By Wale Mustapha
Nigeria midfielder Frank Onyeka remains optimistic about Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite the team’s disappointing start to the qualifying campaign.
Nigeria have managed just one win, four draws, and one defeat in their first six matches of the qualifiers, collecting only seven points—six behind Group C leaders South Africa.
Despite the uphill task, Onyeka believes the team can still secure a place at the next World Cup if they remain focused and take maximum points from the remaining fixtures.
“I know we are in a difficult situation. It wasn’t a good start for us in the qualifiers, but there’s still a chance for us,” the Augsburg midfielder told Oma Sports.
“We just need to win our next four games and hopefully we can qualify.”
Nigeria are scheduled to face Rwanda and Zimbabwe when the qualifiers resume in September.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
