African Football Discussion Thread Current Topic: 👉 AFCON 2025/2026

[Sexylizzy2813]

The Super Eagles performance in the second half was a total disaster no one knows the reason why Victor Oshimen didn't start the second half cause every thing changed when he was off the pitch the rest of the players could not control the game it was DR Congo players all over the place right from the second half to the extra minutes down to the penalties. I guess the players that missed the penalty kick for Nigeria has never practiced how to take the penalty before because it they had then they should be ashamed of themselves for their poor penalty kick.

Who should we blame in all these madness? The players, the coach or the NFF? This has been running through my head since last night and I can't find the answer to it. Without Osimhen our Super Eagles squad is nothing and can not perform well, as he was substituted the ball stopped going forward and each time we managed to reach the 18 yard box they become clueless, to even hit the ball on target is a problem and like I said before that if there is no Osimhen we don't have a back up striker. This is when a team rely on one player and build the force of the team around a particular player, it doesn't turn out well. I hope the NFF got what they deserve and it has been their making, at some point I feel happy because they won't get any money from FIFA for any World Cup preparation which they'll still pocket, let them start from scratch that's if they want to grow the football sector.

[SatoPrincess]

The Super Eagles performance in the second half was a total disaster no one knows the reason why Victor Oshimen didn't start the second half cause every thing changed when he was off the pitch the rest of the players could not control the game it was DR Congo players all over the place right from the second half to the extra minutes down to the penalties. I guess the players that missed the penalty kick for Nigeria has never practiced how to take the penalty before because it they had then they should be ashamed of themselves for their poor penalty kick.

Who should we blame in all these madness? The players, the coach or the NFF? This has been running through my head since last night and I can't find the answer to it. Without Osimhen our Super Eagles squad is nothing and can not perform well, as he was substituted the ball stopped going forward and each time we managed to reach the 18 yard box they become clueless, to even hit the ball on target is a problem and like I said before that if there is no Osimhen we don't have a back up striker. This is when a team rely on one player and build the force of the team around a particular player, it doesn't turn out well. I hope the NFF got what they deserve and it has been their making, at some point I feel happy because they won't get any money from FIFA for any World Cup preparation which they'll still pocket, let them start from scratch that's if they want to grow the football sector.

I can’t blame the NFF that we lost the game against DR Congo. Yes the NFF is corrupt and all the bad things but they weren’t on the pitch yesterday neither were they in the locker room drafting the team strategy. In my opinion, the manager is to blame because the formation wasn’t the best and he made very poor substitutions in the game. The players- Lookman, Ndidi, and Iwobi also have a role in how the game turned out.

[fuguebtc]

The Super Eagles performance in the second half was a total disaster no one knows the reason why Victor Oshimen didn't start the second half cause every thing changed when he was off the pitch the rest of the players could not control the game it was DR Congo players all over the place right from the second half to the extra minutes down to the penalties. I guess the players that missed the penalty kick for Nigeria has never practiced how to take the penalty before because it they had then they should be ashamed of themselves for their poor penalty kick.

I was very surprised by the result of the match. I expected a better gameplay from Nigeria. Nigeria failed to play well. And that is why they lost. Especially from a player like Osimhen we did not see a good performance as expected.
I agree with you that Nigeria players did not practice penalties. Simon and Bassey missed the first two penalties. Naturally the confidence of the players was broken here. Even then, despite scoring the next three penalties, Nigeria failed to win in the end.

[Wakate]

I'm not surprised they've been eliminated. Judging by their performance in this qualification, I don't think the country should be sad, because they don't deserve to go to the World Cup. Look at their match against Congo today everyone thought the Super Eagles would win easily, but Congo put up a good fight. Honestly Congo deserved the win. If the Super Eagles struggle against African countries like this, imagine how they'll do against teams from other continents with star players. Won't their performance be embarrassing? Although it's unusual for the Giant of Africa to miss the World Cup back-to-back, but in my opinion it's clear they weren't ready.

It means that all the previous match of the super eagles was based on the only effort of Osimhen and that's all. All the matches Nigeria has lost was due to the cause that Osimhen was not in the pitch and it does not make a sense when a country depends on a single player to do all the works and being goals to the team while others can not use their hand and score goals that will make Nigeria profitable.

