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Coach Eric Chelle will be the immediate scapegoat in the likely event that the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
In his place could well be Augustine Eguavoen, who will then be making his fifth coming to the country’s top coaching post.
The 60-year-old ‘Cerezo’ first took charge of the Super Eagles between 2005 and 2007. He was then reappointed to that position in 2010 and thereafter, between 2021 and 2022 in place of the sacked Gernot Rohr.
In 2024, he took over the post in a temporary capacity to qualify the country to the 2025 AFCON.
For his latest return, his first task would be to lead the Super Eagles to friendlies against Venezuela and Colombia in the United States of America in November before the 2025 AFCON in Morocco the following month.
SCORENigeria has exclusively gathered that plans are afoot for this change of guards.
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NFF technical director Eguavoen, working in an interim capacity, qualified Nigeria to the 2025 AFCON at the shortest notice.
However, around the same time he was also grappling with a serious health concern that needed surgery in Belgium.
This allowed the NFF to finally appoint Eric Chelle in January to take charge of the Super Eagles remaining six World Cup qualifiers.
Nigeria is third in Group C of the qualifying series with 11 points with two rounds of matches left to be played.
Benin with 14 points are the new group leaders after second-placed South Africa were docked three points and three goals for fielding an ineligible player for a qualifying match against Lesotho in March.
South Africa is second in the standings also with 14 points and an inferior goals difference with only the group winners guaranteed an automatic passage to next year’s Mundial in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico.
