Former Fenerbahce defender Chikelue Iloenyosi has said Nigeria’s players must accept responsibility for the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, insisting the squad is deeply disappointed by the outcome, Footynaija reports.
Nigeria will miss a second consecutive World Cup after falling short in a qualifying campaign that many expected them to dominate. Drawn alongside South Africa, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Benin Republic, the Super Eagles entered the series as favourites but were unable to secure a place at the tournament.
The disappointment means several of Nigeria’s biggest stars, including Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Moses Simon and Alex Iwobi, will not have the chance to represent the country on football’s biggest stage. Nigeria have not appeared at the World Cup since the 2018 tournament in Russia.
Related Post
Speaking to AySuga Channel, Iloenyosi dismissed any suggestion that he was pleased by Nigeria’s failure and stressed that the players themselves are struggling with the setback.
“How can I be happy? Players are feeling very, very bad, of course. If they have a chance to be in the World Cup, they will be in the World Cup to prove themselves,” he said.
The former defender also pointed out that some members of the current squad may never get another opportunity to play at a World Cup.
“Some people in the national team might not see the World Cup again because of their age. I’m not happy we did not qualify for the World Cup because we’ve gotten a coach that came to stabilise the team.
“If you see the standard of the games we are playing now, you can know the coach wants the team to improve. Unfortunately, we did not qualify for the World Cup.
“Why we did not qualify for the World Cup is the players. It’s the fault of the players because you can see the games, they are even blaming themselves. They are not happy.”
