Super Eagles interim head coach Augustine Eguavoen has explained his decision to include Ogenyi Onazi in the provisional squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Playoff against the Black Stars of Ghana.
Onazi is one of the seven players on the standby list for the two-legged play-off.
The 29-year-old has not featured for the Super Eagles since 2018 has been plagued by injuries in recent years.
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The midfielder is also yet to make an appearance for his Saudi club Al-Adalah.
“Onazi, good player. Whether he’s still good and can play at that level, we don’t know,” Eguavoen told journalists.
“But that’s why I said to pacify everybody, to ensure there’s harmony here, put him on the standby. While he’s on the standby, I have the final say.”
49 Comments
Standby list is not even 2nd eleven list neither is it the super eagles 1st eleven. If not for sentiments, I really don’t see why the shout.
It’s not just historical but herculean to coach the SE of Nigeria. That’s one think I cherish the Nigerian coach for, he likes encouraging the players. Even during the last nation’s cup he invited Nwakali and kelechi Iheanacho despite the fact that they weren’t good enough. What i remembered he said them was that he was going to change their playing mentality. Fingers crossed and let’s see what happens in the playoffs.
You’re right, many people don’t understand simple arithmetic
This Eguavoen don’t seems to know anything about football. NFF has been SCAMMED into employing Eguavoen. Imagine Eguavoen is saying if Onazi is still playing at that level he doesn’t know. If Onazi is still playing at that level will he be in Saudi Arabia division two? Haha, which kind technical director be this one?
Coach Egiavoen you have been appointed to do your work, do it as it please you ad what is 8mpiryant to us, Nigerians is that you defeat Ghana to qualify us for the World cup. Good luck our Oga.
Corrected copy:
Coach Eguavoen you have been appointed to do your work, do it as it pleases you as what is important to us, Nigerians is that you defeat Ghana to qualify us for the World cup. Good luck our Oga.
The former was correct. I knew that 8amp… Word
Good comment I must confess. Our problem in Nigeria is everyone is a coach
Tell us the truth he’s 1 of ur loyal boy u dey try high him market value .naija coaches will Neva change from sentiment
Who are you pacifying, That you need to invite someone you clearly dont need instead of putting young and talented players like raphael, alhassan, nwobodo on stand by?
I think some fans want their own favourites to be invited that’s why they are shouting. But who shouting elp? I am interested in the starting 11 list and not the standby abi na sitby list.
Truly you got it, they expected some names in the list but the names were not there.
Eguavoen knows what he is doing and this time around he will prove himself
LMFAO !!! Sitby list.
The sad commenters will never be satisfied. Eguavoen pls continue.
I go with you.
The Technical Adviser still has time to assess Onazi while on standby. That’s clear enough but those who are nationally known to be sad will still have one or two faults to pick.
Rohr was annoying but Eguavon is even more annoying at this point. Musa, Ighalo and now Onazi what a wow!
LMFAO! So I hope y’all now Agree with me that this man is the most DUMBEST COACH alive.LMFAO!!
He is not intelligent and smart enough.
He doesn’t know how to grant interview! If you know you are not a good orator can’t you shut your dumb ass up..
I mean which one is:
Onazi, good player. Whether he’s still good and can play at that level, we don’t know,” Eguavoen told journalists.
“But that’s why I said to pacify everybody, to ensure there’s harmony here, put him on the standby. While he’s on the standby, I have the final say.”
Oh my God! The more I miss GENERAL ROAH!!!!
It is too early for this man to Starrt compromising the standard for any reason. It will be so stupid of him. What does he really mean by saying to “pacify everybody?” He should simply man up and say there’s was a kind of gratification and Onazi has to be rewarding by furnishing a consideration. Readon many of us too cool with these local coaches. Some of them will literally sell the team to money bags at the expense of good players.
Eguavoen do well to replace Onazi with Ibazee.
Okay! You mean Noah Bazee?
