Rohr Calls Nigeria’s World Cup Absence ‘A Pity’ as Osimhen and Lookman Miss 2026 Showpiece

Gernot Rohr, the Franco-German tactician currently serving as head coach of Benin Republic, has spoken candidly about Nigeria’s absence from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, describing it as deeply regrettable given the calibre of players the Super Eagles have at their disposal.

Rohr, who guided Nigeria to the 2018 FIFA World Cup and was part of the early stages of the country’s qualifying campaign for Qatar 2022 before his departure, pointed to a failure to function as a collective unit as the root cause of the Super Eagles’ elimination.

“I also think about how Nigeria hasn’t participated since 2018,” Rohr said. “Even though they had great individual players with immense quality, they didn’t play like a team early on and dropped too many points.”

The comments underline a widely observed problem within Nigerian football — an inability to consistently translate individual brilliance into collective results on the pitch. Nigeria last featured at a World Cup in Russia in 2018, where they reached the group stage before being eliminated. Their absence from both Qatar 2022 and now the 2026 edition in the United States, Canada, and Mexico represents back-to-back failures to reach football’s biggest stage.

For Rohr, the toll of that absence is felt most acutely through the players who will not get the opportunity to perform on the global stage. Victor Osimhen, the Galatasaray striker who has been one of the most prolific forwards in European football in recent seasons, Ademola Lookman, who was instrumental in Atalanta’s UEFA Europa League triumph, and Samuel Chukwueze, the AC Milan winger, are all absent from the tournament.

“It is truly a pity that major players like Osimhen, Chukwueze and Lookman are not here to be seen,” Rohr said. “For me, it’s a pity.”

Despite his disappointment over Nigeria’s absence, Rohr expressed confidence in the African nations that did qualify, citing their performances in the early rounds of the competition as evidence of the continent’s growing footballing stature.

“From what I saw physically, in the two games featuring Morocco against Brazil and France against Senegal, as well as Ivory Coast against Ecuador, I think the African teams are doing well at the moment,” he said.

Rohr’s assessment aligns with a broader narrative at the 2026 World Cup, where African representatives have drawn attention for their tactical discipline, physical conditioning, and competitive performances against some of the tournament’s traditional heavyweights. Morocco, who reached the semi-finals at Qatar 2022, have continued to be regarded as one of the continent’s strongest prospects.

Nigeria’s qualification campaign ultimately unravelled through a series of dropped points that proved too costly to recover from. The Super Eagles’ continued absence raises pressing questions for the Nigeria Football Federation regarding the direction of the national team programme ahead of future qualifying cycles, including the road to the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

Rohr, meanwhile, continues his tenure with Benin Republic, a role that has seen him remain active in African football following the end of his time with the Super Eagles.