"We Should Be There" — Nigerians React as Africa Shines at World Cup 2026 Without the Super Eagles

It is 9pm on a Tuesday in Lagos. The bar on Allen Avenue is packed. Forty people are crammed around three television screens. Morocco are playing. The crowd is loud, invested, and — if you look closely — a little heartbroken.

"We should be there," says Emeka, 31, a graphic designer from Surulere who has been watching every World Cup game since the tournament began. "Morocco is not better than us. Senegal is not better than us. We have better players than half the teams at this tournament. But here we are."

He gestures at the screen. Morocco score. The bar erupts — but it is a complicated eruption. Pride for Africa. Pain for Nigeria. Both at the same time.

The Mood Across Nigeria

The Trojan Beast spoke to football fans in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano over the past week. The mood is remarkably consistent: a deep, genuine pride in what African teams are achieving at this World Cup, wrapped around an equally deep frustration that Nigeria is not part of it.

"I am supporting Morocco, Senegal, and Egypt," says Fatima, 26, a law student in Abuja. "But every time they score, I think — that could have been us. That should have been us. Victor Osimhen is one of the best strikers in the world. He is watching this tournament on his phone."

In Port Harcourt, a group of young men watching a game at a viewing centre in Rumuola told The Trojan Beast they had stopped following the Super Eagles entirely after the qualifying campaign collapse.

"I don't even want to talk about the Super Eagles," says Chidi, 28, a mechanic. "It is too painful. I will support Morocco. At least they are doing something."

""Osimhen is at the World Cup — just not in a Nigerian shirt. He is watching from his phone like the rest of us.""

— Emeka, Lagos football fan

Social Media Erupts

On X (formerly Twitter), Nigerian football fans have been among the most vocal voices at this World Cup — despite not having a team to support. The hashtag #SuperEaglesWhere has trended multiple times since the tournament began. So has #NFFMustGo.

When Morocco beat their group opponents with a commanding display, Nigerian football commentator @NaijaFootballNG posted: "Morocco has a plan. Morocco has a coach. Morocco has a structure. Nigeria has a press release." The post received over 40,000 likes.

When Sadio Mané scored for Senegal, the reaction from Nigerian fans was split between admiration and grief. "Mané is 34 and still doing this at a World Cup," wrote one user. "Meanwhile our federation is busy sharing per diems."

The NFF's Silence

The Nigeria Football Federation has been conspicuously quiet since the World Cup began. No statement of congratulations to qualifying African nations. No public acknowledgement of Nigeria's absence. No roadmap for how the federation intends to ensure the Super Eagles are at the 2030 World Cup.

The silence has not gone unnoticed. Former Super Eagles captain Austin Jay-Jay Okocha, speaking on a sports programme last week, said the NFF needed to "look in the mirror" and be honest about the structural failures that led to Nigeria's non-qualification.

"We have the players," Okocha said. "We have always had the players. What we don't have is the system. And until we fix the system, we will keep watching World Cups on television."

The Borrowed Pride

There is something bittersweet about the way Nigerians are engaging with this World Cup. They are genuinely invested. They are watching every African game. They are celebrating every African goal as if it were their own.

But it is borrowed pride. It is the pride of a nation that knows it belongs at this tournament and is not there. It is the pride of a football people who are cheering for their neighbours because their own team let them down.

"I am happy for Morocco," says Emeka, back at the bar on Allen Avenue, as the final whistle blows and Morocco advance to the round of 16. "But I am also angry. Because we should be celebrating our own team right now. Not someone else's."

Trojan Beast Verdict

The 2026 World Cup is not just a football tournament for Nigeria. It is a referendum on what Nigerian football has become — and a preview of what it could be if the right decisions are made.

The fans are watching. The players are watching. The world is watching. The only people who do not seem to be watching are the ones who are supposed to be fixing it.