'I have a tough skin' - Finidi insists pressure is not in his dictionary ahead of World Cup qualifiers 

Finidi George was presented as the new Super Eagles coach in an event on Monday morning, with Nigeria's Sports Minister Senator John Enoh and president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Musa Gusau in attendance. 

During the unveiling ceremony, the Nigerian Federation confirmed that ex-Super Eagles striker Daniel Amokachi and Abiden Baruwa will be the assistant coach and goalkeeper coach respectively.

The first assignment for Finidi, who won the Champions League with Ajax in 1995, is to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. 

In June, Nigeria will take on South Africa and Benin, needing victories in both games as they currently sit third in the group, trailing Rwanda and Bafana Bafana.

Finidi has underlined that the word pressure is not in his dictionary and appealed for support from key stakeholders including the media. 

"In life you cannot be afraid. As you see me here, I am a quiet person but I'm not afraid of anything. The worst you can get in football is not getting the result, the best you can get is winning all the time, and I will try my best to make sure that the team functions properly and we start winning games," Finidi said during his unveiling ceremony.

"Pressure, I don't think I have it. I have that tough skin and I want to plead you guys, the media we need your support.

"What is in the contract is boldly written, what the NFF want and Nigeria in general, but for me personally my first target is to make sure we are in line to qualify for the World Cup. AFCON qualifiers, definitely will be coming up soon, but the major step for me is these two games that we have.

"If we can win against South Africa and Benin, we will set the tone."

Finidi is expected to announce his squad list for the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the coming days.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Copyright ANS
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from allnigeriasoccer.com