What happens if he gets injured? – Former Nigeria striker laments Super Eagles over-reliance on Victor Osimhen

Former Super Eagles attacking midfielder, Etim Esin, has revealed the Super Eagles must reduce their over-reliance on Victor Osimhen if they’re to have any chance of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Soccernet.ng reports.

Nigeria are currently fifth in their World Cup qualifying group, and need to pick up points consistently to stand a chance to feature in the biggest football tournament on the continent.

Etim, who was a part of the Super Eagles team that announced Nigeria on the World Stage, beckoned on other Nigeria attackers to step up in Osimhen’s absence.

“Osimhen can only play his part. What happens if he gets injured? Does that mean we won’t score? It’s very worrying. A striker playing the number nine role must score consistently for his country—that’s the standard worldwide. You can’t play four games for your country without scoring a goal; it doesn’t make sense.

Boniface, for instance, has been given numerous opportunities, but he still can’t score for Nigeria. This is becoming a major concern. Does it mean Eguavoen cannot rely on any other striker? Or are we saying that if Osimhen doesn’t score, then Nigeria won’t score?

In any tournament, you must depend on your strikers to deliver. If we keep relying solely on Osimhen, it will get us nowhere.

I played alongside great strikers like the late Rashidi Yekini, Samson Siasia, and Richard Owubokiri. They delivered for both club and country. Boniface is prolific in Germany, but when it comes to Nigeria, he keeps missing chances. We need to address this issue before AFCON 2025; otherwise, we will have a big problem,” the 58-year-old said in an interview with Complete Sports.

Nigeria have qualified for the AFCON 2025 tournament, but their final two games against the Republic of Benin and Rwanda were far from impressive.