Osimhen, Lookman and the Super Eagles’ Legacy Crisis: Two World Cup Failures Put AFCON 2027 in Sharp Focus

Terem Moffi did not mince his words. Speaking in an interview with AY Suga, the Nice striker delivered a frank assessment of what consecutive World Cup absences mean for players who may be running out of time to compete on football’s biggest stage — and his remarks have opened a broader conversation about whether this Super Eagles generation is on course to underachieve.

“The World Cup is every four years, and not everyone gets to be a part of that. We’ve missed two World Cups now. It’s devastating for the fans, but even more so for us,” Moffi said. “I’m 27 now, in the next World Cup I’ll be 31, and most of the squad will be in their 30s as well. It’s almost impossible for us to be there if we’re being totally honest. For some of us, we might have to watch from home. How do we tell our children that we had two chances to be at the World Cup and we didn’t take it? It’s horrible to think about.”

Those words resonated deeply with Nigerian supporters already struggling to come to terms with the team’s failure to qualify for both the 2022 and 2026 FIFA World Cups. The reaction on social media was swift. Prominent Nigerian media figure Ovie O captured the prevailing mood in a post on X on June 9, 2026: “Unless they win the AFCON next year, this will go down as a talented Super Eagles generation that underachieved.”

The sentiment spread rapidly, triggering widespread debate about a squad that, on paper, represents one of the most accomplished groups of Nigerian players in a generation. Victor Osimhen, who has been among the most prolific strikers in European football in recent seasons, has never appeared at a World Cup. Ademola Lookman, who has emerged as one of the continent’s most dangerous attackers, shares the same reality. “How do you explain to someone that Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman have never been to a World Cup, yet Baba Rahman is about to play his second World Cup tournament. Life is crazy,” one user wrote on X.

Other supporters pointed to the structural factors behind the underperformance. “Not because they aren’t good enough as players but because the management of the team has been so bad,” read one widely shared post. Several fans also drew comparisons with Nigeria’s celebrated 1994 generation — a squad that reached the round of 16 at USA ’94, won AFCON in 1994, and qualified for successive World Cups — arguing that the current crop had a comparable opportunity to build a lasting legacy but has so far fallen short.

The talent available to Nigeria is not in question. Beyond Osimhen and Lookman, the squad includes Victor Boniface, Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, and Samuel Chukwueze, all of whom have established themselves at senior European clubs. The issue, according to fans and analysts alike, lies in converting individual quality into collective trophies.

Nigeria’s last continental triumph came at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. In the 2025 AFCON, the Super Eagles came closest to ending that drought, reaching the final before falling to hosts Ivory Coast. That defeat, combined with the two World Cup absences, has sharpened the sense of urgency heading into AFCON 2027, which Nigeria is co-hosting alongside Guinea and Kenya.

Coach Eric Chelle, who took charge of the Super Eagles following the 2026 World Cup qualification failure, faces considerable pressure to deliver. For many Nigerians, the tournament is no longer simply the next item on the fixture list. With several key players likely to be in the final years of their international careers by 2027, AFCON has taken on greater significance — representing what may be the last realistic opportunity for this generation to secure major silverware and reshape the narrative around their collective legacy.