- Ademola Lookman, Super Eagles forward, has set his sights on qualifying Nigeria for the AFCON 2025 and the 2026 FIFA World Cup
- Lookman, nominated for the Ballon d’Or and CAF Men’s Player of the Year, has excelled for Atalanta and Nigeria with standout performances this year
- The Super Eagles need only one point to secure AFCON qualification, but the World Cup qualifiers remain challenging after a rocky start
Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman, one of Nigeria’s biggest football talents, has set new goals after being nominated for the prestigious 2024 Ballon d'Or and CAF Men's Player of the Year awards.
The Atalanta BC star has declared his ambition to lead Nigeria to the AFCON 2025 and the 2026 FIFA World Cup, building on his recent successes with both his club and national teams.
Lookman’s journey to this point has been nothing short of remarkable, after joining Atalanta in 2022, Lookman rapidly became one of the Italian club’s most valuable assets under coach Gian Piero Gasperini, and in the same year, he confirmed his allegiance to Nigeria’s national team.
This year, Lookman’s dazzling performances on the field earned him nominations for two major awards and helped Atalanta claim its first major trophy since 1963, as they lifted the UEFA Europa League trophy against Bayer Leverkusen.
Lookman was instrumental throughout the campaign and capped it up by scoring a hat trick in the final against the German champions, who were almost unbeaten throughout the league season.
Notably, his success was not just limited to club football. During the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Lookman showed his ability to shine on the international stage, leading Nigeria to the final and scoring three goals, which earned him a spot in the tournament's best XI.
Although Nigeria ultimately lost to the host nation, Ivory Coast, Lookman’s performances only proved him as one of the continent’s brightest stars and a frontrunner for the CAF award set for December 16 in Morocco.
Looking forward, Lookman expressed confidence in the Super Eagles' potential to succeed under interim manager Augustine Eguavoen,
“It has been great. I have known him, obviously as the coach before he [Eguavoen] gave me my first call-up to play for Nigeria, so I know him very well. We’ve shown good performances as a team in these Afcon qualifiers and now we need to do better consistently.
“We’ve won two games and drawn one game, so we will continue in this manner, and try to win our games. The goal is to qualify for the Afcon and World Cup, so we are looking to do those things,” the star winger said in an interview with 54FootballX.
Nigeria’s path to AFCON 2025 qualification is nearly secured, needing only one more point after being awarded three points due to a Libya airport incident.
The World Cup qualifiers, however, look like a tougher challenge, with the Super Eagles securing only three points from their opening four games, yet, Lookman remains optimistic and focused on his goals.
Super Eagles withdraw from AFCON qualifier after 12-hour airport ordeal in Libya
Previously, TheRadar reported that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) made the difficult decision to withdraw the Super Eagles from their crucial 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Libya.
This decision followed a distressing 12-hour ordeal at Al Abraq International Airport, where the Nigerian team was stranded with no assistance from local authorities. The situation quickly escalated into a diplomatic nightmare, leaving players and officials frustrated as they were abandoned in a strange Libya environment.
