Nigeria coach Finidi George released his frustration to the fans and the media insisting the duo can’t dictate who the technical bench should field.
Thousands of Super Eagles supporters in Uyo were hungry to see Bayer Leverkusen man Victor Boniface in action on Friday night against South Africa in Group C of the World Cup qualifier.
However, it was not the case; coach George and his technical team opted to start Fenerbahce forward Paul Onuachu against Bafana Bafana. Even in the latter stages of the game, the Bundesliga winner did not get an opportunity to show the fans his worth.
The match eventually ended 1-1 with Themba Zwane on target for the Hugo Broos-led team while Fisayo Dele-Bashiru responded for the hosts.
‘Everybody wants this player or that player to play’ – Fans & media can’t be satisfied
The former Nigeria international confirmed Boniface was scheduled to come on later into the match but he was forced to change the tactics due to unavoidable situations.
“We thought about bringing him [Boniface] on, he was supposed to come on but we had [Semi] Ajayi complaining that he couldn’t continue, so we had to reverse that,” George explained to the media.
“It’s true everybody is a coach, people can see when they are up there; when you sit there you can see anything, but we are focused on this job.
“The fans and media would shout for different players. Everybody wants this player or that player to play but at the end of the day if they don’t perform well, the shout will be, ‘Take him off' but Let us do our job, we know who is good to go
“We have another game, so definitely he’s up and doing so he’s going to play. For me, it’s what you can give to me on the field of play. We have another game, so definitely we’ll see how we can play these guys,” he concluded.
Will Boniface fire Nigeria to their first win in the next qualifier?
As confirmed by George, Boniface might be handed a start on Monday when the Super Eagles take on their hosts Benin on Monday in Abidjan.
It is a crucial game for Nigeria in their bid to represent Africa in the 2026 World Cup that will be jointly held by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Group C is not favouring the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finalists; after three games they have just three points which has put them fifth on the table. Interestingly, the result in all initial matches has been 1-1 – against Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa respectively.
Lesotho are surprise leaders with five points after a win and two draws, followed by Rwanda who have four points, the same as Benini and fourth-placed Bafana Bafana.
The winner will grab an automatic ticket to play in the prestigious global competition which is held after every four years.
