play the rightful players that are committed and disciplined enough to make the country proud, hire coaches and officials that are not politically corrupt. Most times, Nigeria's best players are usually not playing for the national team because they are connected to the right people who will bill them and get them invitations.

As a U.S based licensed coach, at what point do you think the Super Eagles team will have what it takes to compete at world stage competition?

Sincerely speaking, this current team cannot compete at any world stage competition, some of these boys are not committed, some are not disciplined enough due to fame, and they get carried away with little fame and misbehave in the national team. All the teams that represented Africa in Qatar did fantastically well, forget their positions, they showed what they have done well to develop their football in the last four years. Our football is being politicalized and that is what the players are seeing to reduce their level of commitment. The players know what it is to wear the national team colour, such honour can change his transfer market value and that is what most of them are doing now. No Nigeria player is playing for the glory of the country again, but to raise his game for club career. Do we blame them also? Are they getting their bonuses as at when due?

How will you access the Nigeria team in the last four years?

I will rate us average because we always struggle to either qualify from the group stage or the next stage in any tournament. My rating is emphatically biased based on the fact that I am a Super Eagles partisan and critic. For as much as I criticized the team, I so much believed that the team can soar high if well managed and supported. In Africa, Nigeria has prospects of grooming world best players. I will...