Former Nigeria captain Mikel Obi has issued a passionate rallying cry to the Super Eagles, urging them to take responsibility and deliver the results needed to keep their 2026 FIFA World Cup dream alive.

Speaking on the Obi One Podcast alongside Chris McHardy, the ex-Chelsea midfielder warned that failing to qualify for a second consecutive tournament would be “a crime” and called on the players to shut out off-field distractions and rise to the occasion, Footballrover reports.

Mikel Obi: “It’s a shootout group – we have to win both”

Mikel set the tone by describing Nigeria’s qualifying campaign as hanging by a thread.

— “First to qualify, you know, again, we’ve seen, you know, lucky us, um, South Africa has been deducted three points for some reason, ineligible players. So that’s good for us. I think right now you can; you can literally say the group is, it’s sort of a shootout group.

It’s a shootout group. We have Benin at home and go to win both. We have to win both. We have to win both. I don’t care what’s going on. I don’t care what’s happening. I don’t care what’s going on. I need the players. I know; I still know a lot of them in the squad. I need them. We need them. Nigerians need them.”

The Super Eagles sit three points behind South Africa and Benin Republic in Group C and face Lesotho in Polokwane on Friday before returning to Uyo to host Benin.

With just two games left, there is no room for error.

“Our World Cup fate is in their hands”

Mikel spoke candidly about his knowledge of the national team’s inner workings, having risen through every level of Nigerian football.

— “I don’t speak a lot about the national team because I know what’s going on. I know what’s happening. For so many years, I probably am the only player. I’m not sure. I probably am the only player who played the under-17, the under-20, the under-23 and the Super Eagles. I played the whole rank. And the Olympics. Yeah. Which is the under-23.

So I know deep down inside what goes on there. I know. I understand the players, but when you come to this stage of the tournament, every one of those players’ problems from the top goes away. It goes away. It goes out of the window. It’s about the players. It’s about the players taking responsibility and knowing our World Cup fate is in their hands.”

He didn’t shy away from criticising the Nigeria Football Federation but stressed that now was not the time for excuses.

— “It’s right now in the hands of the players. Yes. The NFF, the board, they are who they are, the corruption that is going on, the issues that are going on there… all that goes out of the window. Win your two games, the players win your two games and qualify, and then the whole thing – we can talk about the whole thing another day, but our World Cup fate is in their hands, and I’m begging them. I’m with my whole heart begging the players on behalf of Nigerians.”

“This is about responsibility and pride”

Mikel, who captained Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup, drew from his experience to remind the current crop of stars — including Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Moses Simon, Alex Iwobi, and Victor Boniface — that success will come from unity and accountability.

— “When I captained the national team, this is where I take, this is where responsibility comes in. You have to have that responsibility. Your frustrations, your frustration, the baggage – everything goes out of the window.

Players have a meeting, come together, have some sort of meeting, talk to each other, pull each other together. This is our fate. This is their fate. They have to qualify.

We have to qualify. If we beat, if we win our two games, we’re there. If we beat Benin, beat Lesotho, we still have the playoffs. It will probably be playoffs.”

“We believe they can do it”

The 37-year-old emphasised his belief in the talent available to the Super Eagles despite their stuttering form — nine goals scored and seven conceded in eight qualifiers.

— “I want to see the players. I believe so much in this squad. We have, on paper, some great, great players, fantastic players, great team, amazing team.

You talk about defence. We never had such good defence for such a long time in the national team. You talk about midfield, you talk about attackers.

We have everything. We have the main man as well, back against scoring goals in Turkey. We have everything. We have to; we have to give ourselves the chance.”

Mikel urged the Super Eagles to show the mentality that saw his generation qualify for Russia 2018 with games to spare.

— “I remember back then when I was still in the national team, I used to tell the players, The next game is the most important one. The next game is the most important. Forget what’s going on.

Forget what’s happening. I mean, five draws. The next game is the most important. Yes, five draws. It’s not so good because when you look at it, we drew against Lesotho. I mean, I never played them when I was in the national team.

We used to play against Cameroon, Ghana, Zambia, Algeria, South Africa to qualify for the World Cup. We just drew way too many games.

But now, again, like I said, we have an opportunity. We have a chance to still give ourselves a chance.”

“It will be a crime to miss the World Cup again”

Mikel closed with an emotional plea, highlighting what qualification means to the country.

— “We love our football. We love, absolutely love, our football. It’s going to be a crime. Absolutely crime if Nigeria do not make it for the second time in a row to the World Cup. I don’t know if it’s ever happened. I don’t know if it’s ever happened.”

The Super Eagles’ road to the World Cup is precarious. They need to beat Lesotho in Polokwane and Benin in Uyo while hoping South Africa slip in their remaining fixtures.

For a team boasting some of Africa’s biggest attacking names, Nigeria’s qualifying campaign has been frustratingly inconsistent.

But as Mikel insists, the fate of a football-mad nation now rests on the players’ shoulders.

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Last Updated on October 7, 2025 12:45 pm by footballrover