A Nigeria coach has reportedly resigned from his role ahead of the Super Eagles' crucial clash against Bafana Bafana on Friday.
The last time the two sides met, the west Africans came out on top as they went on to defeat South Africa 4-2 on penalties to book a spot in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final, and would eventually finish as the tournament runners-up.
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This time around, however, the two teams have arguably a much bigger objective, with a spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup up for grabs and a victory for either side likely to place them in a commanding position to qualify from Group C.
With the game taking place on Friday at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, it is now being reported that Nigeria have a new issue on their hands, with their assistant coach said to have abruptly vacated his role.
According to Nigeria Soccernet, Daniel Amokachi, who was the first assistant to manager Finidi George, has resigned from his position and will not be part of the technical team facing Bafana.
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The former Everton star was named on the Super Eagles coaching staff as one of five assistants, alongside Benjamin James, Olatunji Baruwa, Chima Onyeike, and Mehmet Ozturk, when George was permanently appointed as the team's head coach role in April.
There have since been reports suggesting Amokachi was imposed on the latest national team head coach, but this has been refuted by Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Ibrahim Gusau.
"I am very happy when we unveiled Finidi to Nigeria. The NFF Technical Director put all the names on the list and they chose the best they felt would work. All the names you saw as assistants to Finidi were chosen by him," the NFF head insisted.
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As things stand, though, the NFF has not issued any formal statement on Amokachi's reported resignation, but further reports in Nigeria suggest that the assistant coach in question rejected the contract he was offered just a few months ago, while it has also been claimed that he is not on good terms with George.
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