By Akinwale Kasali
Soccer fans, football enthusiasts and stakeholders have urged the Ibrahim Gusau-led Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, to swing into action and sack Portuguese Coach of the Super Eagles, Jose Peseiro for the shambolic display of the team in their 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against the Crocodiles of Lesotho and the Warriors of Zimbabwe.
The Super Eagles had played a 1-1 draw with the Southern African duo of Lesotho and Zimbabwe at the Godswill Obot Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State and at Butare Stadium in Rwanda.
The Super Eagles came from a goal behind on both occasions to secure a draw.
A Group under the aegis of Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria, PFAN, is championing the call for Peseiro’s sack. He has called on the NFF President, Gusau, to sack the gaffer with immediate effect.
PFAN said if the nation wants to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, and not allow a repeat of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup debacle to reoccur, Paseiro must be sacked.
At the moment, Nigeria is languishing on the third position which may still see it go down the radar further depending on the outcome of the matches of other Teams in the Group, behind the Bafana Bafana of South Africa who have recorded a victory in their first match and could be on six points if they win their second match in the qualifiers.
There is a possibility of the Coach Hugo Broos led South Africa team would take a four-point lead against Nigeria if they win, putting the Super Eagles in a difficult situation.
Peseiro had blamed Nigeria’s poor result on fatigue, saying the players were tired after the long journey to Rwanda. “Our first half was very bad, second half was much better but we lacked energy to push for a win,” Peseiro was quoted to have said after the game.
However, the Chairman of PFAN Task Force, Harrison Jalla, disagreed with Peseiro. He said: “The Coach is a misfit and he is only looking for where to put the blame. The NFF has to sack him now.”
Reminded of a similar step taken against former coach Gernot Rohr, a few months to the last AFCON in Cameroon, where the Eagles crashed out in the Round of 16, Jalla said: “It is more honourable for us to fumble with our local coach than spend about $70,000 monthly on a foreign coach and get bad results. If the NFF fails to sack Peseiro now, another disaster awaits the Super Eagles at the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire.
“We need to take the bull by the horn before it is too late. As it is now, our qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is on the line. Again, this poor result by the Super Eagles speaks volume about the quality of leadership we have at the NFF.
“There is urgent need for well-meaning Nigerians to break the monopoly of the racket going on in the NFF. We can’t continue to pick the NFF president from one constituency, which is the weakest. I have said it several times that it is suicidal to leave the decision of who becomes the NFF president in the hands of the states’ FA Chairmen. Just that constituency alone and the FCT have 37 votes out of 44 votes”.
“We need equal representation in the NFF, and that is the only way the private sector can come in.
“Our Football is going down under the watch of Ibrahim Gusau, and Nigerians need to act fast. Gusau has to go as quickly as possible.”
Just as PFAN is lamenting the poor performance of Nigeria under Peseiro, so are Soccer fans and enthusiasts who are baffled that a foreign coach who is collecting such huge sum will be underperforming at the big stage, joined the bandwagon in calling for his immediate sack.
The Nigerian Football Fans are annoyed that Peseiro has continued to stick with Omonia Nicosia of Cyprus Goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho despite his poor performances so far.
Soccer fans are saying that Uzoho has let Nigerians down on numerous occasions yet he keeps getting invites to feature in crucial games for the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
Uzoho’s howler (failing to punch away a long-range shot from Thomas Partey) against Ghana was one of the reasons the Super Eagles didn’t participate at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Last month, during an international friendly with Saudi Arabia, Francis Uzoho produced another stinker, diverting a shot into his own net.
In the last seven games that Francis Uzoho, a reserve goalkeeper for his Cyprus-based team, manned the post for Nigeria, he conceded on all seven occasions.
Many Nigerians have urged the Super Eagles Coaching Crew to find a better alternative (even from the Nigerian Professional Football League) to replace Uzoho as the Super Eagles’ number one shot-stopper.
As regards the call for the sack of Peseiro, Nigerians took to the Social Media to air their views.
Read the reaction below;
@Sauce_999331 wrote: “Sack the coach.. use AFCON as preparation to qualify for the World Cup.
My 2 cents!
Terrible situation our football administrators got us in’
@preciousekeke: “If pesiero survives a sack letter after this dismal outing then the NFF should tell us what he has against them.”
@gagnatbiz: “We are not doing it again o. We want a better performance with a win at the end. Not all this draw and “let’s do it again”.
Wake up!!!”
@Mvolgap: xUseless NFF do you shameful people need people to tell you to sack this coach and this goal keeper,not every player needs to invited into the national team just like the late Steven keishe said.”
@isibor266:”The entire team and coaching crew should be disbanded. This is a shame and waste of scarce resources.”
@yoboydonchichi: “You can never do anything again. Please, drop this slogan after another disgraceful result against Zimbabwe. With a failure like Jose Peseiro as coach, Nigeria can never achieve anything in football.”
