Former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh has strongly criticised the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and members of the national team over their handling of William Troost-Ekong and Cyriel Dessers following the 1-1 draw against South Africa.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist accused both the Federation and the players of scapegoating instead of showing unity at a crucial time.

Oliseh argued that football is built on collective responsibility, not individual blame. “Football is a team sport. From that alone you already know why this Super Eagles is not performing,” he said.

He defended Troost-Ekong, whose own goal cost Nigeria, stressing the defender’s effort to prevent danger. “Your captain scored an own goal while trying to defend. It is as if he took the ball with his hand and put it inside. He was trying to defend and scored an own goal,” Oliseh explained.

The former midfielder also lamented the criticism aimed at Cyriel Dessers. “Dessers who was one of the instrumental players that helped us to win three days before, they are being criticised after you lost a game. Now they are being criticised.”

He accused the squad of failing to defend their teammates: “They are shifting the blame away from the management and putting it on the players. They attack these players and the Super Eagles players, none of them have said anything.

“So it is as if they even deserved being criticised because they are not standing as a team. They are not backing their leaders. This is what destroyed the Super Eagles in 2002.”

Oliseh linked the present crisis to historic failures, recalling: “Look, when they did it in 2002, have we all forgotten that the punishment we got was that in 2006 we didn’t qualify? It became the first time that Nigeria did not qualify for the World Cup in almost 20 years. And that’s when the national team started degrading.”

He also highlighted long-standing financial neglect. “It has been revealed that for almost thirty games, true or false, half of it, complete or not, the players have not been paid match bonuses,” Oliseh alleged.

“So you have not been paid match bonuses, and you’re being criticised and you don’t have enough gut to come out and make your own clear in this modern age of social media where you don’t need the mainstream media to put your own opinions out there.”

With Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup qualification hopes now hanging by a thread, Oliseh warned that history could repeat itself if unity and accountability are not restored in the Super Eagles camp.