2 reasons Umar Sadiq must rethink Super Eagles retirement

Super Eagles striker Umar Sadiq scored Valencia’s only goal in Sunday’s 3-1 LaLiga defeat at Deportivo La Coruña, a first-half strike that immediately reopens the case against the retirement decision he earlier flirted with, Afrik-Foot reports.

Sadiq told Radio France International Hausa in June that he was thinking of retiring from the Nigerian national team, citing a lack of call-ups under Eric Chelle and the sense that his profile did not match what the head coach wanted. He said the final decision would come once the new club season started.

“I was not called up. Maybe my profile is not the type they need, and there are other players doing well in the team because, as you know, Nigeria is blessed with abundant talent.

“There is still time for me to make the final decision on that.

“That is why I said I will wait for the new season to start before I decide, so I can think about what will help me focus on my career and last in football like Cristiano Ronaldo,” the one-time Copa del Rey winner concluded.

The new club season is now three matches in, and the picture that greets Sadiq on the way to that decision looks very different from the one he saw in June.

2 reasons Umar Sadiq must rethink Super Eagles retirement

1. More minutes and the goals are back

The single strongest argument for reconsidering is that Sadiq no longer looks like the peripheral, injury-hit forward whose Super Eagles case had run out of runway last season.

He started Valencia’s LaLiga fixture at Estadio Abanca-Riazor, played the full 90 minutes and tucked away a close-range right-footed finish in the 26th minute to briefly bring his side back into the contest at 2-1.

Even in defeat, that is important. The Kaduna-born forward’s biggest problem across the 2025/26 campaign was availability.

Sadiq’s argument for Super Eagles inclusion collapsed under those numbers, and the retirement statement was a rational response to them, considering other strikers like Paul Onuachu, Akor Adams and Victor Osimhen hit double digits in league goals.

Three matches into the 2026/27 season, the same conversation looks different. Sadiq has already played 158 minutes and found the back of the net.

Retiring from international football on the back of a form curve that is finally moving in the right direction would be the wrong response to the wrong information.

2. Eric Chelle’s plans for non-regulars in September

Sadiq’s June statement rested on the premise that Chelle did not see him as the type of forward the Super Eagles needed. Two months later, the situation is different.

About a week ago, the Franco-Malian tactician posted a run of clips on social media of Super Eagles-eligible players scoring for their clubs, and four of the eight highlighted were non-regulars for the former RC Lens defender – Alhassan Yusuf, Chidera Ejuke, George Ilenikhena and Kelechi Iheanacho.

📲👀 Les dernières storys Instagram de monsieur Eric Sékou Chelle ! pic.twitter.com/MKdhgjAQgM

— Naija Football 🇳🇬 (@NaijaFootball_) August 22, 2026

The gesture matters because that was the kind of validation Sadiq didn’t initially get. Chelle is telling the Nigerian football public that he is watching outside his regular pool, and that their performances are being noted.

Sadiq was not one of the players highlighted, but he did not need to be. What he needs is for the door to be open, and for the reason he gave in June for wanting to walk through it in the opposite direction to no longer apply. That reason is now much harder to defend.