The board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed Finidi George as head coach of the senior men’s national football team, the Super Eagles.

Ademola Olajire, the NFF’s spokesperson, said in a statement on Monday that the federation approved the recommendation of its technical and development committee to appoint George.

The ace winger spent 20 months as José Peseiro’s assistant before the Portuguese voluntarily left the post after guiding the team to a silver medal at the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire.

George took charge of the squad in an acting capacity during two friendly matches in Morocco last month.

His squad edged Ghana 2-1 in the first match, ending an 18-year winless streak against the Black Stars, but then lost 0-2 to Mali in the second game.

George was a member of the so-styled ‘Golden Generation’ that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Tunisia.

The team also emerged as the second-most entertaining team in Nigeria’s debut at the FIFA World Cup finals in the USA the same year.

George won 62 caps for Nigeria, including featuring at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals. He also won gold, silver and bronze medals from the 1992, 1994, 2000 and 2002 AFCON tournaments.

The 52-year-old former Ajax Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and Real Betis (Spain) forward made his scoring debut for the country in an AFCON qualifying match against Burkina Faso at the National Stadium, Lagos, on July 27, 1991.

He also featured for Calabar Rovers and Sharks FC in the domestic scene before heading to Europe.

The new coach assisted the late Rashidi Yekini to score Nigeria’s first-ever FIFA World Cup goal against Bulgaria in Dallas, USA, on June 19, 1994.

George actually scored the goal that took Nigeria to its FIFA World Cup debut. He put Nigeria ahead against hosts Algeria in a crucial qualifier in Algiers on October 8, 1993.

The match eventually ended 1-1 and earned Nigeria a ticket to the finals in America.

Mr George’s immediate task will be to guide the Super Eagles to victory in two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against South Africa and the Benin Republic in Uyo and Abidjan, respectively, in a little over five weeks.

The matches are must-win encounters, with the Super Eagles lagging behind in third place in Group C of the African campaign behind Rwanda and South Africa.

(NAN)