Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen was conspicuously missing when the Super Eagles were walloped 3-0 by the Wild Dogs of Guinea-Bissau in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in September.

The Djurtus thumped the 2013 AFCON winners at the Estádio Nacional 24 de Setembro in Bissau to claim top spot in Group L.

Despite Nigeria’s 2-1 victory over Madagascar in the previous game, the one thing that is glaring is how the team struggles anytime Victor Osimhen is not on the field.

The 27-year-old is set to miss another AFCON qualifiers after sustaining a knee injury during Galatasaray’s victory over Stuttgart in the Champions League last week, making him unavailable for the Tanzania double-header.

Coventry City's Taiwo Awoniyi, Venezia's Akor Adams and Ajax's Tolu Arokodare are the attacking trident who were handed call-ups by Eric Chelle for the assignment at hand.

In this piece, MyNigeria Sports looks at five matches where the Super Eagles have struggled without Osimhen’s involvement.

1. Nigeria 1-1 Lesotho (2026 World Cup qualifiers, matchday 1)

Nigeria failed to win the opening match of their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, scoring just once in a home draw — with Osimhen unavailable.

2. Nigeria 1-1 Zimbabwe (2026 World Cup qualifiers, matchday 2)

Another game, another draw. Nigeria were held again without Osimhen in the squad, extending their winless start to the campaign.

3. Benin Republic 2-1 Nigeria (2026 World Cup qualifiers, matchday 4, Abidjan)

Nigeria’s winless run turned into an outright defeat, losing to Benin Republic in a game Osimhen also missed — their fourth match in a row without a win.

4. Nigeria 1-1 Zimbabwe (2026 World Cup qualifiers, return fixture)

The one rare exception that proves the rule: even with Osimhen on the pitch for the full match and scoring in the 74th minute, Nigeria still couldn’t get the win, as Zimbabwe equalized in the 90th minute. It remains the only game of the entire 10-match campaign in which Nigeria failed to win with Osimhen playing more than 45 minutes.

5. Guinea-Bissau 3-0 Nigeria (2027 AFCON qualifiers, September 29, 2026)

The latest and most painful example. With Osimhen sidelined through injury, Nigeria suffered a heavy defeat that handed Eric Chelle his first loss in charge and allowed Guinea-Bissau to leapfrog them to the top of Group L.

Nigeria eventually missed out on the 2026 World Cup altogether, despite Osimhen scoring a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Benin in their final group match — South Africa’s 3-0 win over Rwanda the same night proved decisive.

These statistics make it clear: in a huge percentage of competitive matches Osimhen has missed, Nigeria have struggled to win — a pattern that directly contributed to the Super Eagles missing the 2026 World Cup, and one that has now followed them into the 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign.

This should come as a wake-up call for Eric Chelle and his technical team for the upcoming matches against the Taifa Stars of Tanzania.

WDN