Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has continued to raise questions about the state of the Super Eagles, but former Nigeria international Sam Sodje believes the damage goes beyond the national team and has started affecting how Nigerian players are viewed in the European transfer market, Footynaija.com reports.
The Super Eagles missed out on the tournament after a disappointing qualifying campaign left them needing the play-offs, where their hopes ended against DR Congo on penalties. The absence was another setback for a country that has regularly featured at the World Cup and produced players who attract interest from major European clubs.
The transfer market has also provided an interesting contrast this summer, with several African players commanding major fees while no Nigerian player featured among the most expensive transfers. For Sodje, the difference cannot be separated from the country’s recent struggles on the international stage.
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‘Not going to the World Cup has affected our players’
Speaking to Soccernet.ng, Sodje refused to blame Nigerian players for their absence from the biggest transfers but argued that the Super Eagles’ failures have reduced the exposure and value attached to players from the country.
“To be fair, I am not going to blame the player for not being in the top ten,” Sodje said. “I am not even sure any player moves to a proper top team, Nigerian players or African players, but listen, we are always praying for the players to do well.”
The former Brentford defender then connected Nigeria’s transfer-market struggles to its standing in international football.
“It reflects on what is going on in Nigeria, where Nigerian football is internationally as well. And let us not hide the fact that if you do not do well in your national team, it is always hard for your players to go places.”
Sodje pointed to the players who impressed at the World Cup as an example of how international exposure can improve a player’s profile and attract bigger clubs.
He was even more direct when asked whether Nigeria’s failure to reach the 2026 World Cup had affected the market for its players.
“One hundred per cent, one hundred per cent,” he said. “You cannot keep failing and expect your players to move.”
According to Sodje, the problem does not only concern players who would have represented Nigeria at the tournament.
“Not going to the World Cup on the bounce has affected our players, has affected Nigerian players, not just the ones that will go to the World Cup.”
Sodje believes Nigeria must fix its football structure and return to producing players who can attract major clubs, starting from the younger age groups.
“That is why we have to make sure not just the World Cup, even the twenties and the twenty-ones, we need to get Nigeria back on track of producing good players.”
