NFF Officially Blames Dessers for Costly World Cup Qualifying Draw, Labels Performance “Unacceptable”

In an unprecedented and scathing official communiqué, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has publicly singled out striker Cyriel Dessers for blame following the Super Eagles’ 1-1 draw with South Africa, a result that has severely jeopardized the country’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The mail, released by the NFF Communications Department and obtained by our newsroom, leaves no room for interpretation, stating that Dessers’ performance “fell far below the standard required for international football” and was a primary reason for the team’s failure to secure a crucial victory in Bloemfontein.

The strongly-worded statement highlights a “thorough review of the match” which revealed “significant deficiencies in our attacking play, particularly in the role of the centre-forward.” It directly attributes the team’s struggles to Dessers’ “inability to latch onto passes, lack of aerial presence, and failure to energise the attack.”

This public condemnation comes after a match where Dessers, starting in hopes of redeeming a poor substitute appearance in Uyo, failed to make an impact. The NFF’s mail explicitly states that his display “did not meet the criteria” of “utmost commitment, technical proficiency, and physical readiness” required for the national team and is “deemed unacceptable.”

The mail contrasts Dessers’ performance with the “resilience shown by other players,” specifically praising defender Calvin Bassey for his driving run that led to the equalizer and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru for creating opportunities.

This move by the NFF is a dramatic escalation in its handling of player performance criticism, typically kept within internal technical reports. It places immense pressure on head coach Eric Chelle to drop the striker for the must-win fixture against Lesotho on October 10th and signals a clear ultimatum to Dessers regarding his future with the national team.

The Super Eagles, now on 11 points from 8 matches, find their World Cup hopes hanging by a thread, with the federation’s frustration now boiling over into an official, public rebuke of one of its own players.