2026 WCQ: Emmanuel Babayaro warns Super Eagles to avoid past mistakes

By Saheed Afolabi

Former Nigeria left back, Emmanuel Babayaro has warned the country to avoid past mistakes of not qualifying for the FIFA World Cup.

The ex-Chelsea defender says it’s an easy group for the Super Eagles on paper as a football giant.

The former Super Eagles man advised the NFF to avoid past mistakes that have hindered Nigeria from not getting the World Cup ticket and ensures the right things are done for easy passage.

“On paper you would say we have already qualified and that’s how it’s suppose to be because Nigeria is one of the most powerful nations in the world as far as football is concern,” Babayaro told Complete Sports.

“But we’ve also seen in recent times that as a result of our lackadaisical attitude and managerial ineptitude we’ve suffered some knocks here and there.

“On a good day I should say we have already qualified but we need to do the right thing but unfortunately we don’t have the best technical hands at the moment and we’ve been suffering from that for a while now and that might just be the Achilles heel. But on paper we should be able to qualify.“

Lesotho, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Benin Republic and South Africa will give Nigeria a hot chase for the sole ticket in group C of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers Africa zone.