2 reasons behind Super Eagles’ decline – Sunday Oliseh explains

Former Nigeria captain and coach Sunday Oliseh has questioned the quality of the current Super Eagles squad, arguing that the team’s struggles reflect a shortage of players capable of competing at the highest level.

Nigeria’s recent results have raised questions about the direction of the national team, with the Super Eagles missing out on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, settling for bronze at AFCON 2025 and suffering a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in the 2027 AFCON qualifiers.

The World Cup qualification failure was painful. Despite having players likeVictor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Alex Iwobi at the peak of their powers, Nigeria lost to DR Congo on penalties in the African play-off final, ending their hopes of reaching the tournament for a second consecutive edition.

At the AFCON tournament 2025 in Morocco, Eric Chelle’s side reached the semi-finals but lost to the hosts on penalties before defeating Egypt in a shoot-out to finish third.

The bronze medal extended Nigeria’s strong record in third-place matches, but the campaign still ended short of the title the team had hoped to win.

The Super Eagles kicked off their AFCON 2027 qualifiers with a win over Madagascar in Uyo, although the performance was poor, before they were outplayed in Bissau, where Guinea-Bissau scored three times to hand Chelle his first competitive defeat in 90 minutes as Nigeria’s coach.

With Tanzania already qualified for the tournament as co-hosts, the Super Eagles are already playing catch-up in Group L, as there’s just one spot up for grabs.

Sunday Oliseh explains Super Eagles decline

Speaking on the Playzone podcast, Oliseh offered a blunt explanation for the national team’s problems, arguing that the quality of the players is not what it used to be.

1. Oliseh believes Nigeria lack top-quality players

The former Juventus midfielder said he was embarrassed by what he sees as the reluctance to confront the main problem behind the Super Eagles’ struggles.

“The reason why we’re failing makes me embarrassed because people don’t want to talk about it.

“The reason we’re failing is that the players are not good enough. We don’t have good players,” he said.

His assessment challenges the assumption that Nigeria’s problems can be solved simply by changing the coach or improving the team’s organisation.

While managerial decisions and football administration have also come under scrutiny, Oliseh believes the standard of the players must be part of the conversation.

The World Cup qualifiers support Oliseh’s claim. Nigeria struggled to win any of their first four games, eventually finishing behind South Africa before losing the play-off final to DR Congo.

Off-pitch disputes over unpaid allowances also disrupted preparations for the DR Congo game as the players skipped training.

However, Oliseh’s argument is not that Nigeria lack big football names. The Super Eagles have several players competing in major European leagues.

His criticism stems from the collective quality of the squad, not just the few top players who put on the green and white jersey.

2. The gap in standards

Oliseh raised questions about how many current Super Eagles players would be starters for a club seriously targeting European silverware.

“Which of the current Super Eagles players starts in a team that aspires to win the Conference League?” he asked.

The question is a provocative measure of the gap Oliseh believes exists between Nigeria’s reputation and the level of the current squad.

Rather than focusing only on the number of players based in Europe, he is questioning whether they have the quality and consistency to make decisive contributions at ambitious clubs.

The distinction matters because some players are in big clubs but are not starters.

Nigeria’s defeat in Guinea-Bissau illustrated the concern. The Super Eagles struggled to respond after conceding, while the players fielded, like Bruno Onyemaechi, Wilfred Ndidi and Moses Simon, are not starters for their respective clubs.

For the Super Eagles, the task is not only to recover from disappointing results but to build a team of players who are ambitious and have consistent minutes in their legs, enough to make a difference for the National team.