Sunday Oliseh Points Finger at Players Over Super Eagles’ 2026 World Cup Qualification Struggles
- Former Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh has apportioned blame to the current players over their struggle in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers
- Nigeria are banking on FIFA to deduct three points from South Africa for fielding an ineligible player against Lesotho
- The Super Eagles recorded only two wins in eight matches in the 2026 CAF qualification Group C
Sunday Oliseh has expressed dismay following the performance of the Super Eagles in the 2026 World Cup qualification series.
The 51-year-old is sceptical about Nigeria qualifying for the Mundial after missing the 2022 edition in Qatar.
Super Eagles recorded three draws and one loss, 2-1 against Benin Republic, before recording two wins over the Amavubi of Rwanda and two more draws against Zimbabwe and South Africa under Eric Chelle.
Source: Getty Images
Nigeria boast of 11 points, and currently sits in third position while the Bafana Bafana are top of the log with 17 points.
Oliseh blasts players
Former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh strongly criticised the players for not taking their destiny into their own hands during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
According to Punch, the AFCON winner said that with the current permutations from other groups, Nigeria may likely miss the Mundial for the second consecutive time.
The former Juventus star said Nigeria have not addressed the root cause of the men's national team's underperformance. He said:
"It is looking almost certain that the Super Eagles of Nigeria will not be at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The country is not going to lose out because of a single error; the error has been in the past.
"We will continue to deceive ourselves if we think the Super Eagles eist in isolation from the entire country."
Source: Getty Images
No World Cup after 10 years - Oliseh
Olympic gold medallist Sunday Oliseh mentioned that some of the current players have represented the country for 10 years and have not played in a World Cup.
The Ajax legend also laid blame on the path of the Nigeria Football Federation for owing the players match bonuses despite executing the matches. Oliseh said:
"The players are not aware of the damage they have caused to themselves and the football system. Some of them have played for over 10 years for the Super Eagles and failed to qualify for the World Cup.
"During our days, there was no chance of the NFA owing us match bonuses because I heard that they had not been paid like 30 games."
Meanwhile, the Super Eagles have two matches left in their 2026 CAF qualification matches against the Crocodile of Lesotho and the Cheetahs of Benin Republic, per TnTSports.
We were not serious, says Ejiofor
Legit.ng earlier reported that former Super Eagles defender Eric Ejiofor has blamed the current players for not taking their chances during the early games of the World Cup qualifiers.
Former Maccabi Haifa star said one of the biggest problems of the current Super Eagles is lack of teamwork, explaining that the attitude of the players toward training is uncalled for.
Source: Legit.ng
