Former President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has expressed strong confidence that the Super Eagles would have secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup had he remained in charge of the federation.

 

Speaking on Nigeria’s struggles in the ongoing qualification campaign, Pinnick said the situation was unexpected, especially with Africa receiving an expanded allocation of 10 slots for the 2026 tournament.

 

“I honestly didn’t see this coming,” Pinnick said. “With ten African teams qualifying, there is really no basis for Nigeria not to be among them.”

 

Reflecting on previous qualification campaigns during his tenure, Pinnick recalled Nigeria’s successful run to the 2018 World Cup, despite being drawn in what was widely described as a “group of death.”

 

“In 2018, we had arguably the toughest group ever,” he said. “Algeria were unbeaten in over 20 matches, Cameroon were the defending African champions, Zambia were also champions, and Nigeria was considered the underdog. Yet, we qualified with two games to spare. We worked relentlessly.”

 

He also referenced the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, where Nigeria narrowly missed out after losing to Ghana on the away-goals rule in the playoff round.

 

“We did the same work in 2022, but the format changed to head-to-head,” Pinnick explained. “Nobody gave Ghana a chance, but they came through. We didn’t lose that tie; we were eliminated on away goals.”

 

Pinnick admitted taking responsibility for Nigeria’s previous qualification failures and said the disappointment still weighs heavily on him.

 

“I took responsibility then, and I take responsibility now,” he said. “It still haunts me that Nigeria didn’t qualify for the World Cup. I felt really bad. Nigerians should forgive us.”

 

However, the former NFF president remained emphatic that Nigeria’s current predicament would not have occurred under his watch.

 

“For the 2026 World Cup, if I were there, Nigeria would definitely have qualified,” Pinnick insisted. “There is simply no justification for Nigeria missing out.”

 

Nigeria continues to battle for qualification as the race for Africa’s World Cup tickets intensifies.