Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has sent a crucial message to his squad ahead of November’s high-stakes CAF World Cup playoffs semi-final clash against Gabon, Footynaija.com reports.
The Super Eagles booked their date with Gabon after a late surge in the latter stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, capped off by a brilliant 4-0 win over Benin Republic, ensured they finished as one of the four best second placed teams for the entire campaign.
Chelle’s side must now beat Gabon and one of Cameroon or DR Congo in the CAF playoffs final before moving on to the inter-confederations playoffs where they must also prove their worth to earn that highly coveted World Cup ticket and the Super Eagles boss knows exactly what his team needs to achieve their goal.
Related Post
“Qualifying for the FIFA World Cup is not a war but it is like a war. My players need to have a warrior state of mind. They have to be like sharks,” the Franco-Malian said in a recent interview on Eagle 7FM.
So far so good for Eric Chelle
Chelle, who took charge of the Super Eagles earlier this year, received the mandate of helping Nigeria avoid consecutive absences at the FIFA World Cup by delivering a ticket to the 2026 edition of the Mundial set to take place in three different host nations including the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Prior to his arrival, Nigeria’s qualification campaign was in disarray, with the Super Eagles failing to win any of their first four matches. They recorded three draws and one defeat in that time and were languishing in fourth position out of the six teams in Group C.
The former Mali boss did well to guide the Super Eagles on an impressive run of four wins and two draws in the six qualifying games he oversaw and while he couldn’t deliver an automatic ticket straight out of Group C, Chelle will be relishing this second chance to achieve his mandate.
