Sports editor and journalist, Opeyemi Akinyode, has reacted to Nigeria’s performance in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, saying the Super Eagles did not deserve a place at the tournament.

Akinyode reacted to Nigeria’s defeat by DR Congo in an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday.

He blamed the setback on those handling sports administration, saying they do not understand how deep and demanding the business of sports has become globally.

“You can’t give what you don’t have. We don’t deserve to be at the World Cup. Serious teams go via the regular qualifiers; you can’t go through the back doors. Maybe the God of soccer wanted a second chance for us.

“Serious teams are already going to the World Cup. They are already signing media partnerships. But do you know that we barely have an official photographer for the NFF? They pick pictures from bloggers. It’s as simple as that,” he said.

According to him, Nigeria’s football struggles stemmed from a continuous recycling process within sports leadership, which throws away competence and brings in mediocrity on the altar of patronage.

The sports editor, however, cautioned that the result witnessed in the qualifiers is the natural outcome of such administrative failures, noting that “this is what we are going to have”.

DAILY POST reports that Nigeria lost their qualifying match against DR Congo and won’t be at the 2026 World Cup in Canada, the US, and Mexico.