By BEN EFE

Coach Austin Eguaveon will put his coaching acumen to test as the national under-23 team prepares to stake a claim, to a London 2012 Olympics slot when they file out against Morocco in the African qualifying tournament on Saturday.

The odds stack against Eguavoen a former Eagles defender. But he needs to win and bolster his coaching credentials, which is yet to record any significant milestone. In Morocco, Eguaveon would need all the skills of an escape artist to rescue a ticket for Nigeria to show at the London Games.

Eguaveon was denied the services of six key players by their respective European clubs. Since the team landed in Morocco on Monday, Eguaveon battled to keep his players warm, as they met a chilly weather and the Nigeria Football Federation was not in a hurry to send palliatives. But the die is cast for Eguavoen. As he faces Morocco and then later on, Senegal and Algeria he is still hopeful of getting a result that will perhaps keep him on the job.

NFF technical committee chairman Chris Green refused to be drawn into conversation, on what will happen to the embattled Eguaveon should he fail to deliver.

“The entire nation is looking up to us. And we are going there to do all our best,” Eguaveon told reporters in Lagos before jetting out to Rabat.

He is relying on the same home-boys he previously overlooked in his campaigns.

“It was painstaking to get out the final twenty-one.

“But in any case I have confidence in the squad we are taking to Morocco.”

With Nigeria’s rich history of a 1996 gold medal win and a 2008 silver outing staring at Eguaveon in the face, there will be no telling of the consequences that will follow if he fails to prove his mettle.