Nigerian shorts spark World Cup drama as Thierry Henry & Zlatan roast IShowSpeed live on TV

Barcelona greats Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Photo by IMAGO

The 2026 FIFA World Cup produced plenty of action on the pitch, but one of the tournament’s funniest moments early on Saturday morning happened away from the game, Soccernet.ng reports.

The drama kicked off when Nigerian football shorts became the focus of a hilarious exchange involving streamer IShowSpeed, former Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimović and retired France forward Thierry Henry.

The incident unfolded partly during an IShowSpeed livestream and a FOX Sports’ live coverage of the tournament shortly before the United States opened their Group D campaign against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

IShowSpeed arrived at a media booth wearing a United States jersey but paired it with green Nigerian football shorts, a combination that immediately caught Zlatan’s attention. Looking at the streamer’s outfit, the former AC Milan and Manchester United star burst out laughing before saying: “Look at this. It’s a big old mess. You have an American shirt, you have Nigerian shorts.”

Speed attempted to defend himself, replying:

“What’s wrong with Nigeria and America? It’s great. Nigeria is great!”

Zlatan agreed with part of the statement but quickly turned the joke back on the streamer, responding:

“Nigeria is great. You’re not great. You came to the wrong stadium with this shorts. You bring bad luck.”

Henry also quipped,

“Nigeria is great. I love Nigeria but not today. Today is for USA.”

Soccer World Cup: Henry, Zlatan blame Speed for USA’s misfortune

The teasing continued when the United States conceded during the conversation. Trying to make light of the situation, Speed shouted:

“As soon as I came, they scored!”

However, Henry and Zlatan insisted the mixed outfit was responsible for the bad luck. Both football icons told him he needed a ‘full combo‘ and should either wear complete American colours or fully represent Nigeria instead of combining the two.

Speed then tried to regain the upper hand by claiming:

“I’m faster than both of you, even in your prime.”

Zlatan responded with a lesson that quickly silenced the YouTuber:

“You may run faster, but I think faster. This is football. You don’t understand.”

The banter escalated again when Speed predicted Portugal would win the World Cup and loudly celebrated Cristiano Ronaldo with his trademark “Sui!” shout. Amused by the noise, Zlatan playfully grabbed the microphone from his hand before the pair jokingly chased him away from the set.

The viral exchange came on the same day the United States recorded a historic 4-1 victory over Paraguay. Goals from Folarin Balogun, an own goal by Damián Bobadilla and a late strike from Gio Reyna helped the Americans secure their biggest-ever scoring performance in a World Cup match.

While Nigeria’s Super Eagles were absent from the tournament after failing to qualify, the country’s green shorts still managed to become one of the most talked-about items of the day.

Imhonlamhen

Imhonlamhen is a football writer and editor at Soccernet.ng with over six years’ experience shaping its editorial voice. A lifelong Arsenal and Super Eagles fan, he combines engineering precision with training in journalism and digital media. He has covered four AFCONs and two Women’s AFCON tournaments, specialising in Super Eagles history and tracking Nigerian players worldwide, while keeping a close eye on the NPFL and emerging homegrown talents.