Sunday Oliseh, the former captain of the Super Eagles, blamed Victor Osimhen’s “indiscipline” for Nigeria’s defeat at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, claiming that individual excesses undermined team cohesion at a pivotal point in the competition.
Oliseh claimed on his YouTube channel that Osimhen’s public altercation with teammate Ademola Lookman during Nigeria’s 4-0 Round of 16 victory over Mozambique damaged the team’s chemistry and reduced their chances of winning the championship. Fans reacted negatively to Osimhen’s apparent rebuke of Lookman for failing to release the ball in an attacking move during the game, calling the striker’s actions unprofessional.
Oliseh asserted that Lookman’s performance declined significantly after the match in Mozambique, which had an impact on Nigeria’s attacking ability in the semifinal.
“Let’s look at the toxicity that might have cost us the AFCON title,” he said. “We are confusing talent with licence. Victor Osimhen is world-class, but talent is not a license to destroy team chemistry.”
“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. When you publicly diminish your teammates, you break their spirit.”
He added that Lookman had been “the most dangerous player in the tournament until that public verbal abuse broke his focus,” arguing that Nigeria lost “the psychological edge needed to win” against a disciplined Moroccan side in the semifinal.
Oliseh also criticised what he described as a fan culture that now tolerates such behaviour: “What’s worse, and frankly, what’s most dangerous for our football is the fan culture that now tolerates this.”
His critique widened to include Osimhen’s earlier public comments attacking former Super Eagles coach Finidi George. While acknowledging Osimhen’s value, Oliseh stressed that no player is bigger than the national team.
“Scoring goals for Nigeria doesn’t give you a licence to disrespect certified legends like Finidi George or Victor Ikpeba. It doesn’t give you the right to disrespect your coaches or teammates,” he said. “If goals alone justified arrogance, what should the legends who put Nigeria at the pinnacle of world football, like Amokachi, Amunike, Okocha, Babangida and myself, do? Walk on people’s heads?”
Oliseh warned that continued indiscipline and poor administration would damage the team’s future: “If we don’t fix the discipline and the administration, there won’t be a Super Eagles left to support.”
He also criticised the celebrations that followed Nigeria’s third-place finish, when the Super Eagles beat Egypt on penalties. “There was a time the Super Eagles shed tears at second place, because to us anything but the trophy was a failure; celebrating third place built a culture of mediocrity,” he said.