Former Super Eagles Assistant Coach, Emmanuel Amuneke, has debunked reports that top officials of the Nigeria Football Federation imposed some invited players for the team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup double-leg playoff, against Ghana.
Reports had emerged, hours after the Black Stars pipped Nigeria by the away goal rule at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, that top officials of the NFF imposed some players on the coaching crew, and that it was one of the reasons the national team lost to Ghana, the Daily Post reports.
The World Cup playoff second leg match in Abuja ended 1-1.
The two west African countries had drawn 0-0 in the first leg in Kumasi last week.
Speaking on the development, Amuneke dismissed the reports, insisting that the coaching crew headed by Austin Eguavoen made the final decision on the team selection against Ghana.
“We all had opinions about the invited players,” Amuneke told Brila.net.
“We had a conversation with Austin Eguavoen, who is the head of the technical crew and of course, he has the final say over the list because he is the man in charge,” he said.
Meanwhile, the NFF had on Thursday sacked Eguavoen, Amuneke and all the Super Eagles technical coaching crew after failure to qualify for Qatar.
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