When the draws for the group stages of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers were made and Nigeria was pitched in a group that has Lesotho, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Benin Republic, many Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief. However, at the kickstart of the qualifiers, the Super Eagles were yet to win a game after four matches-with just three points in four matches after three draws and a loss. At the end of the final group matches on Tuesday, Bafana Bafana picked the sole ticket while three-time African champions, will be putting Nigerians through another emotional torture as they go through other rounds of round robin games, Kunle Adewale writes

For a country to go through 10 rounds of matches of a World Cup qualifier with three different coaches, goes a long way in showcasing the kind of administrators that manages her football. Of all the countries-Lesotho, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Benin Republic that competed in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with Nigeria, none of them boasts the calibre of players at the Super Eagles’ disposal, yet as a team Nigeria is still far behind.

After missing out of the 2022 edition of the Mundial in Qatar, it is expected that the country’s football governing body, Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, would have come out with a blueprint on how thunder would not strike twice in the same spot, rather the simple task of getting the right coach for the team to prosecute the 2026 World Cup qualifiers became a big deal.

Little wonder a team that boasts of two African Footballer of the Year, forced Lesotho to a draw on home soil, could not beat Zimbabwe on a neutral ground and couldn’t hold on to a lead against Benin Republic in a match played in Cote d’Ivoire and was lucky to escape with a draw against South Africa on home ground.

Perhaps, the Nigeria Football Supporters Club, discovered the moribund state of our football earlier because for the better part of most Super Eagles matches, their sing song was-”It is a Miracle Working God” as we now need a miracle to beat Lesotho and even a war-torn Rwanda. So, if we needed a miracle to draw Lesotho and South Africa at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, what would we be requiring if we came up against countries like France, Argentina, England, Brazil and other big football nations.

Sincerely speaking, aside from going to hoist her flag in America, Canada and Mexico, what business has such a country to do at the World Cup other than to add to the numbers, of course.

After many soccer loving Nigerians have gone through near ‘hypertension’ and heartaches, the Super Eagles managed to pick up the Group C second spot, culminating in another round of  qualifiers, meaning Nigerians should start bringing out their calculators as another series of permutations is about to start.

As if this is a way of confirming that given the state of Nigerian football now, Nigerians should not expect too much at any given time from the Super Eagles. The team’s captain, William Troost-Ekong, rather than feel dejected for the team’s failure to win the sole ticket for the 2026 Mundial, considering the quality of countries we were grouped against for the qualifiers, expressed happiness at qualifying to play in the CAF Play-off, when actually we should be picking the sole ticket.

“We are quite happy to have that opportunity. It is a long route but it is a route afterall. We would have loved to get the automatic ticket but it didn’t happen and we take what we have. For us, we will remain strong and tough and ready to confront every challenge on our way as we search for the ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“It was a wonderful team effort on Tuesday evening. Everyone contributed; each person played their part. If the other match had gone in our favour, we would be with the automatic ticket now. But that’s life. You take what you get and run with it, and make the best of it,” Troost-Ekong said on Wednesday.

But for African football powerhouses like Ghana, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, taking what you get and running with it was never in their dictionary, and that was why they went for the ‘kill’ from the first blast of the whistle.

In a telephone interview with THISDAY, former national team captain and assistant coach, Sylvanus Okpala blamed the replacement of Austin Eguaveon for the situation in which the Super Eagles find themselves.

“The mistake the NFF made was replacing Austine Equaveon, because when he (Eguaveon) was on board he had stabilised the team. We had six matches remaining then and we were in good stead to win all the six matches. We have a very good team; it was just a question of managing them well. However, the NFF wanted what they referred to as ‘first class coach’. ‘Who is a first-class coach’. A first-class coach is the one that wins matches and competitions,” a furious Okpala said.

For Quicksilver, as he was fondly called during his hay days, it is only a Nigerian coach that can solve Super Eagles problem.

“What it took Clemence Westerhof five years to achieve was what Stephen Keshi, Daniel Amokachi and I achieved in one year and three months by winning the African Cup of Nations in South Africa in 2013. When a foreign coach fails, we blame it on the players but if it’s a local coach, we say he does not have the technical and tactical knowhow. We need to come out of this colonial mentality,” the 1980 AFCON winner expressed.

He is however of the opinion that we can still grab the 2026 World Cup ticket with the CAF Play-off.

“We are now a playoff team, that is where we find ourselves but we still have a chance to qualify but it depends on how we handle it. We don’t have to give up. It now depends on the team’s fighting spirit. By now we should be going to the World Cup with the mindset of winning it.

After managing to qualify for the CAF play-off, after pumelling Benin Republic 4-0 in their last match, it remains to be seen how much emotional torture the Super Eagles will subject soccer loving Nigerians to.