Former Super Eagles star slams Super Falcons after historic World Cup failure

Former Super Eagles defender Ifeanyi Udeze has condemned the Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Nigeria’s hopes of maintaining their remarkable record of appearing at every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup were shattered on Thursday after the Super Falcons suffered a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in a decisive qualification play-in match.

The result means Nigeria will miss the Women’s World Cup for the first time since the tournament began in 1991.

While Udeze acknowledged that Nigeria did not necessarily have to win the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, he said missing out on the World Cup was unacceptable.

Speaking on Brila FM, the former Nigeria international expressed his frustration over the team's failure to get through the qualification route.

Udeze said, “Not picking the World Cup ticket is an insult. I don’t blame them for not winning the WAFCON, but what really pained me is not picking the World Cup ticket.”

Udeze insisted that the problem was not a lack of quality within the Nigerian squad.

Instead, he questioned the team's mentality and unity during the tournament.

“It's not like our players are not good, but I think they were overconfident going into the WAFCON, and it seems there’s no unity among them,” he said.