Under fire Super Eagles coach Finidi George said it was not yet over for his team after they lost to Benin Republic’s Cheetahs Monday in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Abidjan, Cote d’ Ivoire.
The Super Eagles are yet to win a match in the group C qualifiers now topped by the Cheetahs coached by Gernot Rohr. South Africa takes on Zimbabwe, while Lesotho play Rwanda in the other group matches Tuesday.
At the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium Monday, Rapheal Onyedika had put the Super Eagles ahead, but defensive errors gifted the Beninoise two goals before the break heaping pressure on coach Finidi who must now grind out wins when the qualifiers resume in 2025.
“We have to win, but there’s no special formula for that. We have to see how the players will start the new season and see how we can get the best out of the players,” Finidi said.
“Everyone must be committed. With that commitment, we will win games. If we can win games, the battle will still be there.
“We can’t throw in the towel because we have only three points. We have to find a way to get these players back in a way that they are going to perform.”
He argued that his team did well but for poor defending that cost them the vital points.
“What was difficult? We had control of the game, we had fantastic 25 minutes but that was a mistake we didn’t defend well, a long ball from the goalkeeper resulted in a goal.
“They built on that momentum and got that corner kick which we didn’t defend well and they got the second goal.
“We would have defended well, better concentration would have given us an edge but we didn’t do that. If you don’t take your chances in a World Cup qualifier and you don’t defend properly you struggle.”
Speaking on his team’s victory, the first against Nigeria, Rohr who led the Super Eagles to the 2018 World Cup said: “We had the right organization, Nigeria scored the first goal, perhaps, they believed it was already done.
“But the reaction, the desire of my team was so strong that they could come back to win the match.”
