After three consecutive stalemates with Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and South Africa respectively, Nigeria’s 2-1 defeat to Benin on Monday means the Super Eagles now sit fifth in Group C with three points from a possible 12.
With only the group winners guaranteed a place at the World Cup finals, the pressure is on the African heavyweights to return to their former glory days and cracks are starting to appear in the West African nation.
“Our supporters are passionate and devoted,” Senator John Owan Enoh, minister of sports development, said in a statement.
“They deserve an explanation for why our national team has not been performing to the expected standards since after the last Africa Cup of Nations.
“The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) must provide a comprehensive technical report explaining the reasons behind this poor showing and give cause why there mustn’t be consequences.
“The recent results are unacceptable.”
Furthermore, the Super Eagles have failed to win any of their past seven World Cup qualifiers dating back to November 2021.
After they returned to Nigeria yesterday, the team released a statement via their X account which mentioned they were “unhappy about the way the two games panned out” and promised to “fight hard till the end” of the qualifying campaign.
The CAF World Cup qualifiers are scheduled to resume in March next year, with 2025 Nations Cup qualifiers scheduled to be held in September, October, and November later this year.