Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Fulham manager Marco Silva revealed that Super Eagles stars Samuel Chukwueze, Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey are still dealing with the emotional impact of Nigeria's painful penalty shootout defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the African final of the 2026 World Cup qualifying playoffs.

Chukwueze, Iwobi and Bassey all started as the Super Eagles lost to the Leopards 4-3 on penalties despite taking an early lead through Frank Onyeka, whose deflected strike beat goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi-Nzau.

A moment of carelessness from Iwobi in midfield, where he was dispossessed and slow to track back, gifted the Democratic Republic of Congo their 32nd-minute equaliser.

During the shootout, Bassey, who had arguably been Nigeria’s standout performer on the night, saw his penalty fly over the crossbar.

The Nigerian trio were among the Fulham players that returned to West London this week ahead of the Premier League game against Sunderland at Craven Cottage, and Silva admitted the mood has been far from uniform within the squad.

On the morale of his players that have been on international breaks, Silva was quoted as saying by the BBC: "Some of them come with completely different feelings. 

"Some have another chance to go and to play the play-offs to be in the World Cup [while] others already qualified. 

"You have different examples - players that lost a chance in penalty shootouts as well. It's part of the business."

Provided they remain injury-free, the Fulham trio are all but certain to be included in the Super Eagles' 2025 Africa Cup of Nations squad in Morocco next month.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel