Former Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, has lamented the team’s poor start in the qualifying series for the 2026 World Cup.
Nigeria have now failed to participate in two consecutive tournaments since their last appearance in 2018 in Russia.
The three-time African champions are absent despite 10 countries representing the continent.
After the qualifiers, Nigeria finished second in a group that had South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Benin.
Eric Chelle’s men then lost to DR Congo in the play-offs.
“I also think about how Nigeria hasn’t participated since 2018,” Rohr told Footy Africa.
“I believe this is because when we faced them in the group stage, even though they had great individual players with immense quality, they simply didn’t play like a team early on and dropped too many points.”
“It is truly a pity that major players like Osimhen, Chukwueze, and Lookman are not here to be seen. For me, it’s a pity.”