By Group Captain Sadeeq Garba Shehu rtd
The curtain has fallen on the 2026 FIFA World Cup – and history was made on almost every front. Records tumbled. New milestones were reached. Legends added extraordinary chapters to their careers, while emerging stars announced themselves on football’s biggest stage.
Yet one of the tournament’s most intriguing stories belonged to a country that was not officially there: Our dear country Nigeria.
THE BIGGEST WORLD CUP EVER
The 2026 tournament was the FIRST FIFA World Cup to feature:
– 48 national teams
– 104 matches
– 12 groups
– A new Round of 32
– Three host countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States
It was the FIRST men’s World Cup jointly hosted by three nations and produced new tournament records for participation, matches, goals and attendance.
SPAIN’s HISTORIC TRIUMPH
Spain defeated defending champions Argentina 1–0 after extra time to win their second FIFA World Cup, 16 years after their first triumph in South Africa in 2010.
Spain also became the FIRST World Cup-winning team to concede only one goal throughout the entire tournament, completing an extraordinary defensive campaign and extending an unbeaten run that had begun in 2024.
Substitute Ferran Torres scored the decisive goal in the 106th minute, entering World Cup history as one of the very few substitutes to score the winning goal in a final.
MBAPEE : A NEW WORLD CUP GOALS KING
Although France finished outside the top two, Kylian Mbappé produced the tournament’s outstanding individual goalscoring achievement.
He scored 10 goals, won the Golden Boot and increased his career World Cup total to 22 goals, surpassing Lionel Messi to become the leading goalscorer in the history of the men’s FIFA World Cup. At only 27, Mbappé has already achieved something many of football’s greatest strikers never came close to accomplishing.
MESS’s REMARKABLE MILESTONES
Lionel Messi
• Became one of the first players to appear in six FIFA World Cups.
• Became the first footballer ever to play in three FIFA World Cup Finals.
Even in defeat, his longevity and consistency at the highest level remain remarkable.
Cristiano Ronaldo
• Also reached the historic milestone of appearing in six FIFA World Cups.
Guillermo Ochoa
• Joined the exclusive club of players selected for six FIFA World Cups.
Ferran Torres
• Became only the second substitute in history to score the winning goal in a FIFA.
Emiliano Martínez’s Final Heroics
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez produced a heroic performance in the final.
He made 11 saves in total, including 10 during regulation time—a reported record for a World Cup final—even though Argentina eventually lost in extra time.
New Nations on the World Stage
The expanded tournament also gave several nations their FIRST appearance at a FIFA World Cup, including:
– Cape Verde
– Curaçao
– Jordan
– Uzbekistan
Their participation demonstrated one of the principal benefits of expansion: more countries, regions and football cultures gaining access to the world’s greatest sporting stage.
A Historic Appointment for a Match Official
Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić was appointed to officiate the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina. His appointment made him the FIRST Slovenian referee to take charge of a men’s FIFA World Cup final, the highest honour of his officiating career.
Nigeria’s Invisible World Cup Team is also a Record
Nigeria failed to qualify for the tournament. But Nigerian football certainly did.
Nigeria may have failed to qualify, yet at least 16 players of Nigerian heritage represented nine different countries at the 2026 FIFA World Cup – one of the largest diaspora representations by any nation absent from the tournament.
England
– Bukayo Saka
– Eberechi Eze
– Noni Madueke
Germany
– Jamal Musiala
– Felix Nmecha
France
– Michael Olise
Austria
– David Alaba
– Carney Chukwuemeka
Switzerland
– Manuel Akanji
– Noah Okafor
Canada
– Tani Oluwaseyi
– Promise David
– Owen Goodman
United States
– Folarin Balogun
Norway
– Antonio Nusa
South Africa
– Ime Okon
These players were not merely making up the squad numbers. They scored goals, created chances, won matches and represented countries that progressed into the knockout stages. Some played prominent roles for teams that reached the latter stages of the tournament.
Meanwhile, the Super Eagles watched from home. That should concern every Nigerian football lover. How can a country capable of producing so much international football talent fail to qualify for consecutive World Cups while players of Nigerian heritage flourish in the colours of other nations?
So, Nigeria also set a record. Nigeria won a World Cup record without playing a single match: the LARGEST known diaspora representation by a nation absent from the tournament.
The problem is clearly not a lack of talent. It is about:
– Talent identification
– Youth development
– Coaching
– Football administration
– Infrastructure
– Governance
– Long-term planning
– Timely engagement with dual-nationality players
– Creating an environment in which representing Nigeria is an attractive and professionally rewarding choice
We should, of course, respect every player’s right to represent the country of his birth, upbringing or choice. They owe Nigeria no automatic allegiance merely because of their ancestry. Nevertheless, their collective presence demonstrates the enormous footballing potential connected to Nigeria.
The lesson from the 2026 World Cup is therefore undeniable: Nigeria may have been absent. But Nigerian talent was everywhere.
That is simultaneously a source of pride, a painful irony – and a challenge to those entrusted with managing Nigerian football.
@Group Captain Sadeeq Garba Shehu (rtd)
