Nigeria’s Super Eagles will seek to prove that that training boycott over unpaid match bonuses on Tuesday did not cause any distraction to their ambition to secure the 2026 World Cup ticket when they face Gabon today at the Prince Héritier Moulay El Hassan Sports Complex in Morocco, in the playoffs.
Two games stand between Nigeria’s desire to win the continental ticket in the playoff before squaring up with teams in other continents.
The Eagles stunned football fans in the country and the global community closely monitoring the upcoming World Cup Playoffs in Africa when the team stayed away from training, in the bid to force the hands of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to pay their previous bonuses.
Although the matter was resolved on Wednesday, the team missed the chance to hold two training sessions. The team returned to training on Wednesday after the drama, for which Nigerians and former Nigeria internationals have blamed them for wrong timing.
Ex-Super Eagles defender Ifeanyi Udeze described the decision of the players to boycott training as “unnecessary distraction”.
“We have a crucial game to play against Gabon. All these for me are distractions. All these match bonuses, no match bonus are big distraction,” he said on Brila FM.
The winner between Nigeria and Gabon Panthers will face the winner of the second semi-final between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Cameroon, who also play tomorrow. The final will hold on Sunday.
