Duro Ikhazuagbe

As Nigerians brace up for the African playoffs in Morocco in two weeks time for the ticket to play in the final Intercontinental series in Mexico next year, former Super Eagles Captain, John  Mikel Obi, has singled out Victor Osimhen for praise.

In his latest The Obi OnePodcast, the former Chelsea defence stalwart insisted that without Osimhen’s hat trick, Nigerians will not be looking forward to another chance at qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after missing the Group C direct ticket to South Africa.

The Galatasaray striker was in his element on the Match-day 10 of the qualification series as he raised his game to bang in three goals in quick succession against  Benin Republic who until that last match were in firm control at the top of Group C on 17 points.  

Osimhen’s three goals plus the fourth by Frank Onyeka ensured that  Nigeria moved to same 17 points as the Cheetahs and also leapfrogged both Uganda and Burkina Faso to emerge the fourth best runners up team of all the nine groups.

“Our (Nigeria) World Cup dream is still alive,” began Mikel Obi on his The Obi OnePodcast.

“I spoke about it before the last two games. I said whatever is happening, whatever is going on with the FA (NFF), all the negativity, all the corruption and everything that is going on, those two games were must-win matches, and we did that,” observed Mikel who led Super Eagles to win AFCON 2013 in South Africa.

He therefore praised Osimhen and the Super Eagles for giving Nigeria another chance at making it to the 2026 World Cup.

“Credit to the boys, they absolutely did that and of course, to the main man (Osimhen) that we’ve talked about so many times on this podcast,”  Mikel remarked.

“He (Osimhen) was absolutely brilliant! Yes, it was against Benin. People can say he scored a hat-trick, but you still have to score this hat-trick; you still have to show up. It was our biggest game of the season.

“If we didn’t win that game, we wouldn’t be talking about trying to qualify for the World Cup now.

“Victor Osimhen has singlehandedly kept us alive. One of the biggest games, he’s come out and scored a hat-trick. You can see the intensity, passion, and aggressiveness he shows.

“When the pressure is on, the big boys step up, and that’s exactly what he has done. He’s the big boy in that team right now, and we all needed him.

Mikel recalled the many matches that Osimhen didn’t play (due to injuries) and how Super Eagles struggled with poor results.

“The games that he didn’t play and the number of games that we won without him compared to the games we won with him in the team are incredible,” concludes Mikel who is looking forward to Nigeria grabbing the African ticket to the Intercontinental Playoffs in Mexico March next year.