Former Super Eagles defender Taye Taiwo has reminded Nigerians that Victor Osimhen cannot carry the team on his own as the national side heads into decisive World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and South Africa, Footynaija.com reports.
Taiwo, who was known for his thunderous left foot during his years with Olympique Marseille and earned 54 caps for Nigeria, stressed that the team must approach the qualifiers with a collective mindset rather than relying entirely on their main striker.
Speaking in an exclusive comment with Legit.ng, Taiwo said:
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“The most important thing for us when we’re playing is that we had the opportunity. We knew the players with the quality to score.”
“You cannot just say only Osimhen is going to score in this current Super Eagles because if you do not serve him with the right passes, he is not going to score,” he continued.
Reflecting on his own playing days, the former left-back added: “So for us, when we were playing, we knew exactly what to do. We do not care about what is happening from the outside, the most important thing is to win the game because the next game is always important as the last.”
Nigeria are currently fourth in Group C with only seven points from six games. Their only win so far came in Kigali last March, when Osimhen struck twice to secure a 2-0 victory over Rwanda in Eric Chelle’s first game as head coach.
Nigeria now face Rwanda again on September 6 in Uyo before travelling to Bloemfontein to play South Africa on September 9. Only the top team in the group qualifies directly for the 2026 World Cup, while the four best runners-up across Africa head into a playoff.
With Osimhen already Nigeria’s second-highest all-time scorer on 27 goals, expectations remain high on his shoulders.
