Nigeria's Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, extending their absence from football's biggest stage to a second consecutive edition.
Four years ago, Nigeria were eliminated by Ghana's Black Stars after a 1-1 aggregate draw, with the Ghanaians progressing on the away-goals rule.
In the 2026 qualifying campaign, the Super Eagles were handed what appeared to be a favourable group featuring Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Republic of Benin and South Africa.
Despite boasting one of the strongest squads on the continent, Nigeria failed to secure qualification.
As a result, some of the country's biggest stars, including Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Moses Simon and Alex Iwobi, will miss out on the World Cup, depriving fans of the chance to see Nigeria compete on the global stage.
Former Fenerbahce defender Chikelue Iloenyosi has blamed the Super Eagles players for Nigeria's failure to qualify for the World Cup, insisting the squad must take responsibility for the disappointing outcome.
Asked if he was happy that Nigeria missed out on the World Cup and how the players are coping with the disappointment, Iloenyosi said the players are hurting because they wanted the opportunity to represent the country on the global stage.
"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 to AySuga Channel.
Iloenyosi also highlighted that some members of the team may have missed their final opportunity to feature at a World Cup because of their age.
"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."
The Super Eagles have qualified for the World Cup on six occasions, but their last appearance was in the 2018 edition in Russia.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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