The head coach of the Super Eagles, Eric Chelle, has claimed that there are two 2026 World Cup qualifying fixtures that sealed their failure to play in the tournament.
Chelle, speaking with Riadh Belaïche, picked out the games against Zimbabwe at home and away to South Africa.
Nigeria ended up drawing both matches and also lost the African play-off final to DR Congo.
This meant the Eagles missed out on playing at a second consecutive World Cup.
“It’s true that in some matches, like against Zimbabwe, we drew at home while the match was in our hands,” Chelle said.
“In the end, these two dropped points hurt us a lot. We also drew in South Africa.”