Former Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Amaju Pinnick has claimed the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was due to the revised qualification format introduced by FIFA.
Speaking at the Big Sport Dialogue event in Lagos, Pinnick argued that Nigeria would have secured the 2026 World Cup spot if the 2018 qualification structure had been retained.
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Nigeria crashed out of the CAF playoffs after a 4-3 penalty shootout defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) in the final, despite defeating Gabon 4-0 in the semi-finals.
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DR Congo will now represent Africa in the intercontinental playoffs scheduled for March 2026.
Pinnick insisted that the team’s elimination was influenced by a format he believes disadvantaged the Super Eagles.
“You said we did not qualify under me. We did not lose, and we did not win. If they had followed the same format used in 2018, where we were in the most difficult group in the history of football with Zambia, Cameroon, and Algeria, we would have qualified for the World Cup with two games to spare,” he said.
With World Cup hopes dashed, the Super Eagles will now shift their attention to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco, taking place between December 2025 and January 2026.
