The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has openly criticised the Super Eagles for failing to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, expressing deep frustration over Nigeria’s absence from football’s biggest stage.
Wike spoke on Wednesday, 24 June 2026, during the commissioning of the Gwagwalada, Kuje Road project in the FCT, where former Super Eagles captain Joseph Yobo was among the dignitaries present.
He described it as painful to watch countries with far less football pedigree feature at the World Cup while Nigeria — a nation rich in talent and global football reputation remains absent.
This was Wike’s statement:
Yes, we have congratulated one of our stars, Joseph Yobo. But let me use this medium through you to tell the Super Eagles: we are not happy. If nobody else will tell you that , because I saw people clapping for you the moment they saw the Super Eagles
I said, ‘I won’t clap.’ I won’t clap because I watch the World Cup. I see countries I have never heard of before qualifying to play in the World Cup, and I am sitting down for hours watching countries that are completely unknown.
In this contest, we have no fewer than 13 top Nigerian players playing all over the world, yet we did not qualify. Yobo, go and tell them. We are not happy.
Softfootball can confirm that Nigeria initially missed out on an automatic qualification ticket despite a convincing win over Benin Republic in their final group match. They later secured a playoff berth as one of the best second‑placed teams, but their hopes ended after a defeat to DR Congo, officially ruling them out of the 2026 World Cup.
