Nigeria’s road to the 2026 World Cup playoffs was far from smooth but through it all, two men stood apart.
Fulham's relentless defender Calvin Bassey and Galatasaray's unstoppable goalscorer Victor Osimhen carried the Super Eagles’ campaign on their shoulders.
According to this FIFA data, Bassey was Nigeria’s most dependable outfield player during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Consistent and resilient, the Fulham defender was the only Super Eagles player to feature in every single minute of the team’s ten qualifying matches.
Nigeria’s journey across those ten fixtures, five at home and five away, delivered a mixed bag: four wins, five draws, and a single defeat, that painful 2–1 loss to Benin Republic.
It was a campaign that began with doubts but ended with renewed hope, as Nigeria’s late surge earned them a spot in the continental playoffs. South Africa, however, clinched the only automatic ticket from Group C.
Still, amid the inconsistency, Bassey stood like a rock. FIFA’s data shows he was one of only ten outfield players across Africa to feature in every minute of their national teams’ qualifying matches. He joins a select group that includes Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal), Chancel Mbemba (Congo), and Montassar Talbi (Tunisia), among others.
Bassey, who was once eligible to represent Italy or England, has become indispensable since choosing Nigeria in 2022.
The 24-year-old’s commitment was not just defensive. He scored his first international goal, a thunderous header in the crucial 1–1 draw with South Africa in September.
Defensively, Nigeria kept only three clean sheets and conceded eight times, numbers that reflect the team’s uneven structure more than Bassey’s own shortcomings.
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Nigeria: Osimhen’s ruthless efficiency in front of goal
While Bassey anchored the backline, Victor Osimhen fired the bullets up front. The Galatasaray striker, despite featuring in just five matches due to injury setbacks, finished as Nigeria’s top scorer with six goals.
Osimhen’s tally not only made him Nigeria’s most potent forward but also the top scorer in Group C, ahead of Benin Republic captain Steve Mounié, who netted five.
What’s striking is how steep the drop was after him: no other Super Eagles player managed more than one goal during the qualifiers. It is a situation that one of Nigeria's 2013 Africa Cup of Nations winners has called attention to as captured by Soccernet.ng in this report.
That imbalance tells its own story: Nigeria’s attack remains heavily reliant on Osimhen’s dynamism, physicality, and finishing. The likes of Akor Adams, Semi Ajayi, Kelechi Iheanacho, and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru each contributed one goal, but none came close to matching the former Napoli striker’s influence.
Osimhen’s six-goal haul pushed his international total to 29 goals in 44 appearances, edging him ever closer to the late Rashidi Yekini’s all-time Nigerian record of 37. It’s a chase that could define Osimhen’s legacy in the national colours.
Across the continent, only a handful of players including Algeria’s Mohamed Amoura (10 goals), Egypt’s Mohamed Salah (9), and Gabon’s Denis Bouanga (8) scored more during the qualifiers. For a player who missed half his team’s matches, Osimhen’s numbers remain elite.
Meanwhile, Morocco continued their continental dominance, stretching their unbeaten run in World Cup qualifiers to 22 games. Still, the Atlas Lions are some way shy of Nigeria’s record 35-match unbeaten streak set between 2004 and 2017.
