Bernard Bulbua: “The Super Eagles were thinking about their girlfriends, not the game”

29.09.26 FT AFCON - Africa Cup of Nations

Guinea-Bissau

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Nigeria

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Nigeria’s start to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying campaign has been far from convincing.

After scraping past Madagascar with a 2-1 victory on matchday one, the Super Eagles suffered a shock 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in their second qualifying match.

The result sparked widespread frustration among Nigerian supporters, particularly given the wealth of talent available to the national team, with several of its key players featuring at top European clubs.

To analyse Nigeria’s disappointing start, Foot Africa spoke to Bernard Bulbua, a former Flying Eagles star who represented Nigeria at U20 level.

He shared his thoughts on the defeat, the players’ lack of focus, Eric Chelle’s role and the issues currently affecting the Super Eagles.

First of all, do you intend to continue your career as a professional footballer?

Yeah, definitely. I want to continue my career as a professional footballer. I’m only 29, and I’ll turn 30 on October 11 this year, so I still have a lot to give. I’m currently without a club, but hopefully I’ll get a contract soon. I know I’m a good player. Sometimes injuries can slow great players down, but I still believe I have a lot to offer.

How do you explain Nigeria’s defeat against Guinea-Bissau?

I think it came down to a lack of seriousness. Nigerian players sometimes have this mindset that we’re one of the best teams in Africa, so they can approach certain games too casually. There were also things happening off the pitch. Most of them met their wives or girlfriends in Abuja before travelling to Guinea-Bissau, and for me, that’s not ideal when you’re on national team duty. You have to stay focused.

Was this defeat mainly due to individual mistakes or collective shortcomings?

I would say it was a collective problem. You can’t concede three goals and blame everything on one individual mistake. The team wasn’t compact enough, and the recovery was very poor. Those things made it easy for Guinea-Bissau to punish us.

Do you think the coach should be blamed for the defeat?

No, I don’t think the loss has anything to do with the coach. I would put the blame mainly on the players. Losing 3-0 is unacceptable, especially for Nigeria.

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Personally, I like Eric Chelle. I don’t see him as the kind of coach who takes bribes, unlike what we’ve seen with some Nigerian coaches in the past. I think he deserves more time and more opportunities to work with the team.

Nigeria has a squad full of talented players who play in Europe. Why didn’t that quality show sufficiently against Guinea-Bissau?

Lookman and Iwobi were played out of position, and the team lacked compactness in that game. The recovery was also very poor, and that’s what led to those three goals.

For me, there was also a lack of commitment. Some of the players were meeting their girlfriends, if you know what I mean. You can’t be doing those kinds of things when you’re in the middle of an important international assignment. You have to be completely focused.

What corrections need to be made before the next game?

I think Coach Eric knows what needs to be done. He’s a good coach. But personally, I don’t think Awoniyi currently has what it takes to start games for Nigeria. I played with him from U17 through U20 and U23 level, so I know him quite well. Football-wise, I don’t think he’s at the level required to start for the national team right now.

Can we speak of a dependence on Victor Osimhen for Nigeria?

Yeah, we need Victor, no doubt about that. His fighting spirit is very important for the team. But Nigeria has so many good players that we shouldn’t depend on just one player. We have enough quality in the squad to compete even when one player is unavailable.

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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Guinea-Bissau

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AFCON - Africa Cup of Nations