Sunday Oliseh went to two World Cups, won an Olympic gold medal, gave African football decades of his life, but he has never seen an African nation lift the World Cup trophy, Footynaija.com.
The former Super Eagles captain earned 63 caps for Nigeria, featured at the 1994 and 1998 tournaments, won the AFCON and was part of the Dream Team that stunned the world in Atlanta.
He has watched Africa produce extraordinary moments at World Cups across three decades, from Cameroon’s quarter-final in 1990 through Senegal’s run in 2002, Ghana’s near-miss in 2010 and Morocco’s breathtaking semifinal in 2022. The ceiling keeps rising. The trophy has never come.
Morocco’s 1-1 draw with Brazil in New Jersey reopened the conversation. The Atlas Lions dominated the five-time world champions for long stretches, took the lead through Ismael Saibari’s brilliant chip in the 21st minute and only dropped points because Vinicius Junior is the kind of player who wins games on his own.
It was the kind of performance that makes you believe. Oliseh believes. But he also has a condition attached.
‘I don’t know which one he’s sending me to’
Speaking on BBC’s Global News Podcast after the Brazil draw, the former Super Eagles coach let his feelings about African football’s greatest unfinished business pour out with complete honesty.
“There’s something I want to see before God takes me to heaven or hell. I don’t know which one he’s sending me to. It would be great to see an African nation win this, because this is a competition that we all love passionately in Africa and whoever wins that, I wish them good luck,” he said.
The sentiment runs deep for a man who played in two World Cups and watched Nigeria exit at the round of 16 on both occasions. Morocco, who finished fourth in 2022 under Walid Regragui, arrive at this tournament under new coach Mohamed Ouahbi, who replaced Regragui in March after the latter resigned following a 1-0 extra-time defeat to Senegal in the AFCON final.
Ouahbi guided Morocco’s under-20 side to the FIFA U-20 World Cup title in Chile last year and retained seven members of the 2022 semifinal squad including Bounou, Hakimi and Amrabat.
However, Oliseh is not handing Morocco a free pass. He warned that the tactical blueprint that made them so dangerous four years ago no longer carries the element of surprise it once did.
“If the Moroccans play the same way they did four years ago, they won’t get that far. The eggshell has been broken now,” he said.
“I find Senegal extremely strong. I find the Moroccans also solid, but how they cope with the change of manager, I don’t know how it will affect them.”
For Nigeria, watching a World Cup they should be part of, Oliseh’s words about Africa’s dream land differently. The Super Eagles missed qualification by a penalty shootout. Morocco and Senegal carry the continent’s hopes instead. Oliseh, for one, is watching every single minute.
