Kingsley Abavo (Managing Editor Benin)
As Nigerians, experts and fans continue to review the outcome of Sunday’s game, former Super Eagles coach Jo Bonfrere in his assessment has laid bare reasons the Super Eagles lost the crucial qualifier to DR Congo in the 2026 World Cup playoff in Rabat, Morocco.
Expressing sadness and disappointment at the shocking exit, Bonfrere noted that the Nigerian team took their foot off the pedal after a good start which delivered an early goal, in three minutes of play.
They suddenly withdrew into their cocoon and became docile, without movement off the ball as if nothing was at stake, he pointed out.
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“The Nigerian players were not moving without the ball, there was no movement off the ball, and they were too slow in their build-up.
“They started well, scored an early goal, but then took their foot off the pedal.
“Their tempo dropped drastically, and they became slow and less mobile. If you were watching as a neutral, you would have stopped watching in the second half.
“It was like a ‘sleeping game’ from Nigeria. The Super Eagles refused to attack not even one shot on target after the break. Now they are not going to the World Cup, too bad!”
Bonfrere’s assessment obviously x-rays the tactical deficiency of both the players and the technical team, which gave the edge to their opponents; DR Congo after a painful 4-3 penalty shootout squandering their 2026 World Cup aspirations.
The heart wrenching implication of not being in the 2026 World cup is multifarious; and top on the list, is that a generation of talented Nigerian footballers have been wasted and never been to the global stage of the beautiful game before retirement.
Many of them will have hit their peak by the 2030 World cup qualifying series, and may not be available for selection.
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