[Marvelockg]

The Super Eagles performance in the second half was a total disaster no one knows the reason why Victor Oshimen didn't start the second half cause every thing changed when he was off the pitch the rest of the players could not control the game it was DR Congo players all over the place right from the second half to the extra minutes down to the penalties. I guess the players that missed the penalty kick for Nigeria has never practiced how to take the penalty before because it they had then they should be ashamed of themselves for their poor penalty kick.

Who should we blame in all these madness? The players, the coach or the NFF? This has been running through my head since last night and I can't find the answer to it. Without Osimhen our Super Eagles squad is nothing and can not perform well, as he was substituted the ball stopped going forward and each time we managed to reach the 18 yard box they become clueless, to even hit the ball on target is a problem and like I said before that if there is no Osimhen we don't have a back up striker. This is when a team rely on one player and build the force of the team around a particular player, it doesn't turn out well. I hope the NFF got what they deserve and it has been their making, at some point I feel happy because they won't get any money from FIFA for any World Cup preparation which they'll still pocket, let them start from scratch that's if they want to grow the football sector.

I can’t blame the NFF that we lost the game against DR Congo. Yes the NFF is corrupt and all the bad things but they weren’t on the pitch yesterday neither were they in the locker room drafting the team strategy. In my opinion, the manager is to blame because the formation wasn’t the best and he made very poor substitutions in the game. The players- Lookman, Ndidi, and Iwobi also have a role in how the game turned out.

in my opinion, no one should be blamed that we are not qualifying to the world cup. from the start before we even managed to get a spot in the play off, it was already clear that we are not good enough to participate in the world cup. if we were good enough, we would not be in the play off to even start with. playing the blame game or shifting the blame to any other person is completely unnecessary at this point in time because there is no way it is going to be of any help to us.

what good nations do is to learn from their errors and start preparing for the next world cup even years before the qualification phase of the tournament comes but the mistake we always make is to remain silence and wait till the next world cup before preparing the team we are to use. it is unfortunate that we are not going this time but the only way that disappointment will not be a big deal is if we are able to learn from out mistakes and start early enough to build a team that does not feel that they are entitled to wearing the super eagles jersey.

[Uhwuchukwu53]

The Super Eagles performance in the second half was a total disaster no one knows the reason why Victor Oshimen didn't start the second half cause every thing changed when he was off the pitch the rest of the players could not control the game it was DR Congo players all over the place right from the second half to the extra minutes down to the penalties. I guess the players that missed the penalty kick for Nigeria has never practiced how to take the penalty before because it they had then they should be ashamed of themselves for their poor penalty kick.

I was very surprised by the result of the match. I expected a better gameplay from Nigeria. Nigeria failed to play well. And that is why they lost. Especially from a player like Osimhen we did not see a good performance as expected.
I agree with you that Nigeria players did not practice penalties. Simon and Bassey missed the first two penalties. Naturally the confidence of the players was broken here. Even then, despite scoring the next three penalties, Nigeria failed to win in the end.

The game show clearly that the team is not prepared take the bull by the horns, if careful watch since the beginning of the game they have shoulder everything to Victor osimhen, meaning any time he is out of the pitch no good outcome from the team. I have early time try to distance my self from watching mostly our super eagle because I end up having heart attack. This game they don't even need anything penalty knowing full well that it's their last chance, they would have done beyond what they believe to be their best, though I know game is not easy but if they claim that to be their best it means we need more better team than what we see yesterday. Because anything that make Victor osimhen off a game will have lost the match very disheartening.

[Odusko]

The National Sports Commission, NSC, and some anonymous corporate bodies have promised to gift the Super Eagles $50,000 for every goal scored in the final games against Congo DR. The Nigerian team got about $120,000 for the four goals that were scored in the semi-finals, that's $30k per goal. Just hoping that this will serve as a motivation for the players to play selflessly and put in more effort.

https://dailypost.ng/2025/11/16/2026-wcq-playoffs-super-eagles-to-get-50000-per-goal-against-congo/

Oh mate i am just seeing this pre match premises to the supper angles, but what interests me more is the potential outcome of this promises and if those that made the promises later fulfill it now that the lost in the game and failed to qualify for world cup, but ultimately scored some goals.
The question is, will the supper eagles have the boldness to go claim the prize or be denied since they lost the game which is the potential motivation to win the prize in the end.

