Immediate past Super Eagles interim coach Augustine Eguavoen has refuted claims of influencing Eric Chelle's player selections for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe.

On Tuesday, March 11, Chelle trimmed his initial 39-man provisional list to a final 23-man squad, with some notable absentees including Ahmed Musa, Kelechi Iheanacho, Cyriel Dessers, Frank Onyeka, and Paul Onuachu.

Meanwhile, Joe Aribo and Nathan Tella were recalled to the squad after missing out on recent call-ups.

Responding to rumours surrounding the selection process, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Technical Director Eguavoen dismissed the reports, emphasizing that Chelle has full control over the final squad list.

“I want Nigerians to get clarity on something. I’ve been technical director for a few years and I have attended FIFA workshops where I ask a lot of questions. They made it clear to me that a senior national team coach anywhere in the world has the final say on who he wants on his list.

“We can interact, but we cannot interfere. If he says no, it’s no. That is why they can fire a senior national team coach at any time. So I will say Eric Chelle took his time to prepare this list and he has the final say,” Eguavoen told SuperSport.

The Super Eagles will resume their World Cup qualifying campaign against Rwanda on Friday, March 21, in Kigali, before hosting Zimbabwe four days later at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium.

WDN