Two former Nigerian internationals have taken sharply different positions over the Super Eagles’ bronze-medal finish at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, Soccernet.ng reports.
Ex-Juventus and Ajax ace Sunday Oliseh has questioned the celebrations that followed Nigeria’s third-place success. But his former Super Eagles teammate Garba Lawal insists that the achievement should still be valued.
Nigeria claimed a record-extending ninth bronze medal at the tournament after defeating Egypt 4-2 on penalties in the third-place playoff, maintaining their perfect record in such matches.
Yet Oliseh, a former Super Eagles captain and coach, believes the reaction to that result sends the wrong message.
The former midfielder, who won AFCON with Nigeria in 1994 and also led the team to silver in 2000 and bronze in 2002, argued that celebrating anything short of the title reflects lowered standards.
Nigeria have now reached the semi-finals of the competition 17 times, a record they share with Egypt, but have lifted the trophy only three times; fewer than Egypt, Cameroon and Ghana.
“Before the final in Rabat, a video went viral of our superheroes celebrating widely for winning third place against Egypt,” Oliseh said on his Global Football Insight Podcast.
“In the media tribune, where I sat, I watched as African and European pundits mocked us. They couldn't believe it. There was a time when the Super Eagles shed tears at second place. Because to us, anything but the trophy was a failure. Celebrating third place builds a culture of mediocrity.”
Nigeria were runners-up at the 2024 tournament in Ivory Coast and were rewarded by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who again praised the team after the win over Egypt and said the “bronze surely feels good like gold”. Oliseh, however, strongly disagreed.
“We must remember, the decline of our dominance began exactly when we started being content with bronze,” he said. “If we want to be Africa's best again, the wild celebration for anything less than gold must stop immediately.”
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Garba Lawal: ‘A medal is still success' for Nigeria
Garba Lawal, another former Super Eagles regular, sees the outcome differently and believes the players deserve credit for returning home with a medal.
Speaking to Brila.net, the former midfielder, a member of Nigeria’s 1996 Olympic gold-winning team and a finalist at AFCON 2002, said podium finishes should not be dismissed, even when the ultimate target is missed.
“Whether you like it or not, when you go for a tournament, you go for one thing, to win the cup. If you don’t win it and you come second or third, you’ve still achieved something,” Lawal said.
“If you go for a tournament and you want to touch the cup, you have to win the games. If you don’t, at least you come back with a medal. That is something.”
Lawal, who earned 57 caps for Nigeria, also pointed to recent results as evidence of consistency rather than decline.
“We finished second the last time (AFCON 2023) and this time we finished third, it’s an achievement,” he said.
“For me, I believe these players know this is not exactly what they wanted, but that’s football for you.”
The Super Eagles have won the AFCON title three times with Nigeria’s last triumph coming in 2013 in South Africa.
