Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Finidi George has revealed what his team need to win their next two games in the 2026 world cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic respectively, Owngoalnigeria.com reports.
Finidi will lead the team out for the first time in a competitive game in June starting with the game against South Africa in Uyo, with the team needing a win to get their campaign back on track after back to back draws in their opening games of the series.
A lot has been made about which tactics will suit the team in the games, but Finidi who has said winning both games is non negotiable insist that tactics alone won’t be enough to get the win in both games.
“Every formation has to do with the players and what they can bring in every given game. Our job is to motivate the players, make sure they are physically okay, and then the tactics don’t really matter because in football, no matter the tactics you come up with, you have to attack and defend. If you can do that properly, you have a big chance of winning games”, he told Afrik Foot.
*If you attack properly and have that balance to defend properly, you have every chance to win games. It doesn’t matter what formation you put up for players. At the end of the day, you can’t attack and not defend. So once you have that balance of attacking and defending, then you are good to go.
“Is it 4-4-2? The players are used to it. 4-3-3? They are used to it in Europe. We will not do anything that is strange or new to them, but rather what they are used to. Let them understand what you are trying to do and ask for commitment from the players, and nothing else. The rest would be the players performing well on the field of play, and we will have the result”.
