Obafemi Martins has praised the current crop of Super Eagles players but admitted that their recent impressive displays have only made Nigeria’s absence from the 2026 World Cup harder to stomach, Footynaija.com reports.
Martins, who represented Nigeria across 11 years of international football and earned 46 caps, knows the Super Eagles better than most. The former Inter Milan, Newcastle United and Wolfsburg striker was part of some of the most celebrated Nigeria squads of the 2000s, and watching the current generation from the outside has stirred genuine emotion in him.
The sentiment is understandable. Nigeria have just retained the Unity Cup in London with a commanding 3-0 win over Jamaica, with new faces like Femi Azeez catching the eye.
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A 2-2 draw against Poland in Warsaw followed, with Terem Moffi and Onuachu again among the contributions. The performances have been encouraging enough to fuel frustration that this group is not heading to North America next week.
‘They should gather themselves together’
Speaking to Daily Sport, Martins did not hide where he stood on it all.
“We have to work and see how it goes at the end. I’m so happy for the new invitees because they all gave a good account of themselves and I think they played quite well and I’m proud of that,” he said.
The pride gave way to frustration.
“The current form of our players all round is very impressive and this makes the World Cup absence so painful,” Martins said.
He was equally clear about how he processes Nigeria’s absence from the global stage.
“That Nigeria is not going to the World Cup, I’m not happy about that. I’m a fan even though I used to play for Super Eagles. I’m a fan and I think they should gather themselves together and try to play as a team and prepare for the World Cup.”
Nigeria’s next competitive action comes in September when AFCON 2027 qualifying begins. Before that, another friendly against Portugal in Leiria offers Chelle one more chance to assess his squad before the international window closes.
