Football stakeholders have called for the immediate sack of Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro following the team’s second consecutive draw in the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifier.
The Super Eagles on Sunday, recorded a second consecutive draw after struggling to hold the Warriors of Zimbabwe to a 1-1 draw in Rwanda.
Recall that Nigeria had on Thursday laboured to a 1-1 draw against the Crocodiles of Lesotho on home soil on Day 1 at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.
Some football stakeholders believe that Peseiro was not good enough for the Super Eagles, and have called for his sack.
Godfrey Gaiya, a former chairman of the House of Representatives lamented that Nigeria should have been a sure bet by public ratings in their group.
Gaiya said that many Nigerians had celebrated the 2026 World Cup qualifying group comprising of Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Benin Republic, Lesotho, and South Africa as easy, going by previous antecedents.
He expressed disappointment in the fact that after match day 2, it was unfortunate that optimism is reducing to skepticism.
“As it is often said, football is not mathematics, and outcomes can surprise the pundits, but even at that there are often sure bankers.
“How can a star-studded Super Eagles fight so desperately to secure a draw with Lesotho in Uyo?
“What went wrong that a number 153 FIFA ranked team can stroll into the nest of champions and arrogantly walk away with a point?
“Then to add insult to injury, we fought so hard to hold on to another disappointing draw with 125th ranked Zimbabwe.
“What hope do we now have especially after South Africa who are always a potential threat to Nigeria, gallantly defeated Benin Republic,” he said.
Mouktar Mohammed, Chairman, FCT Football Association, said the recent poor performances recorded by the Super Eagles calls for deep soul searching.
“We are walking a tight rope. This last result makes it very difficult for us now.
“We need to look deeper into the problems why our Super Eagles are not tops in Africa. A lot of questions need to be answered,” he said.
However, A board member of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Nse Essien has explained that the federation won’t be able to pay Peseiro his compensatory fees if he were to be sacked.
Speaking in a post-match interview, Essien said that he wasn’t oblivious to the calls for Peseiro’s sack but the NFF were limited by monetary constraints
“If you check the internet almost everyone is asking for the sack of the head coach. It is unfortunate that out of six points, we have just two and we have found ourselves in a precarious situation.
“When you say NFF should sack the Head coach we didn’t employ him, this regime didn’t employ him when you come to look at it, it was the Sports Ministry that employed him,” he said after the draw against Zimbabwe.
In September, the 63-year-old had his stay on the job extended after a renegotiated pay of $50,000 contract from $70,000 was reached
But Essien revealed that Peseiro had not been paid his salary and they have no other choice than to respect his contract.
