Former Venezuela international Alejandro Moreno says Victor Osimhen will be key to turning disorder into results when the Super Eagles take on Gabon in the 2026 FIFA World Cup African playoffs at 5 p.m. tonight.

Osimhen, who scored a hat-trick in Nigeria’s 4-0 win over Benin Republic in October, has a knack for delivering when the pressure is highest. Moreno praised the striker as a natural goalscorer, saying his current club situation in Europe does not diminish his impact.

“All I know is that when they needed him to score big goals, Nigeria, the last time against Benin, hat-trick. I don’t know where he’s playing or where he’s not playing, he’s a goalscorer,” Moreno said on ESPN FC.

He added that the Nigerian striker’s influence could be the difference in the playoff. “And when they needed him to have a big game and he did that. What else can you ask for from the guy, I don’t know,” Moreno said.

Naija News reports that the Super Eagles are going into the game after boycotting two training sessions in protest of unpaid backlog of match bonuses.

Moreno also reflected on the Super Eagles’ habit of performing amid off-field turmoil.

“In all honesty, in every important moment, whenever the Super Eagles have some qualification big games or whenever the circumstances are leading up to a big game, there’s always some sort of issues going on with this team, federation or players and the lack of organization and logical issues but apparently this is where they thrive,” he said.

He believes the team’s ability to flourish in chaos could carry them past Gabon.

He said, “In chaos they thrive and it doesn’t get more chaotic than having to have issues with the federation ahead of a huge match. So if in chaos they thrive, if we go with that theory then Nigeria advances somehow.”

Naija News reports that the Super Eagles resumed training on Wednesday and the Nigeria Football Federation has confirmed that the match bonus issue has been resolved. This means that tonight game will go on as planned contrary to earlier threats of boycott.

A win would keep the Super Eagles’ 2026 World Cup dreams alive as they chase a spot in the tournament hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

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