Oliseh: How Osimhen Cost Nigeria AFCON Trophy

Former Super Eagles captain, Sunday Oliseh, has blamed Nigeria’s failure to lift the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy on what he described as Victor Osimhen’s indiscipline, insisting that the striker’s conduct shattered team harmony at the most critical stage of the tournament.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Oliseh argued that Nigeria’s title push derailed not on tactics or talent, but on a breakdown of unity triggered by Osimhen’s public confrontation with teammate Ademola Lookman.

He recalled the heated on-field altercation between the duo during Nigeria’s emphatic 4–0 Round of 16 victory over Mozambique, where Osimhen angrily rebuked Lookman for failing to release the ball in a promising attacking move.

Although the Super Eagles cruised into the quarter-finals, the incident sparked widespread backlash, with many Nigerians describing Osimhen’s outburst as unprofessional and unnecessary.

According to Oliseh, the damage, however, went far deeper than that single match.

“Let’s look at the toxicity that might have cost us the AFCON title,” Oliseh said.

“We are confusing talent with licence. Victor Osimhen is world-class, but talent is not a licence to destroy team chemistry.”

The former Ajax midfielder insisted that Lookman’s form noticeably dipped after the confrontation, weakening Nigeria’s attacking edge in the decisive stages of the tournament.

“Look at the evidence. Since that public outburst against Ademola Lookman, one of our brightest lights, he became a shadow of himself, and we lost our bite,” he stated.

“When you publicly diminish your teammates, you break their spirit. You destroy the very confidence a team needs to survive a semi-final. Against a team as tactically sharp as Morocco, we needed our best players at 100 per cent.”

Oliseh further claimed that, statistically, Lookman had been Nigeria’s most dangerous attacker at the tournament before the incident.

“Statistically, Ademola Lookman was the most dangerous player in the tournament until that public verbal abuse broke his focus. You can’t expect a playmaker to perform miracles on the pitch when he has been demoralised by his own teammate,” he said.

“The conflict did its damage. We didn’t just lose a game; we lost the psychological edge needed to win.”

Beyond the pitch, Oliseh also criticised what he called a growing fan culture that excuses indiscipline from star players.

“What’s worse, and frankly what’s most dangerous for our football, is the fan culture that now tolerates this,” he added.

His comments also referenced Osimhen’s earlier public outburst against former Super Eagles coach, Finidi George, which he described as another example of unchecked excess.

While acknowledging Osimhen’s immense value to the national team, Oliseh maintained that no individual is bigger than the collective.

Advertisements

In his words, Nigeria did not lose AFCON for lack of talent — but for lack of discipline when it mattered most.