Former Super Eagles manager Sunday Oliseh has challenged Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman to translate their stunning club form into international silverware, insisting that the pair have all the quality needed to lead Nigeria to a new era of trophy-winning football, Saturday PUNCH reports.

Oliseh, speaking on the latest episode of his Global Football Insights Podcast, singled out the duo as the catalysts capable of inspiring the rest of the squad to greater heights, pointing to their respective campaigns in the UEFA Champions League as proof of their elite credentials.

“We have two top Nigerian players currently excelling in the Champions League. Osimhen is doing well, and Lookman is also doing exceptionally well. All we need now is for these two top players to lead the team and for the others to follow, and you will have it,” the former Juventus midfielder said.

Osimhen has been in devastating form for Galatasaray this season, scoring 17 times in 25 games with seven of those coming in the Champions League, where the Turkish side have reached the Round of 16 for the first time in 12 years.

At the 2025 AFCON in Morocco, the striker led all players with 21 shots at the tournament — 10 on target — and scored four goals, just one behind Golden Boot winner Brahim Diaz. He was also named in CAF’s Team of the Tournament.

Lookman, meanwhile, has hit the ground running since joining Atletico Madrid from Atalanta in January, helping Diego Simeone’s side reach the Copa del Rey final, where they will face Real Sociedad on April 18 in Sevilla. Should he lift the trophy, the winger will become the first Super Eagles player to win the Copa del Rey since Emmanuel Amunike triumphed with Barcelona in 1997.

At the AFCON, Lookman scored three goals and provided four assists, the most of any player at the tournament, and was equally named in CAF’s Team of the Tournament alongside Osimhen.

The pair were not the only Super Eagles stars to shine in Morocco. Defender Calvin Bassey completed 74 passes per 90 minutes, the highest figure recorded at the tournament, and also made the Team of the Tournament.

Midfielder Alex Iwobi made a record-breaking 46 line-breaking passes and set a new record for the most AFCON appearances by a Nigerian midfielder with 24. Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali was the hero of the third-place play-off victory over Egypt, earning man of the match honours with a penalty shootout display that was one clean sheet away from matching the tournament record of five held by Yassine Bounou and Edouard Mendy.

Collectively, the Super Eagles were the standout team of the tournament in statistical terms, winning the most consecutive games with five, scoring the most goals with 14, including three on fast breaks, and recording the highest average possession at 66 per cent. Super Eagles players won the man of the match award in six of Nigeria’s seven matches at the competition.

Oliseh’s comments build on the foundations laid by the squad in Morocco, where Nigeria claimed a record-extending ninth bronze medal. The former Nigeria captain made clear, however, that individual brilliance and continental medals are no longer enough, and this golden generation must now win trophies.