Head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Finidi George responded to questions after the game and was quick to fire back on why Byer Leverkusen Star Victor Boniface did not make an appearance against the Bafana Bafana of South.
Nigeria took on South Africa at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on Friday in a game that settled for a draw but Boniface was nowhere to be found on the pitch despite Victor Osimhen and Taiwo Awoniyi not being in the team.
Many had expected Boniface to start in the absence of Napoli forward Osimhen and Nottingham Forest man Awoniyi.
But Finidi George preferred former Southampton flop Paul Onuacho in a game of that magnitude and justified himself for not playing the Bundesliga Rockie of the Year winner.
Finidi George said “He was supposed to come in, but when we heard [Semi] Ajayi complained that he had a knock and couldn’t continue, we had to reverse that,”
“For me, it is what you can give to me on the field. Everyone wants this or that player to play, but at the end of the day, if the player is not performing, you guys will still be shouting ‘take him off,'” he added.
“So, let us do our job. We know who is good to go. We have another game, so we’ll see how we can play these guys.” Finidi said.
Nigeria was held to a 1-1 draw by the Bafana Bafana of South Africa thanks to goals from Sithole and Dele-Bashiru and will travel to play Benin Republic as they quest for a World Cup berth after missing out in 2022.
