Dutch coach, Simon Kalika has admitted his deep disappointment at Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Kalika is of the view that the Super Eagles’ absence at football’s biggest festival will be a major loss to the tournament.
The finals, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, will go ahead without one of Africa’s most famous football nations for a second consecutive edition.
For Kalika, what makes this setback even harder to accept is the quality in the current squad. He believes Nigeria possess some of Africa’s finest attacking talents, players who would have lit up the global stage.
Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen have been crowned African Footballer of the Year
in 2024 and 2023 respectively, while Stanley Nwabali is widely regarded as one of the continent’s top goalkeepers. Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Wilfred Ndidi also caught the eye at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Apart from Iwobi and Ndidi, many of these stars have never played at a World Cup and have now missed two in a row.
