Osimhen’s indiscipline cost Nigeria the AFCON title. He is world-class but talent is not a license to destroy team chemistry — Oliseh

Former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh has blamed Nigeria’s failure to win the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco on what he termed “indiscipline” by Victor Osimhen, arguing that individual excesses damaged team unity at a crucial stage of the tournament.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Oliseh said Osimhen’s public confrontation with teammate Ademola Lookman during Nigeria’s 4–0 Round of 16 win over Mozambique disrupted the squad’s chemistry and weakened their title chances. During the match, Osimhen appeared to rebuke Lookman for not releasing the ball in an attacking move, an incident that drew backlash from fans who criticised the striker’s conduct as unprofessional.

Oliseh claimed the consequences were felt beyond the Mozambique fixture, insisting Lookman’s form dipped noticeably afterwards, affecting Nigeria’s attacking potency 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.