Former Super Eagles captain has urged Nigeria to learn from Italy’s recent decline, following the Azzurri’s failure to qualify for a third consecutive FIFA World Cup, Footynaija.com reports.
Despite their prestigious history as four time winners of the FIFA World Cup, Italy recently squandered an opportunity to appear at the Mundial for the first time in 12 years after suffering a penalty shootout defeat in a play-off game against Bosnia Herzegovina.
The Super Eagles themselves are still reeling from the disappointment of missing back-to-back World Cup tournaments after losing the CAF play-offs final against DR Congo via a penalty shoot-out.
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On top of failing to qualify for the World Cup, the Nigeria national team’s valiant efforts at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco earlier this year only yielded a third-place finish.
Weighing in on the current state of affairs via his self-titled Sunday Oliseh Global Football show recently, Oliseh warned that Nigeria must begin to work towards putting a better functioning footballing system in place to avoid becoming the “next Italy.”
“Italy, a nation with four World Cups failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup, that’s twelve years, a proof that being a household name doesn’t win you games anymore, systems do,” the former Ajax midfielder said.
“We must look at Italy and not mock them. I mean, who are we to mock them?
“If systems are the future, then the path for Nigeria is simple. It’s about work, not magic. DR Congo is going to the World Cup, it’s a bitter pill for many. The landscape has changed. If DR Congo can do it, we can do the same, if we start working now.
“How do we make sure that by 2030, we’re not the next Italy? The solutions are so simple. We’re restoring our pride. The World respected the Green White Green because we had a plan in 1994, and 1994.
“Let’s be honest, that success made us lazy, we believed talent is enough, and we didn’t need a system. Now, we’ve regressed, and an AFCON run won’t mask the truth.”
Oliseh represented Nigeria at the 1994 and 1998 editions of the World Cup during his days as a professional footballer. He also helped the Super Eagles secure qualification for 2002 Korea/Japan edition before calling time on his international career.
