Former Nigeria international Friday Elahor has said the Super Eagles losing to Benin Republic is unacceptable.
The Cheetahs of Benin Republic inflicted on the Eagles their first defeat in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers thanks to a 2-1 comeback win.
The defeat leaves the Eagles in fifth place on three points after four games and in danger of missing out on another World Cup qualification.
“It’s surprising to me because I don’t know what is going on,” Elahor said on ‘No Holds Barred’ on Brila FM anchored by former Eagles defender Ifeanyi Udeze.
Also Read: 2026 WCQ: Finidi Needs More Experienced Coaches To Work With Him –James Peters
“I watched the match against South Africa and wasn’t really bothered about the result but I was disappointed in the game against Benin Republic.
“When we play Benin during my time we always beat them and even go to their home and beat them. So now I don’t really know what the problem is with the Super Eagles. There was complaints about the coach, he was replaced so what is the problem, is it selection? lack of seriousness? I don’t know, for Benin to beat Nigeria nobody will believe that.
“Back in the days when Benin hear Super Eagles they will start to shivering and be hoping that the goals won’t be much. For me that fear is no more there because Benin now believe they can beat the Eagles.”
Elahor expressed disappointment that the Eagles now need other teams to lose for them to stand a chance of qualifying.
“Now we Nigerians are praying for other teams to lose for the Eagles to qualify which is not fair.
“But I still believe that if we win the remaining matches we will qualify. With determination and focus.”
7 Comments
The first thing to do is to fire the incompetent Finidi George and replace him with a sound tactical coach. You cannot beat common Benin Republic in a neutral ground you’re talking of winning the remaining matches. Let’s stop deceiving ourselves, this coach is the problem, he just need to go!
I will praise Finidi for adding strength to the Nigerian midfield something that Peseiro failed to do. He selected dele-Bashiru and gave Onyedika and Yusuf more exposure, all three showed that they deserved starting slots. Recall that Peseiro kept them near permanently on the bench. I will also thank him for Sodiq who showed himself as a ball-crossing left fullback, something Nigeria is solely missing.
I won’t thank him for the wiry Tanimu who, despite his commendable performance is not experienced enough to be exposed at the full international level. I felt he did not, unlike Sodiq, have the skills of a fullback and is not imposing in height or physique to be taken seriously as a centre-back in the physical African game.
Finidi was tactically bereft, and it showed! He was unable to drill the team in either set-plays or set-pieces that are now the staple of international competitive matches. South Africa scored from set-play and Benin as revealed by the scorer also scored their first goal from set-play. Benin’s set-piece 2nd goal also revealed another area of Finidi’s deficiency; lack of set-piece tactics for freekicks or corners.
Finidi misused Ademola Lookman or didn’t unlike Peseiro understand how the forward plays. Ademola Lookman is a speedster, his great strength lies in leading counter-attacks, break-outs or fast transitions with his speed. He is not one for the slow build-up play that was orchestrated by Iwobi presumably guided by Finidi.
Peseiro stated before AFCON that he was going to model his team around Lookman, translating he meant he was going to make the team play to Lookman’s strength i.e. counterattacking football – defensive solidity, and attacks on the break.
Finidi did not also understand Chukwueze. I would admit he was a mystery to me as well until recently. Chukwueze requires close support from either a partner in the midfield or from the fullback. Without such support, Chukwueze becomes isolated and lost. When he was closely supported by Yusuf, Chukwueze almost scored and when he was supported by Onyedika he played the assist that led to the first goal.
Finidi was fascinated with Onuachu, a player who always disappoints because he never gives you what his physical appearance suggests. I am not one to criticise the defensive partnership, because such partnerships are built on experience. Finidi’s squad selection doomed him to defensive failure. He refused to incorporate the defensive experience that Balogun or Ekong could have provided. Many commentators were screaming themselves hoarse that he call one of them up, and yet they were unheard or ignored by him. He chose a defensive partnership of 21-year-old Tanimu, 24-year-old Bassey, and 30-year-old Semi Ajayi, who had spent most of the season benched.
