W’Cup 2026 Miss: NFF mishandled Osimhen saga, cost us qualification — Babangida

Former Super Eagles winger Tijani Babangida says Nigeria did not qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup because of problems within the team. He believes former coach Finidi George had enough experience and ability to qualify Nigeria, but internal issues affected the results.

In an interview, Babangida said it was not a lack of talent or coaching that caused the setback. Instead, disagreements inside the team disrupted their performance in key matches.

He explained that Finidi’s success with Enyimba and his understanding of the national team should have been enough to win the qualifiers.

Babangida said two important matches were lost because of conflicts within the team, especially the incident involving striker Victor Osimhen. According to him, once the tension reduced, the team began to play well again, but it was already too late.

He blamed the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for not resolving the issue quickly. He said the misunderstanding with Osimhen should have been handled immediately so it would not affect the team’s performance.

Despite the failure, Babangida encouraged the NFF to continue giving Nigerian coaches opportunities. He suggested that local coaches can still succeed if they work with experienced European technical advisers.