Former Super Eagles forward Osaze Odemwingie has criticised the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) for faulting players William Troost-Ekong and Cyriel Dessers following Nigeria’s uneven 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.
Odemwingie described the NFF’s public blame as “very unprofessional” and a sign of incompetence within the administration. Speaking to Brila, he said, “It is a sign that wrong people are working in our federation. These are people who work in certain positions without the required qualifications… They are just like fans — you can give that job to ordinary fans, and he will probably do a job as good as that person has done.”
The Super Eagles have struggled for consistent results, going winless in their first four qualifiers under coaches Jose Peseiro and Finidi George. Their fortunes improved somewhat under Eric Chelle, with two wins and two draws, but dropped points against South Africa after a narrow victory over Rwanda.
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Odemwingie warned against targeting individual players at this critical stage.
“It’s a shame because we look childish, and this isn’t the time to pick on any player… The reason why we are like this is way bigger than the performance of one or two players,” he asserted.
He urged the NFF to take a more professional and collective approach if Nigerian football hopes to advance beyond current limitations.
“You know, Nigerians, we have what it takes to get to the World Cup final, not the AFCON only. If we are to step up higher, everything must be ready for that step forward — but we are still talking about things like this.”
