The ambitious Japanese trainer was among over 20 applicants who did not make the three-man shortlist to coach the Nigerian national team.

 

The shortlisted candidates are former Cameroon coach Paul Le Guen, Tom Saintfiet and Salisu Yusuf are the candidates to be the new Nigeria coach.

 

Yatsuhashi left Hearts last month by mutual consent to pursue a coaching course abroad. However, it appears he had an interest in taking over the reins of the three-time African champions.

 

The Nigerian Football Federation said it had received over 20 applications for the post, which they narrowed down to the shortlist.

 

It added that it would interview the trio on July 18 and "immediately name the next Super Eagles coach".

 

The 52-year-old Frenchman Le Guen qualified the Indomitable Lions for the 2010 World Cup finals.

 

Belgian Saintfiet, 43, has extensive experience at African national team level, having led Namibia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Malawi and Togo.

 

Current Nigeria caretaker coach Yusuf, 54, led the team to two friendly wins against Mali and Luxembourg in May.

 

Chairman of the Technical and Development Committee, Chris Green, told the NFF website: "We set a criteria with which we evaluated the nearly two dozen applications and then agreed on the three persons that we shortlisted.

 

"The Committee will meet on Monday 18 July 2016 to interview the shortlisted candidates and immediately name the next Super Eagles Head Coach."

 

Among those who showed interest in coaching Nigeria are, Giovanni Solinas, Saintfiet, Hey Antoine, Mark Wotte, Yusuf, Ernesto Paulo Calvinho, Dorian Marin, Le Guen, Miodrag Jesic, Perry Hansen, Ove Pedersen, Adebayo Lateef Kola, Sylvanus Okpala, Peter Ijeh, Vladimir Petrovic-Pizon, Lodewijk de Kruif, Kenichi Yatsuhashi, Bjorn Frank Peters and Ricki Herbert.