Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has expressed disappointment over Nigeria's failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, describing the Super Eagles' absence from football's biggest stage as unacceptable for a nation of Nigeria's stature.

Wike made his feelings known on Thursday during the commissioning of the 7-kilometre Kuje-Gwagwalada dual carriageway by President Bola Tinubu, who was represented at the event by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

The minister spoke while acknowledging the presence of former Super Eagles captain Joseph Yobo, who was part of the delegation at the ceremony. While praising the ex-international for his contributions to Nigerian football, Wike used the opportunity to voice the frustration of millions of football-loving Nigerians over the national team's failure to secure a place at the expanded 48-team World Cup being jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

According to him, watching countries with less football pedigree compete on the global stage while Nigeria remains absent has been a painful experience for many Nigerians.

"Before I leave, yes, we have congratulated one of our stars, Joseph Yobo. Let me use the medium through you to tell the Super Eagles, we are not happy," Wike said.

"The moment they said 'Super Eagles', I said I won't clap. Because I watch the World Cup and I see countries I've never heard before qualifying to play at the World Cup.

"I'm sitting down for hours watching countries that I've never known. Nigerians, in this context, not less than 13 players of Nigerian ancestry are playing all over the world for other countries but here, we did not qualify. Yobo, go and tell them we are not happy."

Wike's comments reflect the widespread disappointment among Nigerian football supporters following the Super Eagles' failure to qualify for the tournament despite the increase in the number of participating teams from 32 to 48.

Nigeria narrowly missed out on qualification after suffering defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the African qualifying playoffs, ending hopes of making a seventh appearance at the Mundial.

The Super Eagles' absence from the 2026 tournament marks the third time this century that Nigeria will not feature at the FIFA World Cup. The three-time African champions also failed to qualify for the 2006 edition in Germany and the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

Meanwhile, several African nations have impressed at the ongoing competition, with Morocco, Ghana, Cape Verde, DR Congo and Ivory Coast among the teams earning praise for their performances.

For a country widely regarded as one of Africa's football powerhouses, Nigeria's absence has reignited discussions about the future direction of the national team and the urgent need to return to the global stage ahead of the next World Cup cycle.

With qualification for the 2030 FIFA World Cup now the next target, many Nigerians will be hoping the Super Eagles can learn from recent setbacks and reclaim their place among the world's elite football nations.