Super Eagles’ World Cup miss: Falcons most-successful World Cup coach blames Amaju Pinnick

Nigeria will not be at football’s biggest festival in Qatar later this month

Former Super Falcons head coach Ismaila Mabo has voiced out his disappointment at Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup to be hosted by Qatar.

The Super Eagles made it past the preliminary round of the qualifying series but stumbled at the final hurdle to eternal rivals Ghana.

Mabo, who guided Nigeria’s Super Falcons to their best World Cup outing – the quarterfinals – in 1999, believes former Nigeria Football Federation president and his board should take responsibility for the World Cup miss.

“It is now that many Nigerians will feel the agony of Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the World Cup,” Mabo told The Guardian.

“If someone had told me that the giant of Africa, Nigeria, would fail to qualify for Qatar 2022, I would have tagged such person a prophet of doom. But that is the reality.

“The standard of the Super Eagles dropped so low and the former NFF board led by Amaju Pinnick did not help matter. Something urgent has to be done to revive the team.

“The Coaches Association, Sports Journalists and other relevant bodies must take the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for Qatar as a big challenge.

“Even, if it is called revolution in Nigeria football, I don’t care. A situation, whereby players and coaches were no longer picked on merit, while friends and relatives of board members strolled into the team. It is worrisome.”

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have made six appearances at the FIFA World Cup since their debut at the 1994 edition.

The three-time African champions made the competition’s round of 16 on three occasions (1994, 1998, and 2014), the team’s best outing so far.