The Trabzonspor striker, fresh from finishing as the Turkish Süper Lig’s joint top scorer with 22 goals, says the World Cup absence stings but doesn’t change what this team is capable of doing on the pitch.
Paul Onuachu has come out ahead of Nigeria’s June 10 friendly against Portugal to say the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the World Cup is still painful, but that the quality in the squad is more than enough to compete with the best teams in the world, FootballInNigeria.com.ng reports. “It is still disappointing that we will not be at the World Cup,” the Trabzonspor centre-forward said. “We have a squad full of quality players. I believe we can compete with any team in the world.”
Those are not the words of a man short on confidence, and Onuachu has every right to speak that way right now. He has just come off one of the best individual seasons of his career, finishing as joint top scorer in the Turkish Süper Lig with 22 goals in 30 league appearances, sharing the Golden Boot with Istanbul Basaksehir’s Eldor Shomurodov. He also won the Süper Lig Goal of the Season award for a stunning overhead kick against Fatih Karagumruk, and helped Trabzonspor clinch the Turkish Cup title by beating Konyaspor 2-1 in the final in May.
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Onuachu’s Message to the Doubters
There’s a version of this story where a player who has missed multiple major tournaments goes quiet about his country’s prospects. Onuachu isn’t doing that. He spoke with conviction when asked about the Portugal match, saying the Eagles are ready to show their strength on the night. “It is always a great feeling coming back to the national team,” he added. “We are ready to show our strength against Portugal.”
It’s a statement of intent from a player who scored against Poland in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw in Warsaw, where he and Terem Moffi had the Eagles 2-1 up in stoppage time before Poland equalised with a long-range effort in the final seconds. That kind of late concession was frustrating, but it also showed a team that can go toe-to-toe with European opposition, even without the pressure of competitive football to sharpen them.
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The World Cup Absence and What Comes Next
Nigeria’s failure to reach this year’s World Cup in North America is the second consecutive absence from the tournament, and it has been the backdrop to everything the national team has done since the qualification campaign ended. The Eagles finished second in their group behind South Africa and had a chance to qualify through the Africa intercontinental playoff in Morocco, where they lost on penalties to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Congolese went on to beat Jamaica 1-0 in the inter-confederation final in Mexico to book their place at the tournament.
Coach Eric Chelle has framed the Portugal and Poland games as the start of something rather than a consolation prize. The team are in Group L of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers alongside hosts Tanzania, Madagascar, and Guinea-Bissau, with the campaign beginning in September. A strong performance against Portugal, one of the tournament favourites and a side expected to field Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, and the PSG quartet of Vitinha, Joao Neves, Nuno Mendes and Goncalo Ramos, would do more for team morale and public belief than any press conference statement could.
Onuachu’s voice carries weight in that dressing room. At 32, with 32 caps and the experience of playing at the highest level in Turkey, Belgium, and England, he’s one of the senior figures in Chelle’s group. His confidence, grounded in a season where he lit up the Süper Lig, is exactly the kind of energy a squad that needs a lift right now can feed off. Those tracking Nigeria’s AFCON qualifier build up can stay updated on fixtures and odds via today’s Bet9ja promo code.
The question Wednesday night will be whether that belief translates into something visible on the pitch against a side preparing for the biggest competition in football. For Onuachu, the answer is already decided.
📌 Did You Know?
- Paul Onuachu stands 2.01 metres tall, making him one of the tallest outfield players in international football. Despite his imposing build, he is known for technical goals as much as aerial ability, as his Süper Lig Goal of the Season overhead kick against Fatih Karagumruk showed.
- Onuachu was born in Owerri, Imo State, and is a product of Danish club Midtjylland’s academy system before going on to win back to back Danish Superliga titles and be named Belgian Footballer of the Year in 2020/21 while at Genk.
- He joined Trabzonspor in July 2025 on a contract running until June 2028, returning to Turkey after a previous stint in the Süper Lig during the 2023/24 season.
- Trabzonspor finished third in the 2025/26 Süper Lig, earning a spot in the UEFA Europa League for next season. They beat Galatasaray champions and Fenerbahce in the same campaign before lifting the Turkish Cup.
- Onuachu’s 22 Süper Lig goals in 2025/26 made him Trabzonspor’s top scorer in all competitions with 26 goals across 36 appearances, according to season records. He was involved in 39.3 percent of the club’s league goals.
- Nigeria have never beaten Portugal in an official fixture. Their last meeting, a November 2022 friendly in Lisbon, ended 4-0 to Portugal with Bruno Fernandes scoring a brace.
- Onuachu has scored four goals in 32 international appearances for Nigeria, a modest return that reflects how rarely he has been trusted as the first-choice striker in recent years, despite his consistent club level productivity.
