Sunday Oliseh blasts Super Eagles stars for lack of boldness, intra-squad loyalty

Sunday Oliseh has criticised the Super Eagles and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), accusing both parties of failing to protect William Troost-Ekong and Cyriel Dessers from harsh criticism after the 1-1 draw with South Africa.

The former Nigeria captain and coach expressed disappointment at what he described as scapegoating of the two players. He argued that the lack of unity in the current setup mirrors the divisions that derailed the national team in the early 2000s.

“They are shifting the blame away from the management and putting it on the players,” Oliseh said on his YouTube channel. “They attack these players and the Super Eagles, none of them have said anything. This is exactly what destroyed the Super Eagles in 2002. We didn’t learn, and that was why in 2006 we failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in almost 20 years.”

Super Eagles in troubled qualifying campaign

Nigeria’s path to the 2026 FIFA World Cup has grown increasingly uncertain. The Super Eagles were held to a 1-1 draw by Bafana Bafana in Bloemfontein, a result that left them third in Group C and six points adrift of South Africa at the top.

The draw was followed by controversy off the pitch, after the NFF’s match report singled out Ekong for his own goal and Dessers for what it called a poor performance. The remarks were later deleted following public backlash.

As it stands, Nigerians believe that qualification has slipped away, but a faint lifeline may yet exist. 

With FIFA set to deliver a verdict on South Africa’s Teboho Mokoena case, the Group C table could change. Regardless, the Super Eagles have no margin for error, they must take maximum points from their final two fixtures in October to keep their World Cup hopes alive.