Pinnick: Super Eagles Would Have Qualified for 2026 World Cup Under My Watch
Former Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick has reacted to the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, saying Nigeria would have reached the finals if he were still in charge of the country’s football.
Pinnick led the NFF from October 2014 to October 2022. During his time, Nigeria qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia but failed to reach the 2022 tournament in Qatar after losing to Ghana in the play-offs.
Speaking on Sunday Oliseh’s Global Football Insights show, the former CAF vice-president said he was surprised that Nigeria missed out on qualification, especially with the expanded World Cup format. Africa will have up to ten slots at the 2026 tournament, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“I didn’t see it coming because ten teams from Africa will qualify,” Pinnick said. “In 2018, we had the toughest group ever; we had all the AFCON winners. If I were there, definitely, Nigeria would have qualified.”
The 55-year-old recalled how the Super Eagles qualified for the 2018 World Cup against the odds, finishing their campaign with two matches to spare despite being in a difficult group.
“Algeria hadn’t lost in over 20 games, Cameroon were defending champions, Zambia were champions, and Nigeria was the least considered,” he said. “But guess what? We qualified with two games to spare, and we didn’t sleep.”
Looking back at the 2022 World Cup play-offs, Pinnick said Nigeria were eliminated by Ghana on the away goals rule after two closely fought matches.
“We didn’t win, but we didn’t lose; we were knocked out by the away goals rule,” he added. “I took responsibility then, and I take responsibility now.”
