AFCON 2025: It's Osimhen's fault — Sunday Oliseh explains why Nigeria failed to win tournament

Super Eagles legend Sunday Oliseh has blamed Victor Osimhen’s bust-up from the round of 16 clash against Mozambique for Nigeria’s failure to win the competition, stating that he broke the team’s confidence. 

The 1994 AFCON champion was on co-commentator duty throughout the competition and witnessed the incident first-hand. However, he resisted giving an opinion on the incident which sparked multiple debates until today.

He said he held his tongue to avoid distracting the team but is now comfortable weighing in, as the competition has come to an end, with Senegal emerging victorious.

“Let's look at the toxicity that might have caused us (Nigeria) the AFCON title,” Oliseh shared via his YouTube channel. “We are confusing talent with licence. Victor Osimhen is world-class but talent is not license to destroy team chemistry.

“Look at the evidence. Since that public outburst against Ademola Lookman, one of our brightest lights, Lookman became a shadow of himself, and we lost the bite.

“When you publicly diminish your teammates, you break their spirit. You destroy the very confidence a team needs to survive a semifinal. Against a team as tactically sharp as Morocco, we needed our best players at a hundred per cent.

“Statistically, Ademola Lookman was the most dangerous player in the tournament until that public verbal abuse broke his focus. You can't expect a playmaker to perform a miracle on the pitch when he has been demoralised by his own teammate.

“The conflict did its damage. We didn't just lose a game; we lost the psychological edge needed to win. What is worse, and frankly, what is most dangerous for our football, is the fan culture that now tolerates this.”

Oliseh believes that fan culture has helped Osimhen skirt accountability, noting that the Galatasaray ace had a pattern of similar transgressions, which have gone unpunished.

“Scoring goals for Nigeria doesn't give you a licence to disrespect certified legends like Finidi George or Victor Ikpeba. It doesn't give you the right to disrespect your coaches or teammates. If we don't fix the discipline and the administration, there won't be a Super Eagles left to support.”

Meanwhile, the Super Eagles won bronze at the tournament after beating Egypt in the third-place clash. Osimhen has since returned to Galatasaray and is expected to start for Cim-Bom in their UCL clash against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

As Pulse Sports reported, Victor Osimhen's questionable attitude and anger, which led to his reprehensible rant against Finidi George, the Super Eagles coach at the time, were laid bare during the clash against Mozambique.

Despite the team having accrued a three-goal advantage, two of which he scored, Osimhen berated his teammates, Lookman and Bruno Onyeamachi, when they opted to go for goal instead of playing him through for his hat-trick.

Both incidents happened within minutes, and a frustrated Osimhen appeared to have boiled over, engaging in a shouting match with Lookman before being asked to be subbed off.