[Rruchi man]

in my opinion, no one should be blamed that we are not qualifying to the world cup.

Are you really saying this?

Are you saying that the NFF should not be held accountable for this poor display? I can agree with not blaming the players only, but also our footballing body that is highly corrupt and should be held accountable.

They owe these our players their salaries and their bonuses in sums up to billions; you cannot expect them to put in their best.

[SatoPrincess]

The National Sports Commission, NSC, and some anonymous corporate bodies have promised to gift the Super Eagles $50,000 for every goal scored in the final games against Congo DR. The Nigerian team got about $120,000 for the four goals that were scored in the semi-finals, that's $30k per goal. Just hoping that this will serve as a motivation for the players to play selflessly and put in more effort.

https://dailypost.ng/2025/11/16/2026-wcq-playoffs-super-eagles-to-get-50000-per-goal-against-congo/

Oh mate i am just seeing this pre match premises to the supper angles, but what interests me more is the potential outcome of this promises and if those that made the promises later fulfill it now that the lost in the game and failed to qualify for world cup, but ultimately scored some goals.
The question is, will the supper eagles have the boldness to go claim the prize or be denied since they lost the game which is the potential motivation to win the prize in the end.

We just lost the biggest match of the year and what you’re interested in is whether or not the Super Eagles will get paid for goals scored. I disagreed with the idea of giving players money for their performance right from the start because I don’t see how that would benefit the football in the long run.

Btw it’s Super Eagles not supper eagles, I don’t know how a Nigerian would make such mistakes.

[rdluffy]

I feel sorry for our Nigerian friends here on the forum, who I'm sure are many, and it's a shame not to participate in a World Cup and see your country represented 

Even though Congo did not qualify directly, it managed to eliminate Cameroon and Nigeria, which is no small feat. It is a great achievement that should be mentioned
Now it still needs to play one more final playoff against Bolivia, New Caledonia, two more teams from North America, and one from Asia.

Knowing a little about the teams that are likely to go to the playoff, I would venture to say that Congo is a big favorite to get one of the two spots it will compete for in March 2026

[Umulala-alala]

The Super Eagles performance in the second half was a total disaster no one knows the reason why Victor Oshimen didn't start the second half cause every thing changed when he was off the pitch the rest of the players could not control the game it was DR Congo players all over the place right from the second half to the extra minutes down to the penalties. I guess the players that missed the penalty kick for Nigeria has never practiced how to take the penalty before because it they had then they should be ashamed of themselves for their poor penalty kick.

Who should we blame in all these madness? The players, the coach or the NFF? This has been running through my head since last night and I can't find the answer to it. Without Osimhen our Super Eagles squad is nothing and can not perform well, as he was substituted the ball stopped going forward and each time we managed to reach the 18 yard box they become clueless, to even hit the ball on target is a problem and like I said before that if there is no Osimhen we don't have a back up striker. This is when a team rely on one player and build the force of the team around a particular player, it doesn't turn out well. I hope the NFF got what they deserve and it has been their making, at some point I feel happy because they won't get any money from FIFA for any World Cup preparation which they'll still pocket, let them start from scratch that's if they want to grow the football sector.

I can’t blame the NFF that we lost the game against DR Congo. Yes the NFF is corrupt and all the bad things but they weren’t on the pitch yesterday neither were they in the locker room drafting the team strategy. In my opinion, the manager is to blame because the formation wasn’t the best and he made very poor substitutions in the game. The players- Lookman, Ndidi, and Iwobi also have a role in how the game turned out.

in my opinion, no one should be blamed that we are not qualifying to the world cup. from the start before we even managed to get a spot in the play off, it was already clear that we are not good enough to participate in the world cup. if we were good enough, we would not be in the play off to even start with. playing the blame game or shifting the blame to any other person is completely unnecessary at this point in time because there is no way it is going to be of any help to us.

what good nations do is to learn from their errors and start preparing for the next world cup even years before the qualification phase of the tournament comes but the mistake we always make is to remain silence and wait till the next world cup before preparing the team we are to use. it is unfortunate that we are not going this time but the only way that disappointment will not be a big deal is if we are able to learn from out mistakes and start early enough to build a team that does not feel that they are entitled to wearing the super eagles jersey.

