By Korede James
Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen says Nigeria will be driven by desperation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers this month as he does not want to end his career without playing at football’s biggest tournament.
The Super Eagles have struggled in Group C in the World Cup qualifiers, having drawn three of their first four matches, leaving them fifth out of six teams, with only one guaranteed ticket available.
Osimhen is yet to feature in the qualifiers after missing the previous fixtures due to injury.
Three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners Nigeria will be back in action when they visit group leaders Rwanda on March 21 before hosting bottom team Zimbabwe four days later in Uyo.
“It’s a dream of every footballer to play at the World Cup and with our situation in the group I am desperate, like other players, to make it to the 2026 tournament,” Osimhen, the 2023 African Player of the Year, told BBC Sport Africa.
“We suffered a big disappointment in 2022 and we simply can’t let it happen again to us, the country and our generation.
“You don’t want to finish your career with the regrets of not playing at the World Cup. That is not what I want for myself.
“There’s a new manager now and we are desperately looking forward to the game against Rwanda to try to correct all the previous mistakes we’ve made and put ourselves in a better position to qualify.
“People say we have a talented generation but we can only confirm this talent when we play in a World Cup like those before us.
“I was sad, like my team-mates, to miss out on Qatar and our fans didn’t even understand how much it affected us.
“This is why we must correct the previous mistakes by giving everything to our country, our new coach and prove ourselves as being worthy.”
On working with new head coach Eric Chelle, Osimhen said: “I’ve spoken to him a couple of times and clearly understand the objectives he has set for himself and for the players.
“It takes more than a coach to win football matches. Players must also be at their best, show commitment and bear in mind that we can all fly together to reach our goal.”
Also commenting on the AFCON 2025, where the Eagles are drawn with Tunisia, Ugandan and Tanzania, the 26-year-old Galatasaray star added: “It’s not going to be easy because African football is unpredictable, we all saw how some big teams went out early in Ivory Coast.
“We must take each game as it comes and remember that we are yet to win anything for Nigeria. That should be the motivation we need to go one step better.
“But we cannot focus too much on a tournament that will happen at the end of the year when we have big demands of the World Cup before that. We first take care of that business.”
