The Golden Eaglets lost 2-1 to Niger Republic before drawing 1-1 with Ivory Coast, ending their qualification hopes.

The setback means the five-time world champions will miss both the 2027 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup, extending their absence from the global tournament since 2019.

”Obviously, the first impressions are unhappiness, disappointment. Now we are out of the tournament and more bigger picture is that we won’t go to the U-17 AFCON next year, we are unhappy and very disappointed overall,” said Uwajamomere.

“For my players, obviously young boys, 15, 16 year olds, they still have years ahead of them. This is like the first chapter of their career going into elite football.

“So it’s just to learn from this and just use this as an experience going forward in their career.

“For the fans back home, it’s a bitter feeling, a lot of them probably hate us right now but this is normal because they are fans, they are proud Nigerians, they want and they expect us to win every game, every tournament, that’s normal, back home I will feel disappointed.

“The only thing I can say to them is to forgive us because the disappointment they feel I’m also feeling, my players are also feeling the same disappointment.”