A storm in a blue sky. Nigeria’s resounding 4-0 victory over Mozambique on Monday in the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 was marred by a tense exchange between Nigeria’s two attacking stars, Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman. In the 63rd minute, the Super Eagles were already leading 3-0 thanks to a hat trick from the duo (one for Lookman, two for Osimhen). Osimhen then stormed over, furious, to confront Lookman, accusing him of having forgotten about him during a play while trying to go it alone.
Through this article on 96APK, let us understand what really happened between Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman in the round of 16 game against Mozambique.
“It’s a team game!”
After pushing away a teammate, the former Lille player approached the current Atalanta Bergamo player, repeatedly saying, “Hey, it’s a team game.” Lookman then replied, “You’ve scored twice, you’ve already scored twice.” But this apparently didn’t calm the former Napoli idol, now at Galatasaray, down too much. Osimhen appeared to have asked to be substituted before leaving the bench without celebrating the qualification.
In the minutes following this incident, the striker remained very agitated, seemingly demanding that coach Eric Chelle substitute his teammate. He then asked to leave the pitch himself, which he did a few moments later when he was replaced by Moses Simon (68th minute). He sat on the bench, his face grim, before rushing to the locker room at the final whistle, while the rest of his teammates remained on the field to celebrate their qualification for the quarterfinals.
When questioned about the incident, Lookman preferred to sidestep the issue. “No, I didn’t see it,” he stated. “But I don’t think it’s really important. The team won 4-0; he’s our best player, everyone knows that. He’s a top striker, an exceptional player, the rest doesn’t really matter.” In the mixed zone, he also downplayed the incident. “It’s just football, he’s my brother,” he insisted.
The coach’s response:
Eric Chelle, too, was tight-lipped on the subject, promising to resolve the issue internally. “This matter concerns my management of the team and what happened on the field,” he stated. “It will remain within the group. I don’t need to tell you what happened or what will happen.” This outburst nonetheless tarnishes the overall impressive performance of the Super Eagles, who are establishing themselves as serious title contenders. But some internal tensions are simmering.
After flying into a rage, the 26-year-old striker vented his frustration to coach Eric Chelle, demanding to be substituted. The change was made a few minutes later. At the final whistle, Victor Osimhen was seen walking alone toward the locker room while his Nigerian teammates celebrated qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals.
Addressing the situation in his post-match press conference, Chelle kept his response brief and measured. “This is a matter of how I handled what happened on the field,” he said. “I don’t need to explain what occurred or what will happen next. I’ll keep that to myself. Everything that happens within my group stays within my group. We will discuss it later.”
The coach further added that, He said, “There’s no room for egos and attitudes in this team, everybody works as much as the next. If he has to be on the bench for the next match to learn his lesson. So be it!!”
