Wike unhappy over Eagles World Cup miss

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has expressed his disappointment over the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, saying Nigerians are unhappy with the team’s absence from the global showpiece, PidomNigeria Sports Extra reports.

Wike made the remarks on Tuesday during the commissioning of the Gwagwalada–Kuje Dual Carriageway, Phase 1, in Abuja, where former Nigeria captain Joseph Yobo was among the dignitaries present.

Addressing Yobo during the event, the minister urged him to relay the message to the national team.

“We have congratulated one of our stars, Joseph Yobo, but let me use this medium, through you, to tell the Super Eagles we’re not happy. I saw people clapping for you; the moment they said ‘Super Eagles,’ I said I won’t clap because I watched the World Cup and saw countries I had never heard of before qualifying to play in the World Cup. But here, we did not qualify. Yobo, go and tell them we’re not happy,” Wike said.

Nigeria failed to secure a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico after a disappointing qualifying campaign.

The Super Eagles struggled throughout the series, failing to win any of their first four matches.

Tow managerial changes occurred during the campaign and Franco-Malian coach Eric Chelle was brought in to steady the ship.

After winning four of their remaining six games, Chelle guided the team to the African playoffs where they finally lost the ticket on penalties against DR Congo.

The failure extended Nigeria’s World Cup drought after the country also missed the 2022 tournament in Qatar. On that occasion, the Eagles were denied qualification by Ghana on the away-goals rule following a 1-1 aggregate draw in the final round of the African qualifiers.

Nigeria’s absence from back-to-back World Cups has continued to draw criticism from football stakeholders and supporters, particularly given the country’s pedigree as one of Africa’s most successful football nations.

The Super Eagles have featured at six World Cups, making their debut at the 1994 tournament in the United States and reaching the Round of 16 on three occasions.