Former Super Eagles goalie Dosu Joseph has warned the team against any form of complacency when they face Gabon on Thursday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Nigeria will be looking to book their spot in the final of the CAF World Cup playoffs when they square off against the Panthers of Gabon at the Prince Moulay Hassan Staidum in Rabat on Thursday.
Matchday in Rabat!
Gabon
5:00pm (NGA)
️ Moulay Hassan Stadium#fifaworldcup2026qualifiers #Naija4TheWin #NGAGAB pic.twitter.com/48ocYr56eX— Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) November 13, 2025
They head into the fixture as favourites due to their superior quality on paper. The Super Eagles squad is comprised of some of the best players on the continent, players who are playing for clubs in the elite five European leagues.
Gabon, have a relatively less quality squad. Their biggest player is 36-year-old Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who plies his trade for Marseille.
However, the Super Eagles have not been particularly ruthless with their opponents in the past years － the reason they are even here in the first place.
Ahead of the game Soccernet.ng spoke to retired Nigerian goalkeeper Dosu, who represented the country at international level. And he warned the Super Eagles players against any form of complacency.
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“Football is not being played on newspapers, it is played on the field of play,” Dosu Joseph exclusively told Soccernet.ng.
“Gabon scored around 20 goals during the qualifiers, while we scored less goals during the qualifiers.
“So we need to enter the field with determination, not just underate them and saying we are going to beat them.
“The football will be played on the pitch. They know Nigeria in and out, we don't know them in and out, so we need to be determined because there are no minnows in football anymore.”
A win for Nigeria would set up a match-up against the winner of the game between DR Congo and Cameroon.
But failure to win would mean that the Super Eagles would have failed to qualify for back-to-back World Cups. And by the next World Cup, some of the current crop of players would definitely not be at their best anymore. Some would even be nearing retirement.
