‘Till today it still haunts me’ - Ex-NFF president Pinnick takes blame for Nigeria missing 2022 World Cup

Nigeria are set to miss the 2026 FIFA World Cup competition in the USA after failing to make the playoffs.

They were knocked out on a penalty shootout by DR Congo after ruining their chances of securing an automatic ticket during the qualifiers.

The Super Eagles team will now miss back-to-back World Cup tournaments in a row after failing to make it in 2022.

Speaking on Sunday Oliseh's "Global Football Insights" show, Pinnick expressed how he felt after Nigeria missed the 2022 World Cup.

“In 2018, we had the toughest group ever. We had Algeria, we had all the AFCON winners that had not lost a game in over 20 games.

“Cameron were coming in as defending champions. Zambia was an AFCON champion at a point then Nigeria. Nigeria was the least considered. 

“But guess what? We won with two games to spare. We didn't sleep. Now we did that in 2022. But because of the fact that they change the format to play head-to-head, nobody gave Ghana a chance. 

“But lo and behold, they came and we didn't lose. We didn't win, but got knocked out based on the good rules. 

“There were a lot of things that's why I said that has passed. I take responsibility. I took responsibility then, you know and till today it still haunts me that Nigeria did not go for 2022 World Cup. 

“I felt really bad. I was there working as a council member but trust me I wasn't myself throughout.”

Meanwhile, former Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) President Pinnick has opened up on how the Super Eagles missed out on Puma’s sponsorship deal.