Former Super Eagles defender Emmanuel Babayaro has insisted Nigeria missed a golden opportunity to make history at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, boldly claiming the Super Eagles had the quality to challenge for the title had they qualified.
READ ALSO: ‘Nigeria Would Have Been One Of The Teams To Watch’ — Odegbami Backs Super Eagles
Babayaro’s comments come amid continued debate over Nigeria’s failure to qualify for a second consecutive FIFA World Cup, despite FIFA expanding Africa’s allocation from five to 10 qualification spots for the 2026 tournament.
With several African teams impressing but ultimately falling short in the knockout rounds, the former international believes the Super Eagles possessed the experience and individual quality to go much further than many of the continent’s representatives.
“Watching the tournament has been painful because I honestly believe the Super Eagles would have gone all the way if we had qualified,” Babayaro said.
Nigeria’s absence has been widely described as one of the biggest disappointments of the expanded tournament, especially with a squad boasting established stars playing in Europe’s top leagues.
The former defender argued that the current generation of Super Eagles players has the talent and mentality to compete with the world’s elite and would have been capable of making a deep run in the competition.
“Looking at the standard of football we’ve seen, I have no doubt Nigeria would have shone brightly on this stage. It’s a huge regret that we weren’t there,” he added.
Babayaro urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and all football stakeholders to use the disappointment as motivation to rebuild the national team and ensure the Super Eagles never miss another World Cup.
