Former Super Eagles captain Austin Okocha has publicly called on the Nigerian national football team, under the management of Eric Chelle, to rectify its primary shortcoming, namely inconsistency, in preparation for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.
Okocha’s statement follows Nigeria’s unsuccessful qualification campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. During the qualifiers, the Super Eagles participated in ten matches, recording four wins, five draws, and one defeat, the latter against Benin Republic—a first competitive loss to that opponent. Draws against Lesotho and Zimbabwe at home further highlighted performance deficiencies that had previously been considered routine victories.
Finishing second in the group behind South Africa denied Nigeria automatic qualification. Although the team secured a 4-1 extra-time victory over Gabon during the continental play-off, their campaign ultimately ended in a penalty shoot-out defeat to DR Congo, confirming Nigeria’s absence from a second consecutive World Cup, following their failure to qualify for Qatar 2022.
Looking ahead to AFCON 2025, Okocha emphasized the importance of lessons learned from the failed qualifiers, stating, “Nigeria’s run in the World Cup qualifiers was a rollercoaster, but we would have loved to see Nigeria qualify with ease. We all know football is not an easy game, and what I think they should improve on is to be more consistent. They need to stick to winning with top performance in every game.”
The Super Eagles reached the final of AFCON 2024 in Ivory Coast, partially restoring national pride after the 2022 World Cup absence. In the upcoming tournament in Morocco, Nigeria has been grouped with Tunisia, Uganda, and Tanzania, placing additional pressure on Eric Chelle to lead a talented yet unpredictable squad.#newsafro_
