You Still Have a Long Way to Go in Shaping Up, Qualifying for World Cup, Chelle Tells Super Eagles

The Super Eagles of Nigeria are gearing up for their third friendly match in two weeks, facing Russia on Friday in Moscow, after a successful outing at the Unity Cup in London. However, Coach Eric Chelle has cautioned that the team still has a long way to go in terms of improvement if they hope to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Chelle, who took over the reins of the team in January, has a mandate to lead the Eagles to the final of the 2025 AFCON in Morocco, as well as turn around the team’s fortunes in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

The Franco-Malian coach expressed his thoughts on the team’s current state, saying, “We have an important goal in September. So I saw this as an opportunity to give many players a chance to show what they can do. And I’m really happy and proud of them because, in just two or three training sessions, they worked really hard. That’s the reality.”

The Super Eagles had a decent run at the Unity Cup, scoring goals and creating chances, but Chelle acknowledges that there is still much work to be done. “During the Unity Cup, we scored goals, we created chances, and we showed some very good things in our game. But of course, we still need to work. We have weaknesses. We need to improve, to step up as a group and as a team, especially if we want to qualify for the World Cup,” he said.

Chelle emphasized the importance of teamwork, saying, “The most important thing for me is that we play together both in defence and offence. We need to improve all the time, mentally and physically. We must become warriors on the pitch.” The 47-year-old coach began his tenure with a win and a draw in two World Cup qualifying games, but it was not enough to revive the team’s chances of picking the sole ticket from their group.

With four games left in the series, the Super Eagles will face Rwanda at home and South Africa away in September, before taking on Lesotho away and the Benin Republic at home in October.

To stand a chance of qualifying, they need to win all their remaining matches, as they currently sit fourth in Group C with just seven points, six points behind leaders South Africa. Coach Chelle and his team will be looking to use their upcoming friendly matches to fine-tune their strategy and improve their performance ahead of the crucial qualifiers.