Iwobi, Dele-Bashiru under the spotlight: Eguavoen reveals he's searching for a good playmaker

Following the Super Eagles' final 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Rwanda, interim coach Austin Eguavoen emphasized the need for a creative player to boost Nigeria's goal-scoring ability, placing Alex Iwobi and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru under the spotlight.

The Fulham midfielder and the Lazio ace are the two attacking midfielders in the squad presently- they recorded just one goal contribution between them in the qualification campaign which affected the output of the star-studded forwardS.

Despite boasting reigning African Men's Player of the Year, Victor Osimhen, one of his potential successors Ademola Lookman, Victor Boniface and other brilliant forwards in the continent, the Super Eagles showed a lack of cutting edge in the qualifiers.

They finished the campaign with nine goals, but three came from the opening fixture with Benin, and another three were handed to them on a platter of gold by the Confederation of African Football.

The Super Eagles scored just once over two legs against Rwanda and netted a goal in their home fixture with Libya and the away game with Benin.

Asked about why the Super Eagles forwards are not scoring enough goals in his post-match conference after the defeat to Rwanda yesterday, Eguavoen revealed that they will score more with a creative player, throwing doubts about his confidence in Dele-Bashiru and Iwobi.

"I mean goals win games, we all know that. They are scoring goals in their clubside, they are scoring goals in training, when it comes to the game, they don't score goals. We keep asking the same questions but again," Eguavoen told reporters.

"You know there are some players who can make a difference who can just put the ball into space for them to go to the goal.

"We are still look for such players, who has that flair, creativity, who is a good playmaker who can probably put the ball into space for them."

The three-time African champions have to get the best out of their star-studded forwards to stand a chance of qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup and also win the next edition of AFCON.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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