Austin Eguavoen has backed Victor Boniface to score in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers fixture with Libya and has played down the Super Eagles having a goalscoring problem ahead of the tie.
Boniface has failed to replicate his goalscoring form with Bayer Leverkusen in Nigeria and is still searching for his first international goal after eight matches for the national team.
He started against Benin and Rwanda last month but had to be taken off in both games after failing to find the back of the net with his substitution against Rwanda being the most notable, having been hooked off at half-time.
In the absence of Victor Osimhen, the 23-year-old could be set to start for the third consecutive time in tomorrow’s game against the Mediterranean Knights.
Speaking ahead of the clash, the Super Eagles interim coach stated that Bayer Leverkusen is a vital player and backed him to score if he does start.
“Victor Boniface has always been a part of this team and will continue to be a part of this team. Yes, he is not finding the back of the net and I can assure you that if he starts tomorrow, he will score,” he told reporters in Uyo during the pre-match press conference.
With the failure to score in the last fixture against Rwanda, Eguavoen was also quizzed about whether his side had a problem converting their chances into goals.
In his response, the 59-year-old gave the reason behind not scoring against Rwanda, citing how the Wasps set up defensively and the heroics of Fiacre Ntwari as contributing factors.
“I don’t think it is a problem, give it to the Rwandees, they ran a lot but we controlled the game and every time we try to put the ball in the back of the net, it was not as if we were shooting wide, it was within goal, so they have numbers in front of goal.
“I think the keeper was the man-of-the-match and they had bodies lined up in front of goal, so we are going to continue to try”
Nigeria scored three goals in their last home game, which was against Benin’s Cheetahs.
By Abdulkareem Abdulhamid
