‘It was very painful that Nigeria missed out of the Mundial’ Villareal FC attacker laments
Samuel Chukwueze failed to bail out Nigeria against Black Stars during 2022 world cup qualifiers showdown in Ghana
By Rasheed Adewuyi
Villarreal FC forward Samuel Chukwueze has said that he did not watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar because of the Super Eagles elimination by the Black Stars of Ghana.
Chukwueze told Futbol Picante, a Sports program on Fox sports that it was very painful that Nigeria missed out of the Mundial adding that it is the dream of every player to represent their country at the world cup.
Nigeria played out a goalies draw against Ghana in the first leg of the playoff at the Baba Yara stadium in Kumasi and went on to settle for a 1-1 draw at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja, thereby conceding the world cup qualification opportunity to Ghana on the away goal rule.
” It was so painful that I didn’t even watch any of the matches until the Atlas Lions of Morocco qualified for the Semi final. I tried to console myself by watching the first African nation to reach that state of the competition but the outcome made me sad because I want them to play in the final ” Chukwueze told Futbol Picante.
Morocco defeated Spain 3-0 via penalties in the round of 16 , tamed Portugal 1-0 in the quarter final, lost to 2018 Champions, France (2-0) in the semi final and also lost the third place match 2-1 to Croatia.
“It is also very painful that Morocco lost the day I decided to watch the world cup. The results didn’t go down well with me because I wanted the Africans to qualify for the final and win the trophy for the first time in the history of the competition,” he added.
Sports Joust reliably gathered that Chukwueze, Victor Osimhen, Moses Simon and Ademola Lookman wept bitterly inside the Super Eagles dressing room after the Nigeria versus Ghana match in Abuja.
The outcome of the match did not go down well with fans and pundits in Nigeria forcing Irate fans to damage some equipment at the MKO Abiola Stadium.
FIFA has placed an indefinite ban on the Abuja stadium following the crowd violence that trailed the Nigeria/Ghana match.