Former Super Eagles forward Tijani Babangida has cautioned head coach Eric Chelle against relying too heavily on Victor Osimhen ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, SportPremi reports.
The Galatasaray forward has become the most important piece of the Nigerian national team, consistently delivering both goals and assists to guide the team to success.
Since making his debut in 2015, he has become an ever-present and has showcased his importance to the team over time.
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The 26-year-old also stands as Nigeria’s second all-time record goalscorer and is quickly closing in on record holder Rashidi Yekini, with only six goals between them.
However, the team has struggled to deliver results in his absence, recently evident in the CAF playoff final for the 2026 FIFA World Cup against the Democratic Republic of Congo last month.
The former Napoli forward was taken off at halftime with an injury and it came as little surprise that the team struggled in attack without their talisman.
The replacements struggled badly, failing to register an effort on target and eventually going on to lose the tie on penalty shootout, ending their World Cup hopes.
Osimhen previously netted a hat-trick against Benin Republic and also scored twice in the 4-1 win over Gabon in the CAF playoff semifinals.
His impact in the national team is undeniable, as the team has lost only five of times in the 40 matches he has played in contrast to losing 11 of the 29 he has missed since making his debut.
Babangida warns against over-dependence on Osimhen
During an interview, the former Super Eagles star urged Eric Chelle to devise a backup plan in case the Galatasaray striker is unavailable.
“It is dangerous that it appears that the Super Eagles is built around Victor Osimhen. It was when he was removed in the beginning of the second half against Congo, that the team started to struggle. That is very bad”, Babangida revealed.
“The Super Eagles of my time was not built around one player. Many people have observed that Super Eagles is built around Osimhen. This is a problem that Eric Chelle must fix, if the team wants to win the AFCON. Chelle must impact this mentality to all the players, the attackers especially, that the team is not built around Osimhen. Any player given the nod to feature in any game must perform very well and play as a team.
“We need a fully fit Osimhen, but we also need a fully mentally prepared players who knows that with or without Osimhen, Super Eagles can win. Morale should be high in the team whether Osimhen is there or not. Osimhen was absent in most of the games that the team failed to win during the World Cup qualifiers”, he continued in his interview.
“Super Eagles should not be in a mess, if Osimhen is injured. Chelle must address this issue because injury is part of the game. Osimhen’s absent in any game should not be the end of the world for Super Eagles.”
Nigeria begin their campaign at the 2025 African Cup of Nations against Tanzania on the 23rd of this month, but their chances of lifting a long-awaited fourth title hinges on the availability of their talismanic forward.
