As football’s biggest tournament begins in North America, Nigerians at home and abroad recount the heartbreak, lost opportunities and frustration of watching the Super Eagles miss a second consecutive World Cup, writes PETER AKINBO
The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off on Thursday (today) at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, where co-hosts Mexico face South Africa in the opening match of football’s biggest spectacle. Yet for millions of Nigerians, the start of the month-long tournament will be accompanied by a familiar feeling of disappointment, as the Super Eagles are absent from the competition for the second consecutive edition.
With the World Cup expanding to 48 teams and offering Africa a record number of qualification slots, many had expected Nigeria to be among the continent’s representatives. Instead, fans will once again be forced to watch from afar as other nations chase football glory on the grandest stage.
For Nigerians at home, in the diaspora and across the global football community, the occasion is less a celebration than a painful reminder of what might have been.
Soyemi Tosin had it all planned out.
