Oliseh blames Osimhen's outburst for Nigeria's AFCON failure

Nigeria legend Sunday Oliseh has pinpointed a heated on-field clash between star striker Victor Osimhen and teammate Ademola Lookman as the pivotal moment that derailed Nigeria's 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title ambitions.

The 1994 AFCON winner and former Super Eagles captain delivered his analysis on his podcast, arguing that the public nature of the dispute during Nigeria's 4-0 Round of 16 win over Mozambique shattered team chemistry at a critical juncture.

While the incident was downplayed by players at the time as passionate intensity, Oliseh believes it had lasting, damaging consequences.

"When you publicly diminish your teammates, you break their spirit. You destroy the very confidence a team needs to survive a semifinal," Oliseh stated. "Against a team as tactically sharp as Morocco, we needed our best players at 100%."

Oliseh contended that the fallout was most visible in the form of Lookman, whom he described as statistically the tournament's most dangerous player until the incident. "Since that public outburst against Ademola Lookman… Lookman became a shadow of himself, and we lost the bite," Oliseh explained. "You cannot expect a playmaker to perform miracles on the pitch when he has been demoralised by his own teammate."

The former midfielder, known for his own strong leadership, drew a clear distinction between talent and team ethics.

"We are confusing talent with licence. Victor Osimhen is world-class, but talent is not a licence to destroy team chemistry," he concluded.

Nigeria ultimately lost to hosts Morocco in the semifinals via a penalty shootout before securing bronze by defeating Egypt in the third-place playoff.

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