Struggling! Former Stoke City attacker laments Super Eagles World Cup qualifier campaign

Former Stoke City and Super Eagles attacker, Peter Osaze Odemwingie, has lamented about Nigeria’s poor form in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier campaign, Soccernet.ng reports.

Nigeria have won just one game from six of their World Cup qualifying fixtures, which is horrendous by Osaze’s standards.

Chelle led the Super Eagles to a 2-0 win over Rwanda in Kigali, but his side surrendered points against Zimbabwe, complicating their chance of featuring in the largest footballing tournament.

Super Eagles celebration during the Men FIFA World Cup qualifiers match between Rwanda and Nigeria [Photo credit/ Imago].

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Osaze celebrating after finding the back of the net for Stoke City during his playing days. [Photo Credit/ X].

What Odemwingie said

Osaze, during his playing days, scored eleven times for the three-time AFCON Champions in 62 appearances, has admitted it’d be a tragedy for Nigeria to miss out on two consecutive World Cups.

“I’ve been following Nigeria’s results closely. We’re struggling to secure victories, and we’re learning the hard way. It would be embarrassing to miss out on two consecutive World Cups. Watching the national team, I see that we’re not playing the kind of football we’re known for. We need to be more tactical and learn from our mistakes,” the 43-year-old said in an interview with Brila.

Peter Osaze in action for LOSC Lille during the 2006/2007 season. [Photo Credit/ X].

“We were dominating the game, leading at one point, but the players became fatigued. When that happens, it’s important to make changes, close the gaps between the lines and hold onto the lead.

“This is something big teams must know how to do if they want to qualify for major tournaments like the World Cup. We shouldn’t underestimate our opponents, even if they don’t have star names,” the former West Bromwich Albion forward concluded.

Super Eagles during the Men FIFA World Cup qualifiers match between Rwanda and Nigeria at Amahoro Stadium on March 21, 2025 in Rwanda. [Photo Credit/ Imago].
Nigeria are currently six points behind South Africa in the World Cup qualifiers group and need to win all of their final four games if they’re to have any chances of playing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

 

Adefolahan Guerreiro

Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria. With a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience. He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.

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