The spat between Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman will not affect the Super Eagles run at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), says a former media officer of the team, Toyin Ibitoye.

Osimhen confronted Lookman in the second half of Nigeria’s 4-0 crushing of Mozambique in a last-16 tie at the AFCON on Monday.

The Galatasaray man and the 2023 African Player of the Year squared up to the Atalanta winger for not passing the ball to him in a promising area. Osimhen demanded to be subbed immediately and stormed into the tunnel at the final whistle.

But Ibitoye believes the team’s officials will handle the situation, arguing that the incident will “not be a problem at all for them”.

“We will manage the situation because we are in a tournament setting. You don’t want anything to disrupt the rhythm that the team has built.

“So they understand him, and I’m sure that issue has been sorted. This is not the first time in this tournament that it is happening,” Ibitoye said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.

“You remember the initial game when he was quarreling with the assistant referee and telling him, ‘Now I’ve scored a good goal, let’s see whether you can disallow this.’ You also remember him talking to the Tunisian bench and all of that. But that’s Victor for you.

“It will be sorted, but that situation needs to be better managed. I know these boys very well — they’ll probably laugh over it.”

The breakdown in relationship between Lookman and Osimhen was a tale of two. At the start of the game, they looked like a partnership made in heaven, tearing the Mozambican defence apart.

Lookman gave him the assist for Nigeria’s first goal. Osimhen and the winger slid together in the wet pitch, beaming with smiles. It was a chemistry many teams would envy.

Minutes later, the forward pair, however, bickered with themselves. Osimhen was furious, pointing angrily at Lookman for not giving him a pass.

Despite being subbed off, Osimhen left the team immediately after the match and snubbed the post-match media outings.

The development sparked concerns from football fans and analysts. But Ibitoye says the Super Eagles are used to bantering with themselves.

“If you’ve been seeing a lot of their videos, Chukwueze and Bassey, you know, carrying over what happened at Fulham when Bassey was in a position to pass the ball and instead ballooned it, and Chukwueze said, ‘You ballooned it like an amateur player,’” he said.

“Later, Chukwueze had a chance to take a free kick and ballooned it, and Bassey retaliated by saying, ‘That free kick, you ballooned it like an amateur player.’ They are used to the banter, and I’m sure that issue will not be a problem at all for them.” (Channels TV)

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