Former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh has accused Victor Osimhen of playing a decisive role in Nigeria’s failure to win the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, Soccernet.ng reports.
Oliseh argues that Osimhen’s public outburst at teammate Ademola Lookman disrupted the team’s spirit at a critical stage of the tournament.
Nigeria eventually ended their campaign by beating Egypt in Saturday’s third-place play-off, claiming AFCON bronze for a record-extending ninth time. But for Oliseh, that outcome was only an indication of what might have been, after a tournament that had promised much more.
The former Juventus midfielder believes the Super Eagles’ problems began during their Round-of-16 match against Mozambique, a game Nigeria won comfortably 4-0. Ademola Lookman provided two assists, while Osimhen scored twice. Yet the result was overshadowed by an incident in the second half, when Osimhen angrily confronted Lookman for not passing the ball to him when he appeared to be in a good scoring position.
Although Lookman and head coach Eric Chelle handled the situation calmly after the match, Oliseh insists that the damage had already been done. He argues that the team’s chemistry and confidence were affected from that point on.
The statistics appear to support part of his case. Before that incident, Lookman had been Nigeria’s standout performer, registering three goals and four assists in his first three games of the tournament and emerging, by some distance, as one of the most influential players at AFCON 2025.
However, in the very next match, a 2-0 win over Algeria, Lookman neither scored nor assisted. The same pattern continued in the semi-final against Morocco, where Nigeria struggled in attack and were eventually knocked out on penalties after 120 minutes of goalless football. When Lookman was benched for the third-place play-off against Egypt, Nigeria again failed to score in open play and only secured victory via penalties.
For Oliseh, the connection is clear.
“Let's look at the toxicity that might have caused us (Nigeria) the AFCON title,” Oliseh said on his YouTube channel.
“We are confusing talent with license. Victor Osimhen is world class but talent is not license to destroy team chemistry.
“Look at the evidence. Since that public outburst against Ademola Lookman, one of our brightest lights, Lookman became a shadow of himself and we lost the bite.
“When you publicly diminish your teammates, you break their spirit. You destroy the very confidence a team needs to survive a semifinal. Against a team as tactically sharp as Morocco, we needed our best players at a hundred percent.
“Statistically, Ademola Lookman was the most dangerous player in the tournament, until that public verbal abuse broke his focus. You can't expect a playmaker to perform a miracle on the pitch when he has been demoralised by his own teammate.
“The conflict did its damage. We didn't just lose a game, we lost the psychological edge needed to win.
“What is worse, and frankly, what is most dangerous for our football is the fan culture that now tolerates this.”
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Victor Osimhen: Sunday Oliseh’s wider warning
Oliseh’s criticism did not stop at the Mozambique incident. He also pointed to what he described as a pattern of behaviour from Osimhen, reminding fans of the episode in which the Galatasaray forward posted a video criticising Finidi George during his time as Super Eagles head coach.
While acknowledging Osimhen’s importance to the national team and his outstanding goalscoring record, Oliseh insisted that no player is above discipline or respect.
“Scoring goals for Nigeria doesn't give you a license to disrespect certified legends like Finidi George or Victor Ikpeba,” Oliseh added. “It doesn't give you the right to disrespect your coaches or teammates.
“If we don't fix the discipline and the administration, there won't be a Super Eagles left to support.”
Osimhen is Nigeria’s second all-time highest goalscorer. The former Napoli star scored his 35th international goal against Algeria at the tournament, leaving him just two goals behind the late Rashidi Yekini’s long-standing national record.
