A former veteran in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL), Victor Ezeji has reasoned that the Super Eagles’ chances of qualifying for next year’s FIFA World Cup are very slim, but added that Nigerians should keep hope alive until the last whistle in the ongoing qualifiers.
Sports247 reports that the Eagles will enter the last two matches of their group’s qualification race six points behind top placed South Africa and three adrift of current runners-up Benin Republic, thereby giving them an uphill task to overcome.
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Ezeji took a look at the current state of things in the Eagles’ group and conceded that it would take a miracle for Nigeria to pull through into the 2026 Mundial, which will be co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.
The former Sharks of Port Harcourt and Enyimba of Aba star in the domestic league pointed out, “It’s very tight … very, very tight … and it will take a miracle for us to get to the World Cup. It’s not that we don’t have the players to do it.”
Ezeji went on to heap blame on the Nigerian national team’s players for failing to take the bull by the horn in the early stages of the qualifiers, while also pointing out that they again let things slip out of their fingers after initially reviving hope with an away win against Rwanda.
He further averred, “We have the players, but they have failed to deliver. After they beat Rwanda 2-0 away, everybody had high hopes against Zimbabwe, but we saw a shoddy performance towards the end of the game, and we drew 1-1 at home.
“That showed that our team does not have character at the moment. Those are things that are not supposed to be happening. So, it’s difficult to say we will qualify for the World Cup.”
He, however, ended with a common refrain in football parlance that it is never over until it’s over, hence his verdict that Nigerians should still keep their fingers crossed until the last blast of the whistle in the qualifiers for USA/Canada/Mexico 2026.
“It’s difficult to say we will progress to the World Cup, but this is football, and anything can happen. Let’s just keep supporting the team and ensure they cross the finish line. It’s going to be very difficult … but let’s keep hope alive,” Ezeji suggested.
