No stone will be left unturned, NFF President assure Nigerians. "We are working with a technical committee and also putting the demand of Nigerians into consideration. The ministry of sports is behind us in every step we take to ensure we make a success out of the World Cup Playoffs in March."
Having settled the matter of the Super Eagles coaching crew, where Austine Eguaveon got retained as the team's technical Adviser and Emmanuel Amunike brought in as the Chief Coach, the NFF President have moved to negotiate the release of some key players that had issues with their clubs and didn't make it to AFCON.
Pinnick insists that qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is non-negotiable just as he disclosed that he met with Odion Ighalo who is making wave in Saudi Arabia scoring goals for the big clubs.
“Qatar 2022, in my opinion, is non-negotiable. Qualifying for the World Cup is our plan. Qualifying for next year’s AFCON is also built into our future plans.
“…this happens. I just met with @ighalojude, the highest goalscorer at the 2019 edition of the AFCON, now playing and still scoring goals for Saudi Arabia’s biggest football club. Odion has assured that playing for his country will always come first and he is ready to ensure…”
Ademola Lookman has finally gotten his release to switch from England, he can now be included in Super Eagles plan. It is important to meet with Leicester City management before FIFA international window in March.
Pinnick also reiterated about the team and their early exit in AFCON. "... the vibes and team spirit in Cameroon was good, we can easily recognize that... " Pinnick praised the team despite the early exit from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
The Super Eagles started the competition on an impressive note winning all three group games, but were eliminated in the second round by Tunisia.
Pinnick in a series of tweets on Thursday, via his official Twitter handle @PinnickAmaju lauded the players, technical crew and the backroom staff for the work, noting that the team was only unlucky in the Round of 16.
“…playing good football as well, we were unlucky in our Round of 16 match. Nevertheless, it was a brilliant showing by our team & showed the level of work the coaching crew put in. That has also been recognized by the latest @FIFAcom rankings placing Nigeria as the3rd best in Africa…”
The return leg and final World Cup Playoffs against Ghana will be played on Sunday March 27, 2022 at MKO Abiola Stadium Abuja.
