Former Super Eagles skipper John Mikel Obi insists that winning the 2025 African Cup of Nations will not fully compensate for Nigeria’s failure to reach the World Cup, SportPremi reports.
The Super Eagles hopes of reaching the World Cup was ended on Sunday night, after they were defeated by the Democratic Republic of Congo in the CAF playoff final.
The Leopards, who edged the clash on penalty shootout, advanced instead to the intercontinental playoffs scheduled for March next year, alongside five other countries from Asia, Oceania, North America and South America.
Nigeria’s attention will now be shifted to the African Cup of Nations tournament, which is scheduled to commence in Morocco on the 21st of December.
The three-time champions will be hoping to better their outing at the 2024 edition, when they finished second after losing 2-1 to Ivory Coast in the final of the tournament.
They have been placed in group C alongside Tunisia, Tanzania and Uganda and are widely tipped as one of the pre-tournament favorites.
Mikel rips into NFF for Nigeria’s failure
Nigeria have now missed consecutive FIFA World Cup tournaments for the first time since its debut in 1994, following their recent failure in qualification for next year edition.
Speaking during a session in his Obi One Podcast, former Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi blamed the incompetence in the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) for the nation’s failure.
“They’re going to keep failing. They had a job to do. They had a job to do. Get to the World Cup. And they messed it up. Their job is to take the country, the team to the World Cup, and they failed. They have absolutely failed”, the former Chelsea midfielder revealed.
“So for me, going forward again, we talk about it. Yes, it’s a short time to make changes now before leading up to the Nations Cup, but those changes have to be made. Those changes have to be made.”
On Nigeria’s best players missing the World Cup
“It’s a shame, that you can’t see a striker in his prime, in his prime, absolutely on fire, it’s not going to be in the World Cup. Haaland knew about it. 28 years or 30 years, they haven’t been in the World Cup? He knows”, Mikel Obi continued.
“As one of the best strikers in the world, he has to be in the World Cup. He has to be, because that’s where he belongs. Competing in the World Cup, in the biggest stage. On the biggest stage, yeah.
On the biggest stage, that’s where he belongs. And it’s a shame that we can’t see our best striker in Africa be in that biggest stage, competing, showcasing his talents, scoring goals for our country, for our nation, Africa, Nigeria.”
On the need for change in the NFF
“But does it 100% make it up for it?[winning the AFCON], I don’t think so, because we want to see ourselves in the World Cup. I said it, if we do not qualify for the World Cup, the NFF, the whole board has to go”, the former Nigerian captain added.
“They have to go, because you can’t keep repeating the same mistake every time and thinking something is going to change. It’s just going to be the same results. If you have the same people doing the same thing and failing all the time, and you give them one more time, no.”
