Odion Ighalo: Why Super Eagles’ 2026 World Cup miss hurts Osimhen, Lookman

Former Super Eagles striker Odion Ighalo has spoken openly about his disappointment after Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Afrik-Foot reports.

Ighalo, who led Nigeria’s attack at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, says the current group of players deserved to be at the tournament to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Nigeria missed out on an automatic qualification spot during the qualifying series and were unable to recover through the play-offs. Their hopes ended when they lost out to DR Congo in the race for an intercontinental play-off place, a result that confirmed the Super Eagles would miss back-to-back World Cups.

It is a painful outcome for a squad filled with players in their prime years. Stars such as Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Samuel Chukwueze and Calvin Bassey have been performing well at club level, yet will not feature on football’s biggest stage.

Speaking on Brila FM, Ighalo did not hide his emotions.

“Most of the players who played at the AFCON deserve to be at the World Cup,” Ighalo said.

“We have one of the best strikers in the world in Victor Osimhen, and he hasn’t been to the World Cup. Ademola Lookman, Chukwueze, all of them, I feel sad for them. I pray a miracle happens.”

The former Manchester United striker, who won the top scorer award at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, said watching the team miss out was personally painful.

“I was at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and I saw things. I feel for the likes of Osimhen, Chukwueze, Lookman and all the young players doing well at their clubs.

“Personally, I feel sad because I wanted to watch the Eagles play. If you check the countries that are going, if we are not the best, we are one of the best teams in Africa. I feel like crying. In 2018, we qualified with two games to spare.”

Nigeria’s failure to qualify also comes despite an unsuccessful protest by the Nigeria Football Federation, whose appeal over alleged ineligible players was rejected by FIFA.

Super Eagles’ World Cup history

Nigeria’s absence from the 2026 tournament adds to a worrying trend for a country with a proud World Cup history. The Super Eagles have qualified for the competition six times: in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014 and 2018, and have often been one of Africa’s most exciting teams on the global stage.

Their debut at the 1994 World Cup in the United States remains one of the most memorable in football history. Nigeria topped their group and reached the Round of 16, even pushing Italy to extra time before losing narrowly. That team helped Nigeria reach a FIFA world ranking of fifth, still the highest ever achieved by an African nation.

The 1998 squad also reached the Round of 16, famously beating Spain 3-2 in the group stage. Years later, the 2014 team repeated that achievement in Brazil, showing consistency in reaching the knockout rounds.

However, not every campaign has been successful. Nigeria exited at the group stage in 2002, 2010 and 2018. Ighalo was part of the 2018 squad in Russia, where the Super Eagles came close to qualifying for the knockout stage but were eliminated after a late defeat to Argentina.

Despite these mixed results, Nigeria hold notable records. They have one of the highest numbers of World Cup wins among African teams, while Ahmed Musa remains the country’s all-time top scorer at the tournament with four goals.

Yet, the recent picture is less encouraging. Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after losing to Ghana on the away goals rule, and now the 2026 absence means the Super Eagles will miss two consecutive tournaments for the first time in decades.