World Cup: 'Nigeria would have done better' – Former coach makes bold Super Eagles claim

Former Nigeria U-20 assistant coach Simon Kalika has expressed admiration for the performances of African teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup but believes the Super Eagles would have been the continent's standout side had they qualified.

Kalika, who served as an assistant coach to Nigeria's Flying Eagles at the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup and was also part of the coaching crew for the country's football team at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

According to the Dutch tactician, Nigeria's absence from the tournament was one of Africa's biggest disappointments.

The 2026 World Cup featured 10 African representatives: Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, DR Congo and South Africa.

Among them, only Egypt and Morocco progressed to the Round of 16, highlighting both the continent's growing competitiveness and the challenge of succeeding on football's biggest stage.

Kalika believes African football has taken significant strides in recent years.

"Who would have believed that Cape Verde possessed the talent and quality to dazzle the world as they did at the World Cup 2026?" Kalika said via Complete Sports.

He added, "Or who would have given DR Congo a chance of reaching the Round of 32 before the tournament started?"

He added that the performances underline the progress being made across the continent.

He continued, "What this shows is that there is tremendous talent in Africa and that football is growing rapidly across the continent. The continent is fast catching up with the rest of the world, and it is a credit to the various football federations."

Kalika remains convinced that the Super Eagles possessed enough quality to outperform every other African nation at the tournament.

The former assistant coach pointed to the abundance of Nigerian players competing in Europe's top leagues as evidence of the country's strength.

He said, "Nigeria is exceptionally blessed with talent. You can see Nigerian players in all the major leagues across Europe and the rest of the world.

"I think the way they are playing now, yes, they would have done better at the World Cup. It's painful that the Super Eagles didn't qualify for the World Cup 2026. The world would have seen one of the most talented teams at the tournament."