Super Eagles: Why watching 2026 World Cup has been a national regret for Nigerians

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup unfolds across the United States, Canada and Mexico, Super Eagles fans have been forced into the unfamiliar role of neutral observers, Afrik-Foot reports.

While co-hosts and debutants celebrate historic moments and Africa enjoys a record representation at the tournament, the Super Eagles are nowhere to be found.

Nigeria failed to qualify for the World Cup for the second consecutive edition despite FIFA expanding the competition from 32 to 48 teams and increasing Africa’s allocation to 10 places. The disappointment remains fresh because the Super Eagles possessed one of the continent’s most talented squads, featuring stars such as Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Calvin Bassey.

The qualification campaign collapsed after a series of costly mistakes. Nigeria stumbled through Group C with disappointing draws against Lesotho and Zimbabwe before eventually finishing behind South Africa. Although a late revival under coach Éric Chelle saw Osimhen score a hat-trick in a 4-0 victory over Benin, it was not enough to secure automatic qualification.

The final heartbreak arrived last November, in Rabat, Morocco, where Nigeria lost to DR Congo on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the CAF playoff final. Frank Onyeka had given the Super Eagles an early lead in the third minute before Mechak Elia equalised. Osimhen’s injury-forced substitution at halftime weakened Nigeria’s attack, and missed penalties from Calvin Bassey and Semi Ajayi ultimately ended the country’s World Cup dream.

World Cup: Watching others play while Super Eagles stay home

The greatest pain for many Nigerians has been watching nations they consider less talented compete on football’s biggest stage while the Super Eagles remain absent.

Former Super Eagles midfielder and CAF Coach of the Year, Kadiri Ikhana, admitted that the experience has been difficult to endure.

“I feel ashamed watching the World Cup,” the former Enyimba boss said as per the Pulse. “It is painful seeing countries that are not at the level of the Super Eagles participating while we are at home watching on television.”

That pretty much describes the mood of many supporters who believe Nigeria’s failure was not caused by a lack of quality but by avoidable mistakes throughout the qualifying campaign.

The frustration is even greater because Africa received a record number of World Cup places. Countries such as Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Ivory Coast and DR Congo secured qualification, while Nigeria missed out despite being among the continent’s traditional football powers.

Ikhana believes that fact alone highlights how badly things went wrong.

“When ten African countries qualified and Nigeria was not among them, it shows something went wrong. This is a problem we created ourselves because we were not serious when it mattered most.”

The disappointment has also been intensified by criticism of the Nigeria Football Federation’s planning, managerial instability and injury problems. During the qualification cycle, the team worked under three different coaches – José Peseiro, Finidi George and Chelle – while key players missed important matches through injury.

How Nigerians are coping with the World Cup

Despite the heartbreak, Nigerian supporters have still found reasons to follow the tournament.

Many have shifted their attention to fellow African representatives and countries with players of Nigerian descent in their squad. The opening day clash between Mexico and South Africa attracted significant interest as fans backed El Tri to beat Bafana Bafana as a form of protest against the handling of immigrants in that country.

There was also a bit of Nigerian interest in Promise David and Tani Oluwaseyi, who both impressed as Canada secured a 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Former Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun also added Nigeria to the World Cup conversation as his brace powered the United States to a historic 4-1 win over Paraguay.

The upcoming clashes between Brazil and Morocco, as well as Portugal and DR Congo will likely generate curiosity, especially as DR Congo were the side that eliminated the Super Eagles in the playoffs.

Some other Nigerians are focusing on the Premier League stars who often dominate football discussions across the West African country. Matches such as England versus Croatia and Netherlands versus Japan offer opportunities to watch players from clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.

Beyond football, Nigeria’s absence has had wider consequences. Viewing centres, bars and restaurants that usually enjoy packed crowds during Super Eagles matches have experienced lower attendance. The famous green-and-white Nigerian jerseys, which often become global fashion statements during World Cups, are missing from stadiums and fan zones across North America.

The silence has been felt among Nigerian communities abroad as well. Millions of Nigerians living in the United States and Canada had hoped to bring their colour, music and energy to the tournament. Instead, they have been left wondering what might have been.

As expected, the 2026 World Cup has become more than a football tournament. It is a month-long reminder of missed opportunities, administrative failures and a talented generation led by Osimhen and Lookman that deserved to be performing on the world’s biggest stage rather than watching from afar.