The Nigeria team depends on Victor Osimhen to win matches which is bad. Of a true there is absolutely no need blaming any one now because it changes nothing, it's already a done deal we are out of the tournament and nothing can be done about it, what we should do now is to prepare for next Nations cup and another world cup qualifier, also build a team now that will represent the Nation in any tournament. Nigeria performance shows that they have nothing to offer even if they qualify for next year world cup.

[MainIbem]

We just lost the biggest match of the year and what you’re interested in is whether or not the Super Eagles will get paid for goals scored. I disagreed with the idea of giving players money for their performance right from the start because I don’t see how that would benefit the football in the long run.

Btw it’s Super Eagles not supper eagles, I don’t know how a Nigerian would make such mistakes.

Even when they were over such amount to motivate them to be victorious they still went on to disappoint spectators, something's not connecting and I really didn't expect the energy of the Super Eagles gave yesterday, they really looked tired as if they were not ready for the game. If only they had given same energy they gave against Gabon maybe they would've scored more goals, I feel they're not motivated or confident enough to go to the world cup, and if what they played yesterday was their best then they deserve to comeback home and prepare to try again by 2030.

[Rockson1]

The Nigeria team depends on Victor Osimhen to win matches which is bad. Of a true there is absolutely no need blaming any one now because it changes nothing, it's already a done deal we are out of the tournament and nothing can be done about it, what we should do now is to prepare for next Nations cup and another world cup qualifier, also build a team now that will represent the Nation in any tournament. Nigeria performance shows that they have nothing to offer even if they qualify for next year world cup.

Any team depending on a particular player for their success as you just pointed out, I think that should tell you how unserious such team is, my advice for any of us that wants to watch Nigerian match, if you are someone that gets too emotional quickly, make sure you eat before you go ahead to watch there match, so that you don't get upset after the match, some of my friends yesterday were feeling very disappointed but I expected the best team to win and I think that was actually what happened, the best team won, it would have been bad if Dr Congo lost to Nigeria after their good performance hetqerdayy, I know that some persons will say why am talking like this, yes I will say so because I don't like being biased, Super eagles are our national team but the good performers deserve to proceed to the next level, so congratulations to the winners.

[SatoPrincess]

We just lost the biggest match of the year and what you’re interested in is whether or not the Super Eagles will get paid for goals scored. I disagreed with the idea of giving players money for their performance right from the start because I don’t see how that would benefit the football in the long run.

Btw it’s Super Eagles not supper eagles, I don’t know how a Nigerian would make such mistakes.

Even when they were over such amount to motivate them to be victorious they still went on to disappoint spectators, something's not connecting and I really didn't expect the energy of the Super Eagles gave yesterday, they really looked tired as if they were not ready for the game. If only they had given same energy they gave against Gabon maybe they would've scored more goals, I feel they're not motivated or confident enough to go to the world cup, and if what they played yesterday was their best then they deserve to comeback home and prepare to try again by 2030.

Lack of motivation or confidence was not the reason why we lost yesterday. Poor quality and lack of precision cost us the chance to play in the World Cup, it’s not just the game yesterday but how we have performed since the beginning of the tournament. To be fair, if Nigeria had qualified for the World Cup it would not be because of their quality but sheer luck.

[Zanab247]

The National Sports Commission, NSC, and some anonymous corporate bodies have promised to gift the Super Eagles $50,000 for every goal scored in the final games against Congo DR. The Nigerian team got about $120,000 for the four goals that were scored in the semi-finals, that's $30k per goal. Just hoping that this will serve as a motivation for the players to play selflessly and put in more effort.

https://dailypost.ng/2025/11/16/2026-wcq-playoffs-super-eagles-to-get-50000-per-goal-against-congo/

Oh mate i am just seeing this pre match premises to the supper angles, but what interests me more is the potential outcome of this promises and if those that made the promises later fulfill it now that the lost in the game and failed to qualify for world cup, but ultimately scored some goals.
The question is, will the supper eagles have the boldness to go claim the prize or be denied since they lost the game which is the potential motivation to win the prize in the end.

