Amaju Pinnick: Super Eagles Would Have Qualified for 2026 World Cup Under My Leadership

Former President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has expressed strong confidence that the Super Eagles would have secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup had he remained at the helm of Nigerian football.

Speaking on Nigeria’s ongoing qualification struggles, Pinnick said the situation came as a surprise, particularly with Africa receiving an expanded allocation of ten slots for the 2026 tournament.

“I honestly didn’t see this coming,” Pinnick said. “With ten African teams qualifying, there is really no basis for Nigeria not to be among them.”

Reflecting on previous qualification campaigns, the former NFF boss recalled Nigeria’s successful route to the 2018 World Cup despite being drawn in what was widely regarded as a ‘group of death.’

“In 2018, we had arguably the toughest group ever,” he explained. “Algeria were unbeaten in over 20 matches, Cameroon were the defending African champions, Zambia were also champions, and Nigeria was considered the underdog. Yet, we qualified with two games to spare. We worked relentlessly.”

Pinnick also referenced the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, where Nigeria narrowly missed out after a playoff defeat to Ghana under the away-goals rule.

“We did the same work in 2022, but the format changed to head-to-head,” he said. “Nobody gave Ghana a chance, but they came through. We didn’t lose that tie; we were eliminated on away goals.”

Admitting responsibility for Nigeria’s past qualification failures, Pinnick said the disappointment continues to weigh heavily on him.

“I took responsibility then, and I take responsibility now,” he stated. “It still haunts me that Nigeria didn’t qualify for the 2018 World Cup. I felt really bad. Nigerians should forgive us.”

However, Pinnick remained emphatic about the 2026 qualifiers, insisting that leadership and structure would have made the difference.

“For the 2026 World Cup, if I were there, Nigeria would definitely have qualified,” he said. “There is simply no justification for Nigeria missing out.”

Samuel Ahmadu

Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey 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.

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