Eguavoen Calls for Patience as Super Falcons Plan To Induce New Players

Super Falcons interim coach, Austin Eguavoen has called for patience as Nigeria look to expand their pool of players in the women's senior national team.

He emphasized that new faces must be introduced gradually to avoid disrupting the team’s progress in the 2028 Olympic qualifiers.

Eguavoen said the coaching staff would use available international windows to assess players who did not feature in Nigeria’s recent matches, with the aim of creating more options for future selection.

However, he warned that making wholesale changes could prove counterproductive, particularly if the team suffers a setback in the qualifiers and faces criticism for experimenting with new players.

The coach maintained that the Super Falcons have the quality and personnel to remain Africa’s leading team but acknowledged the need to build a deeper squad capable of handling tougher opposition.

"Going forward, we expect to meet tougher oppositions, no doubt about that, but Super Falcons comes, is number one in Africa, remains number one."

"We have the quality, we have the personnel, we have the support. Going forward, there's nothing as good as we have interactions."

Eguavoen Explains Need for Gradual Changes

Eguavoen said the coaching staff would explore opportunities to bring more players into the squad while maintaining a balance between introducing new talent and keeping the team competitive.

He explained that the plan was to give players who missed out on the recent matches an opportunity to prove themselves without making too many changes at once.

"We'll try to see how we can utilise that window and make sure we bring players that didn't have a chance of playing in these two games, but then, we have to be mindful."

"We have to be a little bit, it has to be a mixture, because you lose one game, people start saying all sorts of things."

The interim coach also pointed to the criticism that could follow a defeat, even when the team is attempting to integrate new players.

"They won't say, hey, you want to try other players."

"So I'm telling you beforehand now, we'll make sure we have a solid team and see how we can give everyone an opportunity, so we have a pool of players to pick from."

"And that's exactly the same message we send to the entire team."

Super Falcons Seek More Options for Olympic Qualifiers

Eguavoen underline the need to build a stronger pool of players as Nigeria prepare for more demanding fixtures in their quest to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The coach wants to widen the selection options available to the technical crew while ensuring that the team’s performances do not suffer during the transition.

His approach is to introduce new players in stages, allowing them to settle into the squad while retaining a solid core of experienced players.