VICTOR Osimhen has fired back at comments allegedly from ex-Super Eagles head coach George Finidi questioning his commitment to national team assignment.
The Napoli star man missed Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup qualification games against South Africa and Benin Republic owing to injury concerns. Following the Super Eagles’ lacklustre showing in the matches – one draw and a loss – Finidi who has now resigned from the role was alleged to have questioned Osimhen’s commitment to the side, insisting he won’t beg players to feature for the team.
Irked by the remark, Osimhen fired back at the former international in an Instagram live on his handle. He maintained that he had always given his best to the Super Eagles and had informed Finidi about his injury before the last round of games.
“Everybody knows I play my heart out whether it is in clubside or national team. I won’t allow anybody to disrespect me. I won’t allow that nonsense. I won’t allow anyone to stain my name. I don’t care if what Finidi said is true or false. But I’ll share the video, picture, and screenshot of my conversation with Finidi on my [Instagram] story because some of you believe I would allow disrespect because I play football.”
“I’ve lost respect for that man now,” the African footballer of the year said. “I spoke with him (Finidi) requesting that I join the Super Eagles camp to be with my teammates. But he told me not to bother and that I should stay with my family – I have a video of the conversation.”
Osimhen who said he played with injuries several times for the Super Eagles, wondered why Nigeria’s poor outing in the last games would be blamed on his absence.
“After two bad games, everybody is blaming me,” the 25-year-old said, insisting he has always played with commitment for the Super Eagles.
Osimhen’s comment came almost the same time that Finidi resigned as the Super Eagles coach, less than two months after he was appointed.
“Yes, it is true. I have resigned,” he told News Point Nigeria on Saturday.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) named the former Ajax Amsterdam player as the Super Eagles coach on April 29th, 2024 after he took charge of the squad in an interim capacity during two friendly matches in Morocco in March.
Finidi, 52, is a member of the ‘Golden Generation’ that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Tunisia and featured in Nigeria’s debut World Cup that same year.
He worked as an assistant to Coach José Santos Peseiro until the Portuguese resigned after leading Nigeria to a second-place finish at the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire earlier in the year.
But Finidi came under fire after a loss to Benin Republic and a 1-1 draw with South Africa left Nigeria’s World Cup qualification hopes hanging by a thread.
The Minister of Sport Development John Enoh had following the games summoned the NFF and demanded explanations over the team’s poor outing.
On Thursday, the football body said it was hiring a foreign technical adviser for the Super Eagles but kept mute on Finidi’s fate.
Nigeria are fifth in the Group C log for the 2026 World Cup qualification lot after managing a miserable three points, four behind leaders Rwanda, after four games. The team’s next competitive match will be in the 2025 AFCON qualification later in the year.