Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, NFF General Secretary, expressed sadness that the team did not qualify despite the overwhelming support of the government and the Nigerian people, who filled the 60,491-seat Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja for the match against Ghana’s Black Stars on Tuesday.

“There was nothing the team needed that was lacking. The Government provided necessary support; the NFF put all logistics in place with the active support of the Sports Ministry and; Nigerians turned out en masse to support the team. The truth is that we left nothing to chance. It is sad that things turned out the way they did.

“Sport is about winning and losing. Nobody wants to lose but sometimes it happens that way. We are quite sad that despite playing a draw in Kumasi, the Super Eagles could not win here in Abuja. We apologize unreservedly to the Government and people of Nigeria for this non-qualification.

The Super Eagles were held to a 1-1 draw by the Black Stars, putting an end to their chances of competing in the FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar, as Ghana took advantage of the away-goal rule.