Nigerian International Ogenyi Onazi has expressed deep concern over the Super Eagles’ current standing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, urging the team to rise to the occasion and avoid the heartbreak of missing another global tournament.
Speaking with Bold Sports, the former Lazio man admitted it’s painful to see the national team in such a difficult position with just seven points from six games and four more left to play in the qualifiers.
“It’s heartbreaking for me to see that we are in this position, because when you are in this kind of position you have to begin to make some kind of calculations for us to be able to qualify for the World Cup.”
Onazi, who was part of Nigeria’s squad at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2018 World Cup in Russia, emphasised the significance of the tournament and the impact of missing out for the second consecutive time.
More Read
“World Cup is the biggest stage of football and everyone wants to be there. We have young talented players that we don’t want them to miss in the World Cup, because World Cup is every four years, you don’t know how many you are going to play before you get retired.”
The experienced midfielder warned that the consequences of missing out will only be fully understood by the players if qualification slips away.
“I just want them to know, put that mentality to let them know that they will not know what they are going to miss at this point in time, until when they miss it then they will know what is the repercussion.”
With four games remaining in the qualifiers, Onazi believes the Super Eagles have no margin for error.
“The remaining games they don’t have any excuse, it’s just to win and then wait and see what is going to happen. I know that everybody playing Nigeria they are going to wear double shin guards to come and play the African Giants, so it’s going to be a tough one, but they should know what is at stake for them.”
Nigeria will resume their qualifying campaign against Rwanda on September 1, before taking on South Africa, Lesotho, and Benin in the final three games.
© Bold Sports Media. All rights reserved. If sharing, kindly credit Bold Sports as the source and include a link to the original post. Unauthorised use is prohibited.