This is what some people don't understand about the lost of super Eagle. Some wealthy men and women in the country secretly made some promise to super Eagle players that each goal they secure in the game is $50k, because they want super Eagle players to qualify for final to make Nigerian happy. You can see the selfish game super Eagle players displayed yesterday hoping that they can score many goals to receive the financial promise, but they lost through penalty shout-out against Dr Congo.

Many people have learned lesson from this game never to put money to motivate super Eagle players, because it contribute for the lost of super Eagle.

[Zanab247]

Deleted 24hours

[Merit.s]

Lack of motivation or confidence was not the reason why we lost yesterday. Poor quality and lack of precision cost us the chance to play in the World Cup, it’s not just the game yesterday but how we have performed since the beginning of the tournament. To be fair, if Nigeria had qualified for the World Cup it would not be because of their quality but sheer luck.

The are all unserious set of players that don't give a fuck about qualifying to the world cup. I am happy that they ended up disappointing themselves because assuming they qualified, the Super Eagles would have mess up with their matches in the world cup. Is that how they want to go and play in the world cup.

It's better that they sit at home and watch other countries play in the world cup because they're not capable to be there. It would have been a wasted slot if the qualified.

[7juju]

I feel sorry for our Nigerian friends here on the forum, who I'm sure are many, and it's a shame not to participate in a World Cup and see your country represented 

Even though Congo did not qualify directly, it managed to eliminate Cameroon and Nigeria, which is no small feat. It is a great achievement that should be mentioned
Now it still needs to play one more final playoff against Bolivia, New Caledonia, two more teams from North America, and one from Asia.

Knowing a little about the teams that are likely to go to the playoff, I would venture to say that Congo is a big favorite to get one of the two spots it will compete for in March 2026

Thank you very much for your consolation brother, It was indeed an emotional moment for us all the Nigerian community, to see that we won't participate in the forth coming world cup. Losing in the manner that we did is something that I find little encouragement in. Penalty shootout is entirely a game of luck and it could have gone either way. At this point we have to rally behind our African brothers to go all the way and get the available tickets. It will only pain me if Congo fail to get any of the tickets to the world cup after knocking out my country.

[Abdulzuruku01]

I can’t blame the NFF that we lost the game against DR Congo. Yes the NFF is corrupt and all the bad things but they weren’t on the pitch yesterday neither were they in the locker room drafting the team strategy. In my opinion, the manager is to blame because the formation wasn’t the best and he made very poor substitutions in the game. The players- Lookman, Ndidi, and Iwobi also have a role in how the game turned out.

The Nigeria manager doesn't want to take responsibility for his team loss, so he claimed on media that someone from Congo used Vodoo during the penalty kick. In my opinion this isn't a valid reason. He said this because he knows that in Africa many people believe in spiritual things, so he's trying to shift the blame.

It is clear from the formation and his poor substitution that he made a mistake. If he can use vodoo as an excuse, what about the matches we played poorly? All this cannot resolve anything again because even the players, the majority of them didn't serious about their performance, and it will be more embarrassing to go to the World Cup with that kind of performance.

[DaNNy001]

I'm not surprised they've been eliminated. Judging by their performance in this qualification, I don't think the country should be sad, because they don't deserve to go to the World Cup. Look at their match against Congo today everyone thought the Super Eagles would win easily, but Congo put up a good fight. Honestly Congo deserved the win. If the Super Eagles struggle against African countries like this, imagine how they'll do against teams from other continents with star players. Won't their performance be embarrassing? Although it's unusual for the Giant of Africa to miss the World Cup back-to-back, but in my opinion it's clear they weren't ready.

It means that all the previous match of the super eagles was based on the only effort of Osimhen and that's all. All the matches Nigeria has lost was due to the cause that Osimhen was not in the pitch and it does not make a sense when a country depends on a single player to do all the works and being goals to the team while others can not use their hand and score goals that will make Nigeria profitable.

For me I just taught that the super eagles were not hungry enough to actually win the game, because when osimein is in the pitch, he exerts a different sort of energy and he is never tired and he keeps pushing which makes the difference in the team and immediately he is absent in the team they struggle to find who to pass to that would convert the chances and that's if they even manage to create one.