Super Eagles caretaker coach Augustine Eguavoen has explained his decision to bench Victor Osimhen during the team’s 0-0 draw with Rwanda.
Osimhen, the Galatasaray forward, was again left on the bench for the second consecutive match before coming on as a substitute for Victor Boniface in the second half.
“Osimhen is a key player for us, and we’re aware of the challenges he’s facing at Napoli,” Eguavoen said at the post-match press conference. “He has just moved to Galatasaray and hasn’t been actively playing for a while. We’re managing his fitness carefully. He played the last 25 minutes in our previous match, and today we agreed that he couldn’t handle a full 90 minutes without risking injury.”
Eguavoen also addressed the situation with other key players, including Taiwo Awoniyi, who saw limited action.
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“Awoniyi had minimal playtime at his club before joining us. With a squad of 23 to 40 players, we can’t field everyone simultaneously,” he noted. “It’s a tough decision. We have immense talent, but only 11 players can start at any given time. We discuss these decisions openly, and while players might get frustrated, there is an understanding: play your best when on the field and support the team from the bench.”
On his tactical approach, Eguavoen elaborated on his formation choices.
“My primary responsibility is to qualify the team for the next AFCON,” he said. “Given that our players are spread across major clubs abroad, preparing the team within a few days is challenging. We had only three to four days of training before the Benin game, and then we had to quickly adapt to this match. It’s difficult to make significant tactical changes with such limited time and without the opportunity for friendlies.”
Eguavoen emphasized that the formation used in the AFCON was maintained due to these constraints, noting the difficulty in altering tactics under the given circumstances.