Nigeria’s absence from the 2026 FIFA World Cup has continued to spark debate, but experienced sports journalist Tunde Young believes the Super Eagles should stop assuming they are being missed on football’s biggest stage, Footynaija.com reports.
Speaking in a video shared by Pulse Sports, Young argued that Nigeria’s World Cup record does not support the idea that the tournament has lost its appeal because the three time African champions failed to qualify.
The Super Eagles missed out on a place at the expanded 48 team tournament after falling short in the qualification campaign, extending their wait for another World Cup appearance since Russia 2018.
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According to Young, Nigeria must first build a stronger record at the competition before expecting to be seen as one of the tournament’s key nations.
“We cannot sit here and act like the World Cup is missing us, or that we deserve a space at the World Cup. This is the 23rd World Cup in history; we’ve only been to six, and not one time have we gone past the second round.”
The veteran journalist pointed to the achievements of other African countries, noting that several have gone further than Nigeria on football’s biggest stage.
“Cameroon have been quarter-finalists, Senegal have been quarter-finalists, Ghana have been quarter-finalists twice. Maybe it’s time for us to admit that it’s all in our head. We keep deceiving ourselves that we’re important on the global stage.”
Nigeria have featured at six FIFA World Cups, making their debut at the 1994 tournament in the United States. Their best performances came in 1994, 1998 and 2014, when they reached the Round of 16 but failed to progress further.
