{"id":66047,"date":"2026-01-06T17:45:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T17:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/afcon-2025-lookman-defends-osimhen-after-bust-up"},"modified":"2026-01-06T18:13:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T18:13:38","slug":"afcon-2025-lookman-defends-osimhen-after-bust-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/afcon-2025-lookman-defends-osimhen-after-bust-up","title":{"rendered":"AFCON 2025 Lookman Defends Osimhen After Bust-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. <\/strong> <\/span>Ademola Lookman has moved to calm tensions in the Super Eagles camp after Victor Osimhen\u2019s dramatic walkout during their latest outing sparked widespread debate.<\/p>\n<p>The Galatasaray striker, who is regarded as Nigeria\u2019s talisman, was visibly frustrated in the course of the game and was seen berating his teammates after a series of missed opportunities and breakdowns in play. Moments later, Osimhen headed straight down the tunnel, a gesture that quickly set social media and pundits alight with speculation about unrest in the squad.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to reporters after the match, Lookman played down the incident and threw his weight behind his strike partner, insisting the episode should not distract from the team\u2019s objectives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have not seen Osimhen but I don\u2019t think that matters,\u201d Lookman said. \u201cVic is our number one guy, everybody knows this, he\u2019s a top striker. So, all of that doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Atalanta forward\u2019s comments underline the respect Osimhen commands within the dressing room, even on a night that saw emotions spill over. For many observers, the outburst was a reflection of the high standards the former Napoli man sets for himself and those around him rather than a sign of deeper problems.<\/p>\n<p>Sources close to the team suggest there is no rift between Osimhen and his teammates, with the coaching staff also understood to have treated the incident as a heat-of-the-moment reaction in a high-pressure environment.<\/p>\n<p>With crucial fixtures ahead, Lookman\u2019s message was clear: Nigeria cannot afford distractions. All eyes will now be on how Osimhen responds on the pitch, where his goals and leadership remain central to the Super Eagles\u2019 ambitions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Lesotho<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. Ademola Lookman has moved to calm tensions in the Super Eagles camp after Victor Osimhen\u2019s dramatic walkout during their latest outing sparked widespread debate. The Galatasaray striker, who is regarded as Nigeria\u2019s talisman, was visibly frustrated in the course of the game and was seen berating his teammates after a series of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":66046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-66047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>AFCON 2025 Lookman Defends Osimhen After Bust-Up - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Lesotho. 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