Okocha tips Super Eagles to secure 2026 World Cup ticket

Former Super Eagles skipper Austin Jay-Jay Okocha has tipped the team to emerge victorious in the African playoffs and secure a berth at the 2026 World Cup finals.

Okocha, a member of the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations-winning Super Eagles, admitted that the team had made qualification more difficult but insisted that all hope was not lost.

Speaking in an interview on “The Exchange” podcast with Femi Soneye, Okocha said: “I am the worst person to ask this question because I can never say anything against the national team.

“Once there is a glimmer of hope, of course I will believe, and that is the beauty of football. Sometimes you have to do it the hard way. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

“I still trust this team; I still believe it’s possible. We put ourselves in this situation, and we are the only ones who can bring ourselves out of it.”

Okocha also emphasized that the players fully understand what is at stake, both for their careers and for millions of Nigerian fans hoping to see the team on football’s biggest stage.

“The thing is, the players feel it the most. It’s their job; they don’t have any other job at the moment, so of course they would all love to play in the World Cup. They also know how disappointed our fans would be if they don’t make it.”

Despite recent struggles, Okocha took encouragement from the team’s most recent performance against Benin’s Cheetahs, suggesting that the Super Eagles have shown signs of improvement and determination.

“From their last outing, you could see the desire to correct their mistakes. They have given us hope,” the former Eintracht Frankfurt and Bolton Wanderers midfielder stated.