Nigeria vs Benin: Super Eagles star Iwobi breaks silence after being substituted by Finidi in tragic loss

Alex Iwobi against South Africa | Imago

Nigeria vs Benin: Super Eagles star Iwobi breaks silence after being substituted by Finidi in tragic loss

Ayoola Kelechi 18:23 - 11.06.2024

Fulham star Alex Iwobi has spoken for the first time since the Super Eagles loss to Benin Republic

Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi has spoken for the first time since playing a part in Nigeria’s 2-1 loss to Benin Republic in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Iwobi yanked as Nigeria lose to Benin

Nigeria struggled against the Benin Republic at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan despite coach Finidi George’s futile attempts to shuffle the deck with second-half substitutions.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ug/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Among those changes, was Finidi’s decision to take off Iwobi for Paul Onuachu only six minutes into the second half, which has been criticised by fans and pundits alike

Iwobi speaks after strange substitution

Following the substitution, Iwobi has broken his silence with a cryptic post on social media which has caused a stir among fans.

On his handle @alexiwobi on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Fulham star posted a message saying, “Time To Reflect…” raising a number of eyebrows about his future with the Super Eagles.

Several fans have taken Iwobi’s words as a possible hint that the former Arsenal star could be set to quit the national team after previously enduring abuse from fans and now being taken off by manager Finidi George when the team needed critical input. However, there is no proof that Iwobi is willing to quit the Super Eagles as the 27-year-old has repeatedly reiterated his commitment to Nigeria.

Related content