The Super Eagles of Nigeria ended Sunday night’s African Cup of Nations title match in Abidjan with a loss. This defeat also meant the end of their head coach, Jose Peseiro’s reign, leaving the team without leadership at the top. The football team lost their head coach after the final whistle of the 34th Africa Cup of Nations in Abidjan.
Jose Peseiro’s temporary job as coach for Nigeria’s soccer team is over now. His contract was only running until the end of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament, which just wrapped up. This temporary contract was needed because his original contract finished back in June of last year. While the contract had ended, they needed him to stay for the tournament.
Jose Peseiro earned himself a contract extension after leading the Super Eagles to the AFCON semi-finals, fulfilling a key condition of his temporary deal. However, his next task, qualifying for the 2025 edition, faces an unusual hurdle as the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has surprisingly delayed announcing the schedule for the qualifying matches.
This is the first time in recent history that CAF has held back the fixture announcement until after the previous AFCON concluded. This unexpected delay leaves both Peseiro and the Nigerian team without a clear roadmap for their upcoming qualifying campaign, adding a layer of uncertainty to their preparations.
The Super Eagles have a busy year ahead with qualification matches for both the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Here’s the breakdown:
- The AFCON qualifiers kick off soon. The preliminary round is happening from March 18th to 26th, 2024.
- Group stage games follow later in the year, with matches spread across three periods:
- September 2nd to 10th, 2024
- October 7th to 15th, 2024
- November 11th to 19th, 2024
- World Cup: The Super Eagles are also vying for a spot in the 2026 tournament. They have two crucial qualifiers scheduled for June 2024:
- The home game against South Africa on June 2nd
- Away game against Benin Republic on June 9th
They’ll be battling it out on the pitch to secure their place in both the AFCON and the World Cup.
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