Who is Ibazee again??? Invite our own Bonkie.
LMFAO! It should be his tribal witchcraft doctor.. LMFAO!!!!
I tire ké, even the sadbeast wants only their people on the list. Eguavoen please invite Chika Nnamdi make grammar for rest o.
He he he, no be only your own bonkie, na banké.
Hmmm shame dey catch me self…his comments on Onazi shows money exchanged hands.”to percify some people” Higher hands dey run tins for super eagles not the coach. Watch how Dem go kick his ass out after the matches. Egwuavoen,u fall ma hands
Very sad and foolish commentators always repeating themselves. Coach Egua, please why not invite our iwobodo?
Who is iwobodo? Your problem is that you haven’t been able to communicate what you want.
If you want coach Eguavoen to invite your favorite, let me know and you can be rest assured Nwobodo or whatever will be invited. You guys should stop making fun of the serious commenters, it will pay make them to be sad the more.
Oh! So Eguavoen has become so popular. Eguavoen abeg come raise we hands. It’s a joke o.
Nff replace mr. Egulafon with our Imuneke, egulafon goofed big time.
You are not serious at all. If Amuneke is that good, why was he jobless before Eguavoen dusted him up to assist him.
I mean he made Admola lookman switch priority is the one chasing Michael Olise and Eze and is making Victor Moses come in, brought back Dennis from isolation this guy is bringing Nigerias best. and now you think he will add Onazi. You people should leave Cerezo alone please and stop attcking the good guy.
NIGERIANS MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOU. YOU ARE THE REASON THE GOVERNMENT KEEPS RAPING YOU UP THE ASS CAUSE THEY KNOW HOW DUMB YOU LOT CAN BE. DAMN!!!!!.
Once again Eguavoen is exposing the corruption in the system with Interferance something rohr did not have the balls to do..
Ghana is fast preparing and instead of you to start thinking on how to overcome them in the playoffs, you are here trying to talk down our own Super Eagles and their coach. No one listen to bunch of jesters, who is iwobodo by the way?
@Harry Evie,
Iwobodo is one of their favourites.
In fact, coach Austin Eguavoen should invite the whole nigeria.. Zzzzzzzz.
Hmmm. There is more to this than meets the eye. You see why some of us were against recruiting a local coach. So, Onazi has been invited in order to pacify some people. Rohr refused to pacify them and they did everything to frustrate the man and his team by making them play their home matches on cattle ranches in Lagos and Benin city. I am waiting for Uncle Sege to write his piece on this.
Thanks @Olakunle.
Who are you pacifying?..That means you and maybe other coaches collected bribe and you guys are now under pressure to include him. You yourself and other coaches that seems to collected bribe are pacifying yourselves. Nonsense!! Naija be Naija lol
Hmmmmmmm. Look at what a coach is saying publicly. Apart from being a talkative, it is obvious that Eguaveon is not fully in charge. This why I kept saying before Rohr was sacked, that the devil I know is better than the angel I don’t know
You all are acting as if you dont know Nigeria yes Onazi shouldn’t be there but Egu knows what he is doing i really hope so I said a few months ago just dont be surprised if you see Onazi in World Cup but the way He is handling this I believe he is in Control Onazi will not be there. But this is Nigeria and is the same reason we have some non entities feeling SE is there birth right the double standard in Nigeria is just too much from both fans and Officials alike. But for me the way Egu is handeling thos matter shows he knows what he is doing period!!!. People here complaining should be looking at their Musa as far as I am concerned on club level and form no difference between Onazi and Musa.
And Eguavoen is doing the best he stated clearly I put Onazi on Standby to satisfy some people but he is not going to World Cup because I have the final say. What else do you people want to kill himself does this not show you that the same is has been happening with Musa for years??… like I said I have inside knowledge when Victor Moses accepts to rep Nigeria again Eguavoen will drop Ahmed Musa.. take it or leave it.
@Ugo Iwunze when last did you check your blood pressure?
