Former Nigeria International, Austin Okocha, has implored the current senior men’s national team players to brace and do everything within their reach in the remaining 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, adding the country cannot yet miss another World Cup as it happened at Germany 2006 and as recent as Qatar 2022.
The former Paris Saint-Germain star, who led Nigeria during the qualifiers for the 2006 edition in Germany, said he still carries the pain of failing to qualify for the Mundial.
Despite boasting one of Africa’s strongest squads then, the Super Eagles lost their spot to Angola, falling short in a crucial qualifier in Kano which ended in a draw instead of the three points that would have been sufficient for the ticket.
“It is a dream for every player to play in the World Cup,” Okocha was quoted as saying during a recent Bundesliga roundtable discussion. “Personally, not qualifying for the 2006 World Cup still haunts me. I still feel bad whenever I remember it because it could have been my fourth.”
Fast forward to today, and Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign is in similar danger. The Super Eagles sit fourth in Group C, trailing behind South Africa, Benin, and Rwanda, with only seven points from six games—a historically poor return for a nation that has qualified six times since its debut at USA ‘94.
With world-class talent across the pitch, including Lookman (the reigning African Player of the Year), Osimhen (the 2023 winner), Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina, and Victor Boniface, the current crop was expected to dominate after reaching the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final. Instead, they’re fighting to avoid heartbreak.
“They will be very disappointed if they don’t make it,” Okocha warned. “People don’t realize sometimes that players are the ones that feel it the most—because it is their job, their dream.”
Currently, the Super Eagles are in a distant fourth position in their Group C section after the opening six round of matches and the coach Eric Sekou Chelle-led side must win their remaining four matches to have any realistic chances of making it to next year’s World Cup to be jointly co-hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico.
Discussion about this post