Former Africa player of the year and Nigeria international striker Victor Ikpeba says the players of the senior national team of Nigeria are to be blamed for the team’s current struggles in the world cup qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Nigeria is presently walking a tight rope in their quest to make it to the 2026 World Cup after the draw against group leaders South Africa. The result has led to talks about who is to blame for the plight of the team.
Leading the chorus on who is to blame is the former captain of the team John Obi Mikel, who said the board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) should be forced to step aside, if the team fails to make it to the world cup for the second time in a row.
Responding to Mikel during the television show Monday Night football, Ikpeba fired back at the claims made by the former Chelsea ace saying the players are largely to be blamed for the team’s present woes.
“Why are some people calling for the resignation of the NFF? Do they expect committee members to come and play the game on the pitch.
“Our players should take the lion’s share of the blame for our shoddy performance so far in the World Cup qualifiers,” Ikpeba said during the broadcast.
“They were given everything they needed to deliver qualification without stress, but somehow they have not lived up to expectations. I won’t question their commitment, but with the quality of players we have, Nigeria should not be struggling in our group”.
Ade Emmanuel