Am sure it’s very high..
If you don’t stop this Musa hatred, you may die of hbp before the first leg of the W/C qualifiers o o.( My candid advice for you as a friend)
With commentary like this coming out of a national team coach it’s obvious we are not going anywhere with him in charge for too long . My prayer is that let God by miracle help us to beat Ghana. How can a sensible human being come out in public to start condemning his own action, since you have invited which i think Onazi doesn’t deserve ,must you now saw publicly that you wanted to pacify . A ti seniyan gba as a coach ooooo Jesu’.
No matter what as the coach you have the final say on who comes into eagles, and whatever happen to the team the blame will be put on you . O i see you are gradually telling us there are some big wigs imposing players on you and if eagles should lose it is not your fault fault or what is the meaning of ‘i have not even sure if he is playing well or not’
You all in NFF are beginning to trade and toy with our happiness which World Cup tickets . One thing i would say is if by chance we lost to Ghana all of you that are suppose to do the right thing and refuses to do it will never know peace and joy for the rest of your life including you Equ and AMUNEKE and all the back room coaches beginning from Picknick . The whole world is enjoying electricity ,good road network and infrastructures but we in Nigeria are suffering from all these amenities and now you want to take away the glamour of watching pour super eagles play at the world away from us , god will allow tSATAN take away your joy and happiness.
I see no reason why NFF can not be privatized and let government take way their hands seems anything government is running is doom to fail. Look at music industry flourishing see the crowd at O2 that came to watch Davido the whole world recognizes our talent in music as the best in the world right now and i can say we are more in football than in music. .
@Monkey I don’t know if you have seen what he told journalist about Ejuke two days ago. The man just doesn’t have discretion at all.
From his submissions on Onazi’s invitation, one can tell that Onazi was foisted on him. And apart from Onazi, it is possible there are other players foisted on him. I may be wrong, but I really suspect that Etebo, Musa, Ighalo, Sadiq etc were also forced on the coach.
From my observation, Eguaevoen is too subservient to Pinnick. This could be because he wants to be in the man’s good books and stand a better chance to retain his position as coach even if he doesn’t do too well. However, his respect and worship for Pinnick is not reciprocated, because he is like a slave to Pinnick. For instance, at the AFCON, Pinnick kept disrespecting Eguaveon by morphing into the coach of SE during the half time clof the matches we played. Eguaevon needs to put his foot down and fully take charge of the team. But if I’m going to be frank here, Eguaeveon’s problem is beyond standing up to Pinnick and others who undermine, influence, and lord over him and SE. This is because, stamping his feet to the ground and standing up to the external influences, wouldn’t increase his tactical or technical ingenuity. That is the area I have problem with him. I’m not convinced he has the needed technical capacity to lift SE to higher grounds. Till today, I still believe Rohr is a better option than all these permutations and combinations we have been doing since December 2021
My brother @OCherome They sacked GENERAL ROAH because they couldn’t remote control him.
They brought in their own so they can remote control him.. And that is exactly what they are doing. So am not surprised atall.. LMFAO!!!
YOU GENERAL COLLECTED BRIBE FOR MUSA. MUSA is next Cerezo is paving way so when he axes Musa eyebrows will not be raised by naive dumbass Nigerian supporters like u.
You playing stupid or choose to read between the line Eguavoen 8s doing something Nigerians before him have feared to do. He is assembling our best talents and fools are attacking him. Let me put it to you like this. Niether Musa nor Onazi will make World cup. Take a bet now.
I wish just as you have said, that Musa will retire from SE ASAP. But the coach is saying otherwise. You can have a look at what he said in the link below
Aswear. Remote control no be here
That’s diplomacy,my brother.
You can’t expect him to outrightly state that Onazi is no longer in form,hence the decision to have him on standby list
Clear scenario: Ndidi is injured,Onazi who is also a defensive midfielder was ignored for Bonce who was never considered for invitation.
That move explains it all!