Nigeria’s loss to DR Congo in the FIFA World Cup play-offs confirmed they wouldn’t be participating in the Mundial…
Former Everton and Portsmouth striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni has revealed that the reason the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is their overdependence on Victor Osimhen, Soccernet.ng reports.
Aiyegbeni, in his playing days, brought Nigeria back to life in their World Cup qualification campaign in 2002, but was surprisingly dropped from the 23-man squad that went to Korea/Japan.
He eventually made his first appearance at a World Cup on African soil in 2010, where he became famous for his poor miss against South Korea in the final group game.
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Yakubu blasts Super Eagles for Osimhen overdependence
Victor Osimhen scored a hat-trick to help Nigeria secure a play-off spot, before putting in another double against Gabon in the play-off semi-final.
However, a hamstring problem saw him withdrawn at half-time against DR Congo, and Eric Chelle’s men were unable to muster an attempt on target from the second half till the end of extra time.
Ultimately, the penalty shoot-out didn’t go Nigeria’s way, and another World Cup spot eluded the three-time AFCON Champions.
Now, Yakubu has hit out at the other Nigerian strikers for failing to step up in the absence of the Galatasaray forward.
“When you see the lineup, it was a red flag because we only have one striker in that team for Nigeria,” the 42-year-old said on the Home Turf podcast.
“We have like four other strikers, but only one delivers. Only one plays like a madman on the pitch. He’s aggressive and livid when things go wrong.
“We only have Osimhen. I think the rest are just happy to be in the national team.
“Back in my days, we had me, Julius Aghahowa, Obafemi Martins, Victor Agali. Everyone wanted to play.
“If I were on the bench, I was vexed, but these players, if they don’t play, they’ve accepted Victor is the deserving starter.
“Don’t get me wrong, Victor is number one, one of the best in the World, but the other strikers we have are not ready to play.
“When they come in, they have no impact, so when Osimhen doesn’t play, we go nowhere.
“I had issues with Austin Eguavoen back then because I wasn’t playing because he felt he was doing me a favour by inviting me to the National team.
“The moment Osimhen went out against DR Congo, I knew the game was finished. because in the second half, Congo were much better in the second half and in extra time. They passed the ball better than we did.
“We, on the other hand, were tactless. No game plan. The boys were just doing what they thought was right.
Eric Chelle is not the man for Nigeria
While Big Yak faulted other strikers for not showing up on the big stage, he also pointed fingers at the Super Eagles coach, claiming his tactical ineptitude cost the team.
“He [Eric] brought Tolu [Arokodare] in, and they started to kick it long, but there was no one to pick up the second ball.
“Lookman isn’t in shape because of the situation at his club, but he still tries.
“Why do we always find it difficult to get a decisive coach when it matters. We say we need a foreign coach, and I agree, we still need a foreign coach.
“Oliseh is currently better than what [the coach] we have now, but I think we should just allow him to take the country to the AFCON 2025 tournament.
“It’s too close to bring in another coach. I don’t think Sia Sia or Eguavoen are needed anymore. We’ve gone past that era.
“I think we should try to sit together and look for whom to bring. It’s time to move forward, not backwards,” Yakubu concluded.
Nigeria have been drawn into AFCON Group C alongside Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda.