By Kayode John
Interim coach of the Super Eagles, Augustine Eguavoen, has explained why striker Victor Osimhen did not start in the 0-0 draw against Rwanda on Tuesday, in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
Despite coming from the bench to score against Benin Republic last weekend at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, Eguavoen left Osimhen on the bench again, in the away clash at Amahoro National Stadium in Kigali.
The 25-year-old replaced Victor Boniface at the start of the second half of the encounter but was unable to find the back of the net this time.
The caretaker coach was questioned during the post-match press conference about his decision to bench the reigning African player of the year.
The 59-year-old explained that fielding the new Galatasaray signing for a long duration could lead to him getting injured, as he had been denied action on the pitch before the international break, due to his protracted transfer saga at Napoli.
“You know Osimhen is our brother, our son, is our own. You can not throw away water with the baby,” Eguavoen said.
“You know what he is going through in Napoli and he is just moved to Galatasaray now and he hasn’t been playing active football for a while.
“So, it is something we try to manage from the inside as well. He came in the last 25 minutes in the last game at home and today we had a word with him that he has to play.
“He can’t play 90 minutes, otherwise he is going to get injured, scientifically proven.”
The coach also said the same caution was applied to Taiwo Awoniyi, who has not started a Premier League game for Nottingham Forest so far this season owing to fitness issues.
“Awoniyi also if you look at the stats, the last game before they all came, he only had few minutes,” he said.
“The bottom line is, we have 40, 50 talented players who we can pick from in any given time. But the thing is you cannot play more than the number of players that can execute a game at the same time.
“So, it is a difficult one, we have talents, but we can only play with 11 and the good thing is that they understand.
“The understanding is there, we have talked about it, it is acceptable to everyone but sometimes players can be frustrated, which is normal.
“But within we know there is an accord, there is agreement, when called to play, if you are not called, if you are not called, you stick to the team.”
