At just 17 years old, the striker made his full Super Eagles debut on April 22, 2000, in a 4-0 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying victory against Eritrea. He scored his first international goal two months later in a match against Namibia.
Yakubu went on to become one of Nigeria’s most prolific strikers in football history, scoring 21 goals in 58 appearances over a decade – a record surpassed only by Rasheed Yekini, Segun Odegbami, and Victor Osimhen.
Despite his significant contributions to the West Africans, including securing the 2002 AFCON bronze medal, the goal machine is often remembered for missing a crucial opportunity in the 2-2 draw with South Korea at the 2010 FIFA World Cup – one of the most discussed moments in Nigerian football history.
Nevertheless, 'the Yak' feels fulfilled to have had the rare privilege of representing his country at the AFCON, World Cup, and the Olympics, although he is saddened that his positive moments are often overlooked.
“Me, regret playing for Nigeria? No chance. It is an honour for me playing for Nigeria, every player wants to play for his country. I was born in Nigeria, grew up in Benin, Edo state Nigeria. It is an honour to wear Nigeria’s green and white jersey of Nigeria,” Yakubu told Flashscore in a no-holds-barred interview.
“Being at the World Cup in South Africa is (another) great (opportunity) representing my country. We should all forget the miss and remember the good ones. It is funny when people still talk about it – it is almost 14 years already – and people still talk about the miss and not the good ones.
“They did (not talk) about when I qualified Nigeria for the World Cup in South Korea and Japan but was dropped; they never spoke about that. I still had the courage to take the penalty after 10 minutes and people still send me message about it missing that goal.
“I don’t think we would still win the 2010 World Cup. We have been to other World Cups plus the ones we did not qualify for but people never talked about it.
“We all watch Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, they all miss chances, but people still talk about my own miss – I think people just love me for that.”
After a disappointing start at the 2010 World Cup, with defeats to Argentina and Greece, Lars Lagerback’s Eagles faced South Korea in desperate need of a win to maintain their slim chances of advancing to the knockout stage.
Nigeria got off to a strong start at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, with Kalu Uche scoring the opening goal in the 12th minute by connecting with an in-swinging cross from Chidi Ordiah.
The Taegeuk Warriors fought back to take the lead with goals from Lee Jung-soo and Park Chu-young. Yakubu had an opportunity to equalise after being set up by Yusuf Ayila, but the striker – known for scoring spectacular goals – missed from just two metres out, laughing in disbelief at his error.
He made amends for his miss by converting a penalty in the 69th minute after Chinedu Obasi was brought down in the box by substitute Kim Namil. However, Nigeria couldn't secure the winning goal and ultimately exited the tournament, finishing at the bottom of Group B.
Yakubu insists that he still endures bullying, but he emphasises that he will never apologise to his fellow Nigerians or his bullies, as the beautiful game is a mix of brilliant goals and missed opportunities from great players.
He continued: “They always try to bring it back and say ‘how I wish you scored, we should have been to the next stage’. Are you sure we could have still won the World Cup?
“Regret missing that chance? Of course, as a football player but we move on from that. I keep getting messages upon messages like ‘we will never forgive you’, ‘we will not forget about the miss’.
“It is good they will never forget about the miss; it is one of the bad misses of the World Cup even me, I will never forget about it, it is part of football.
“They said I was smiling, yes, I was smiling but inside me, do you know how I feel? Do you think you are happy about missing chances? Ronaldo, Messi, (Daniel) Amokachi, Jay Jay (Okocha), (Nwankwo) Kanu and other great players also miss chances but we all move on.”
When asked how his daughters react to the offensive comments directed at him, the ex-Portsmouth star added: “They don’t even care about it. They say ‘how come they never moved on?”
Interestingly, one of his daughters, Katriel, plays netball professionally and is on track to be selected for the English national team.
Yakubu left a significant mark on football as the first African to score a hat-trick in the UEFA Champions League – a milestone he reached against Olympiacos while playing for Maccabi Haifa in 2002. He remains the only Nigerian to have achieved this feat, further solidifying his legendary status.
“To apologise to Nigerians? Never! I will never. They should focus on the situation in the country and stop talking about my chance. No one ever talked about the World Cup I was never taken to; they talk only about the bad ones – that is Nigerians for you,” he continued.
“They don’t talk about the good things you’ve done for the country, sacrificing one’s life for the country. You travel to where there is war to play for your country.
“We did not qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup). Did they speak about it? No. Let's move on and think about the present and not the past. It is not arrogance, but people have to understand the fact that have to understand.
“I know I have served Nigeria and I am happy to wear the (green and white jersey). Ten years playing for Nigeria is great.”
After concluding his illustrious career following his departure from Coventry City in 2017, Yakubu has become one of FIFA's legends and an ambassador dedicated to shaping the future of football.
In addition to his football legacy, he owns a chain of businesses and serves as the CEO of Yak Sports Academy, which has nurtured talent for several European teams.
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