There are doubts about the future of Alex Iwobi in the Super Eagles squad after he came under intense criticism for his role in Nigeria suffering a 2-1 loss to Ivory Coast on Sunday.
As a result, Iwobi was forced to delete all his photos and videos on his Instagram account.
That leaves the question – is Iwobi retiring from the Super Eagles and international duty?
Will Alex Iwobi retire from the Super Eagles?
With the conclusion of the Africa Cup of Nations, there are rumours that some Super Eagles players will retire from international duty later this month.
Kenneth Omeruo and Ahmed Musa are expected to hang up their boots sometime this year. Both players have been with the Super Eagles for over a decade, winning the AFCON 2013 title, with Iwobi possibly following them to the Super Eagles scrapheap.
It's worth mentioning that a few players have been bullied by Nigerians in the last, including Odion Ighalo and Maduka Okoye.
As a matter of fact, Okoye has not played for the Super Eagles since he was trolled by Nigerians after AFCON 2021.
It remains to be seen if Iwobi will accept a call-up to the national team anytime soon.
Meanwhile, several current and former Nigeria internationals have thrown their weight behind Iwobi in support.
Super Eagles legend Austin ‘Jay Jay' Okocha has come to the defence of his nephew for his performance in the AFCON 2024 final.
Okocha posted this on Instagram: “I pray for my country Nigeria and the people that can only hate and see nothing good in others, when effort counts for nothing, treat people the way you want them to treat you, all we have is this life is each other, we love you @alexanderiwobi and we keep going no matter what they say, the lord is good all the time and we trust that his will be done in our lives amen.”
Meanwhile, Musa pointed out that it was unfair for Nigerians to single out one player, as the Super Eagles lost as a team.
The former CSKA Moscow and Leicester City player had this to say on X (formerly Twitter):
“Dear fans, I want to please urge you to halt the cyber-bullying directed towards Alex Iwobi. Cyberbullying is not just a violation of decency but also a serious crime. It's hypocritical to claim that football unites us while engaging in such behaviour.
“Losing a game is undoubtedly tough, but targeting a single player for the team's shortcomings is unfair and unjust. We win as a team, and we lose as a team. Alex gave his all on the field, just like every member of our squad.
“Instead of spreading negativity, let's show genuine love and support to our players. They need our encouragement now more than ever. Let's uplift each other and stand united, both in victory and defeat. 👏🦅🇳🇬 THANKS”.
Whether or not Iwobi hangs up his international boots or not, many changes are afoot for Nigeria, who may soon be after a new coach too.