A senior official of the Nigerian Football Federation has debunked circulating rumours that Super Eagles forward and Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen is set to leave the Nigeria camp at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
This was disclosed by a FIFA and CAF-accredited journalist, Adepoju Samuel, who spoke with the official about the outburst between Osimhen and Ademola Lookman during the round of 16 game against Mozambique, which ended 4-0 in favour of the Super Eagles.
Samuel wrote on his X handle on Tuesday, “A top team official just confirmed the latest situation over yesterday’s incident.
“The official said everything has been sorted since last night, and we are all good. There was no discussion about Osimhen leaving the tournament. The issue has been resolved as a family.”
Recall that Nigerian football fans criticised Osimhen for his angry outburst at Lookman during the game.
The Galatasaray striker was captured on camera yelling at Lookman in the 63rd minute after the Atalanta man missed a chance when Osimhen was open.
Lookman had already created two chances for Osimhen at that point, with one being a direct assist and the other coming through Akor Adams.
In the footage, Osimhen first pulled away from captain Wilfred Ndidi, then pointed his finger angrily at Lookman before shouting his displeasure at his teammate. At the end, he could be heard saying in pidgin, “No try am again,” which means “do not try that again.”
Osimhen asked to be subbed off subsequently and was then booed off the pitch by the fans as Moses Simon came on for the striker.
The incident sparked widespread criticism on the social media platform X, with fans questioning Osimhen’s attitude despite the team’s dominant performance.
However, reacting on Tuesday, Lookman shared pictures of himself alongside Victor Osimhen and Bruno Onyemaechi on the pitch following Nigeria’s win against Mozambique at the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16, which was played on Monday.
The footballer shared the post on his official Instagram page on Tuesday with the caption,“TOGETHER ALWAYS”.
Also, both the Eagles coach, Eric Chelle and the captain, Wilfred Ndidi, have dismissed the rumoured misunderstanding between the duo talismen while urging Nigerians to keep backing the team as they focus on their next outing against either Algeria or DR Congo in the quarter finals.
