As the Super Eagles gear up for their crucial Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 match, a chorus of Nigerian supporters in Morocco is raising a familiar but urgent demand: the team desperately needs a creative midfield general in the mould of the legendary Jay Jay Okocha.
The Vacant Throne in Nigeria's Midfield
The Super Eagles, who won all three Group F matches in the city of Fes, will face Mozambique on Monday, January 5th, 2026, for a place in the quarter-finals. While the results have been positive, a section of the passionate Nigerian fanbase believes a key ingredient is missing from the squad's recipe for a fourth AFCON title.
Speaking to The Guardian after Nigeria's 3-1 victory over Uganda, fan Ugochukwu Nnaji, who travelled from Portugal, did not mince words. He stated that despite the perfect group stage record, the team lacks a quality playmaker like Okocha. "Okocha did not just speak the football language, but he was poetry in motion," Nnaji reminisced. He emphasized that the midfield remains a significant vacuum, calling it the team's "workshop" that repairs mistakes from other areas.
A Nostalgic Cry for Flair and Control
Another supporter, Jasper Owolabi, painted a vivid picture of the past to highlight present shortcomings. He described watching the Super Eagles in the 1990s and early 2000s—featuring stars like Okocha, Kanu Nwankwo, and Sunday Oliseh—as a "cultural event" filled with inventive, swaggering football. He contrasted that era with today's style, which he termed mere '"kick and follow."
Owolabi acknowledged current midfielders like Alex Iwobi and Wilfred Ndidi but pointed out a critical weakness. "The entire team breaks down once the game gets to 75 minutes," he observed, noting that this is precisely when a world-class midfielder should take control, hold possession, and dictate play to relieve pressure and conserve the team's energy.
Technical Crew and Historical Context
Band Coordinator of the Nigeria Supporters Club, Ademola Anawode, suggested a potential solution: bringing Okocha himself into the technical crew to tutor the current generation. He recalled Okocha's presence during the successful 2013 AFCON campaign under Stephen Keshi as a blueprint.
The President of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Isaiah Benjamin, supported the fans' sentiments, stating that calling for a solid midfield is in order, just as he would want to see another stalwart like Calvin Bassey in defence.
Monday's match in Fes will be the sixth senior encounter between Nigeria and Mozambique. Nigeria has won four of the previous five, including their only AFCON meeting—a 3-0 victory in Lubango, Angola, in January 2010. That win, under coach Shuaibu Amodu, propelled that Eagles squad to the semi-finals.
As the knockout stages begin, the message from the stands is clear: for Nigeria to truly soar in Morocco and lift the trophy, finding a heir to Jay Jay Okocha's creative throne is not just a wish but a perceived necessity.
