Former Nigeria head coach Augustine Eguavoen spoke about his reasons for benching Leicester City star Kelechi Iheanacho.

The prolific forward was only on the bench when his side took on Ghana in a World Cup Qualifying play-off game.

Eguavoen, who has since lost his job due to Nigeria failing to beat Ghana, stated that Iheanacho did not follow instructions in the first leg of the contest.

"Iheanacho, you saw him a few days ago, his performance against Manchester United and people were saying Iheanacho stayed too long on that field," Eguavoen said on Monday Night Football on SuperSport.

"In Kumasi, we gave Iheanacho a specific role. In as much as he's going to go up there and support [Victor] Osimhen, he has a duty to perform by stopping Thomas Partey.

"Since he didn't do that, I spoke with him. I told him he'll start from the bench and at some point he'll come in."