Isaac Success has criticised the Nigeria Soccer Federation (NFF) for the poor dealing with of the Tremendous Eagles’ 2026 World Cup qualifying marketing campaign. Talking in a no-holds-barred interview with Residence Turf, the ahead advised that the soccer authorities, not simply the gamers and coaches, ought to take duty for the group’s struggles.
Nigeria faces an uphill battle to qualify for the World Cup in the US, Mexico, and Canada, with solely 4 matches left within the qualifiers. The Tremendous Eagles have fallen behind South Africa, who now lead the group by six factors after a 2-0 win over Benin in Abidjan. Nigeria’s 1-1 draw with Zimbabwe in Uyo has solely elevated stress on the group, with many blaming coach Eric Chelle, captain William Troost-Ekong, and goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali.
Nevertheless, Success believes the issue goes deeper than particular person performances. He questioned whether or not the NFF had put the correct buildings in place earlier than hiring Chelle and warned in opposition to placing all of the blame on the brand new coach.
“Do we now have a construction earlier than Eric Chelle was appointed? That’s the primary query,” Success mentioned. “If he’s coming along with his personal philosophy, do we now have the gamers to slot in? You shouldn’t put all of the blame on him. You also needs to blame the gamers, the workers, and even the NFF as a result of everyone seems to be at fault.”
The previous Watford striker additionally spoke concerning the intense stress Tremendous Eagles gamers face from Nigerian followers, noting that heavy criticism impacts their efficiency and confidence.
“Nigerians, if they arrive for you, you’ll deactivate your account and run away from the nation instantly,” he mentioned. “That’s what we now have been dealing with for years within the Tremendous Eagles.”
Success additionally weighed in on the controversy about Victor Osimhen’s position within the group, stressing that the squad must develop extra dependable strikers.
“You mentioned if Osimhen doesn’t play, nobody else can rating. He has constructed confidence as a result of he has been with the Tremendous Eagles for some time. He takes most of his possibilities. One other striker wants time to construct that confidence too, so we are able to have two strong strikers.”
He additional emphasised the significance of group unity, stating that Nigeria’s World Cup qualification hopes rely on all gamers understanding their roles.
“If six gamers don’t know what they’re doing, it rubs off on the entire group. Two or three gamers – we don’t want to say names – didn’t know why they had been on the pitch, and it affected everybody.”
Success additionally identified that the Tremendous Eagles have relied an excessive amount of on particular person brilliance somewhat than a transparent group technique.
“We have now been going ahead due to particular person brilliance. If we deal with teamwork, with the standard of gamers we now have, we are able to obtain nice issues.”
A U-17 World Cup winner with the Golden Eaglets in 2013, Success has not performed for Nigeria since 2018. Nevertheless, his feedback will doubtless spark discussions concerning the NFF’s position within the Tremendous Eagles’ struggles and whether or not modifications should be made to enhance the group’s probabilities of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
