Former Super Eagles captain and midfielder, Sunday Oliseh, has revealed that the late national team coach, Joe Erico, allegedly stripped himself naked and placed a curse on the Nigerian football team after feeling betrayed over the events surrounding the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

Oliseh made the shocking revelation during an appearance on the Home Turf Podcast, suggesting that the purported curse could be linked to the Super Eagles’ lingering struggles in major tournaments, including the ongoing 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

The 51-year-old recalled that Nigeria’s qualification campaign for the 2002 World Cup was fraught with internal crises and administrative challenges, despite the efforts of coaches Erico, Stephen Keshi, and Shuaibu Amodu, who remarkably guided the team from a five-point deficit behind Liberia to eventual qualification.

“Coach Erico made it very clear before his death that what they did to us in 2002, he sat down in his room naked and cursed Nigeria,” Oliseh stated.

“He was a great man, a lovely, passionate human being. He, Keshi, and Amodu took over when we were five points behind Liberia. Everyone had written us off, but we became united again.”

Oliseh, who captained Nigeria at the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), was later dropped from the World Cup squad for disciplinary reasons. Austin “Jay-Jay” Okocha subsequently assumed the captaincy, leading to Oliseh’s early retirement from international football.