The best defensive international team has always been Italy, and the Italian defensive team is usually players that are 30-35 years old. Why? because they value defensive experience. It is almost impossible for a 21-year-old to be selected as an Italian centre-back, no matter how good he is. As for Bassey he is not yet at his peak, in fact, he is a centre-back understudy, i.e. the junior partner to a senior centre-back.
Finidi is arrogant in this respect. He did not know or recognise his coaching limitations vis a vis his 70-year-old tactical opponents, Broos and Rohr.
Listening to the football community can help a coach obtain clarity and even new insight into player selection and tactics. After all, Peseiro listened to the fans in discovering Nwabali as a replacement for Uzoho. The Nigerian fan base is more responsible for player discovery than the NFF.
As a musician would say, ”Listen to your base to make sweet music”, and it applies to soccer. The fan base helps to expose a player’s limitations, strengths, and the context in which they perform best. Yes, not all fans make intelligent suggestions but the body of fans (many having played in their youth at various levels and now with high educational attainment) can help a coach discover new talent and new possibilities. A good coach until he has tactical clarity would do well to keep one ear open to what the fans are saying – the most fanatic fans are football players.
As a novice international coach, Finidi showed unforgivable arrogance. In not listening to his fan base, Finidi a novice coach, elevated himself to the level of the football gods, the Ancelotti’s and Mourinho’s of this world – managers who have insight that the great majority cannot see.
I also question whether Finidi studied or deployed his staff to study either the South African or the Beninoise team. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have underestimated the latter and would have closed shop (i.e. park-the-bus) at 1-0 to rely on counter-attacks using Lookman.
The team Rohr assembled for Benin was based on the same team selection method he used while in Nigeria. Rohr searched all over Europe for Beninoise football talent and assembled Division 1 and 2 players from France and Switzerland mixed with a couple of hungry under-21 talent. He then, unlike Finidi, drilled them with set-plays and set-piece strategies. This was not a team to underestimate with the usual Nigerian arrogance. They will trouble any team in Africa.
We have become so football arrogant as exemplified by our coach Finidi that while other teams are studying us for weaknesses we still refuse to study our opponents. Rohr’s Benin knew that in the final stages of the 1st half, a defense loses concentration as it anticipates going into the dressing room, and ours was particularly susceptible as we had a goal advantage. They hit us twice in the last 5 minutes of the first half.
They were also prepared for Finidi’s ‘ace in the hole’ Paul Onuachu. They arranged what can only be described as a marking ‘sandwich’ for Onuachu such that we were not sure whether we were watching a football match or a pornographic film.
As for Finidi’s substitutions, they were often the product of panic rather than pre-set tactical analysis. It seems that in setting out his approach to games he never countenances that his team would be losing and pre-bake his tactical reaction to that eventuality. In short, Finidi came only with plan A. No plan B, C, or D.
* For those who notice this is an amended version of an already submitted comment
Part 1
I will praise Finidi for adding strength to the Nigerian midfield something that Peseiro failed to do. He selected dele-Bashiru and gave Onyedika and Yusuf more exposure, all three showed that they deserved starting slots. Recall that Peseiro kept them near permanently on the bench. I will also thank him for Sodiq who showed himself as a ball-crossing left fullback, something Nigeria is solely missing.
I won’t thank him for the wiry Tanimu who, despite his commendable performance is not experienced enough to be exposed at the full international level. I felt he did not, unlike Sodiq, have the skills of a fullback and is not imposing in height or physique to be taken seriously as a centre-back in the physical African game.
Finidi was tactically bereft, and it showed! He was unable to drill the team in either set-plays or set-pieces that are now the staple of international competitive matches. South Africa scored from set-play and Benin as revealed by the scorer also scored their first goal from set-play. Benin’s set-piece 2nd goal also revealed another area of Finidi’s deficiency; lack of set-piece tactics for freekicks or corners.
Finidi misused Ademola Lookman or didn’t unlike Peseiro understand how the forward plays. Ademola Lookman is a speedster, his great strength lies in leading counter-attacks, break-outs or fast transitions with his speed. He is not one for the slow build-up play that was orchestrated by Iwobi presumably guided by Finidi.
Peseiro stated before AFCON that he was going to model his team around Lookman, translating he meant he was going to make the team play to Lookman’s strength i.e. counterattacking football – defensive solidity, and attacks on the break.
Finidi did not also understand Chukwueze. I would admit he was a mystery to me as well until recently. Chukwueze requires close support from either a partner in the midfield or from the fullback. Without such support, Chukwueze becomes isolated and lost. When he was closely supported by Yusuf, Chukwueze almost scored and when he was supported by Onyedika he played the assist that led to the first goal.
Finidi was fascinated with Onuachu, a player who always disappoints because he never gives you what his physical appearance suggests. I am not one to criticise the defensive partnership, because such partnerships are built on experience. Finidi’s squad selection doomed him to defensive failure. He refused to incorporate the defensive experience that Balogun or Ekong could have provided. Many commentators were screaming themselves hoarse that he call one of them up, and yet they were unheard or ignored by him. He chose a defensive partnership of 21-year-old Tanimu, 24-year-old Bassey, and 30-year-old Semi Ajayi, who had spent most of the season benched.
The best defensive international team has always been Italy, and the Italian defensive team is usually players that are 30-35 years old. Why? because they value defensive experience. It is almost impossible for a 21-year-old to be selected as an Italian centre-back, no matter how good he is. As for Bassey he is not yet at his peak, in fact, he is a centre-back understudy, i.e. the junior partner to a senior centre-back.
Finidi is arrogant in this respect. He did not know or recognise his coaching limitations vis a vis his 70-year-old tactical opponents, Broos and Rohr.
Part 2
Listening to the football community can help a coach obtain clarity and even new insight into player selection and tactics. After all, Peseiro listened to the fans in discovering Nwabali as a replacement for Uzoho. The Nigerian fan base is more responsible for player discovery than the NFF.
As a musician would say, ”Listen to your base to make sweet music”, and it applies to soccer. The fan base helps to expose a player’s limitations, strengths, and the context in which they perform best. Yes, not all fans make intelligent suggestions but the body of fans (many having played in their youth at various levels and now with high educational attainment) can help a coach discover new talent and new possibilities.
A good coach until he has tactical clarity would do well to keep one ear open to what the fans are saying – the most fanatic fans are football players.
As a novice international coach, Finidi showed unforgivable arrogance. In not listening to his fan base, Finidi a novice coach, elevated himself to the level of the football gods, the Ancelotti’s and Mourinho’s of this world – managers who have insight that the great majority cannot see.
Part 3
I also question whether Finidi studied or deployed his staff to study either the South African or the Beninoise team. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have underestimated the latter and would have closed shop (i.e. park-the-bus) at 1-0 to rely on counter-attacks using Lookman.
The team Rohr assembled for Benin was based on the same team selection method he used while in Nigeria. Rohr searched all over Europe for Beninoise football talent and assembled Division 1 and 2 players from France and Switzerland mixed with a couple of hungry under-21 talent. He then, unlike Finidi, drilled them with set-plays and set-piece strategies. This was not a team to underestimate with the usual Nigerian arrogance. They will trouble any team in Africa.
We have become so football arrogant as exemplified by our coach Finidi that while other teams are studying us for weaknesses we still refuse to study our opponents. Rohr’s Benin knew that in the final stages of the 1st half, a defense loses concentration as it anticipates going into the dressing room, and ours was particularly susceptible as we had a goal advantage. They hit us twice in the last 5 minutes of the first half.
Part 4
Benin were also prepared for Finidi’s ‘ace in the hole’ Paul Onuachu. They arranged what can only be described as a marking ‘sandwich’ for Onuachu such that we were not sure whether we were watching a football match or a pornographic film.
As for Finidi’s substitutions, they were often the product of panic rather than pre-set tactical analysis. The Boniface- Onuachu combination descended into hilarity and comedy when both frontline strikers were colliding with each other. It seems that in setting out his approach to games he never countenances that his team would be losing and pre-bake his tactical reaction to that eventuality. In short, Finidi came only with plan A. No plan B, C, or D.
Radarada all those shouting Boniface this Boniface that during Afcon what was his contribution even before the injury he has not been doing well for national team like his club side. They are shouting Mosses Simon the same guy they used to abuse for over dribbling and not having good crosses. I remember during rohr era when he can not do without using him they said series of things. Did someone bother to asked why are these guys not performing in national colour as they do in their club sides.