Former Super Eagles striker Victor Ikpeba has pinpointed Nigeria’s disappointing results against Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Benin as the decisive moments that cost them automatic qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Nigeria’s campaign began with a frustrating 1-1 draw at home to Lesotho, followed by another stalemate against Zimbabwe and a damaging defeat to Benin. Those three fixtures yielded only two points from a possible nine, an early stumble that proved impossible to recover from despite a strong finish to the qualifiers.
“Our slow start was our greatest undoing. We couldn’t do the job against Lesotho at home, drew away to Zimbabwe, and lost to the Republic of Benin. Our form during that period was terrible,” Ikpeba said during a SuperSport broadcast monitored by footynaija.com.
The former Monaco forward added that instability within the technical crew only worsened Nigeria’s early struggles.
“We had a manager who left, and Finidi came in. There was a little bit of chaos everywhere, and that’s where we didn’t get it right,” he noted.
South Africa’s Bafana Bafana capitalised on Nigeria’s early slip-ups, racing ahead in Group C with wins over Benin and Zimbabwe and a valuable draw in Uyo. Although the Super Eagles rallied late, collecting 14 points from their final six games, the damage was already done.
Ikpeba, 1997 Africa Footballer of the year, also praised current coach Eric Chelle for steadying the team.
“This manager, Eric Chelle, has done a great job — four wins and two draws from six games,” he said.
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