Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa has said that he felt pain after Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The Super Eagles have qualified for the biggest sporting event in the world six times, including the last three.
Super Eagles fail in their World Cup mission
However, they will not make a seventh appearance in Qatar later this year after they failed in the playoff round. Nigeria reached the playoff round after finishing top of their group in the second round.
The playoff round pitted them against their West African rivals Ghana, with the winner across two legs progressing to Qatar.
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Nigeria secured a positive result in the first leg, playing a goalless draw at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi. However, they could only manage a 1-1 draw in the return leg at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, meaning Ghana qualified for the showpiece via the away goals rule.
World Cup failure hurts Musa
The result left a bitter taste in the mouth of Nigerians. Musa has now revealed he felt the same way after the game, adding he stayed without food for three days after the disappointment.
“It was a very big disappointment for me because the World Cup is one of the best tournaments that as a player you want to go there,” the former Leicester City winger told Arise TV.
“At the end of that game, I spent more than three days without eating. Even my wife was worried.
Musa is Nigeria's top scorer at the World Cup, with four goals in the last two editions. The ex-Leicester City man added that the fact he will not get the chance to make more history makes it more painful.
I’ve been to the World Cup twice, and this one, I won’t be there; it’s a painful thing for me. That game against Ghana, I keep on imagining it till now.
"But in football, you have to get a sad day like that.
“The young players still have a lot of time. But I thought that would be my last World Cup.
I can’t say anything more because that’s what God decided is going to happen," he added.
Musa will be 33 before he gets the chance to play at another World Cup.