Former Nigeria star Tijani Babangida has warned Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle that the growing dependence on Victor Osimhen could prove costly at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, Footynaija.com reports.
Osimhen remains Nigeria’s most influential player, with 31 goals in 43 matches, and the team’s performances dip sharply whenever he is unavailable.
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Nigeria have lost only five of 40 games with Osimhen on the pitch but 11 of 29 without him.
That difference was glaring during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Nigeria failed to win their first four matches while he was injured, but once he returned, he scored six goals in six games as the Super Eagles picked up 14 points from a possible 18.
However, his injury in the playoff final against DR Congo contributed to Nigeria’s defeat and eventual World Cup elimination.
Babangida believes that painful experience should motivate the team, but he insists Chelle must develop a system capable of winning with or without the Galatasaray striker.
“It is dangerous that it appears that the Super Eagles is built around Victor Osimhen,” Babangida warned in an interview with TribalFootball.
“It was when Osimhen was removed in the beginning of the second half against Congo, that the team started to struggle. That is very bad.
“The Super Eagles of my time was not built around one player. Many people have observed that Super Eagles is built around Osimhen. This is a problem that Eric Chelle must fix, if the team wants to win the AFCON. Chelle must impact this mentality to all the players, the attackers especially, that the team is not built around Osimhen. Any player given the nod to feature in any game must perform very well and play as a team.
“We need a fully fit Osimhen, but we also need a fully mentally prepared players who knows that with or without Osimhen, Super Eagles can win. Morale should be high in the team whether Osimhen is there or not. Osimhen was absent in most of the games that the team failed to win during the World Cup qualifiers.
“Super Eagles should not be in a mess, if Osimhen is injured. Chelle must address this issue because injury is part of the game. Osimhen’s absent in any game should not be the end of the world for Super Eagles.”
Nigeria reached the final of the 2023 AFCON and will target a repeat performance in Morocco.
The Super Eagles are billed to face Tanzania, Uganda and Tunisia in the AFCON group stage.
