The debate around how Eric Chelle picks his Super Eagles squad has increased ahead of the Unity Cup in London next month, with a former Nigeria international making a case that the coaching staff needs to look at how the best-run national teams in the world go about their business, Footynaija.com reports.
Duke Udi, the 49-year-old former midfielder who represented Nigeria and spent the core of his club career in Switzerland with Grasshopper Club Zurich before later featuring for Shooting Stars, has watched the conversation around squad selection unfold with growing frustration.
He made his remarks ahead of Nigeria’s participation in the Unity Cup, where the Super Eagles will face India, Zimbabwe and Jamaica in London between May 26 and May 30, a tournament Chelle will use to assess depth and set the tone for the next cycle following the World Cup absence.
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For Udi, the framework guiding those assessments needs to be clear and uncompromising.
‘Once you are performing, you are entitled to play’
Speaking in an interview with Brila FM, as revealed by Pulse Sports, Udi called out any selection influenced by sentiment, reputation or personal connections.
“Every Nigerian who wants to play for the Super Eagles should be chosen on merit. Once you are qualified, good enough, and performing well at your club, then you are entitled to play,” he said.
He pointed to England and Senegal as the models Nigeria should be studying.
“We need to learn from the English and Senegalese national teams. Sometimes when you do things your own way and it’s not working, you have to look at those doing it better and learn from them. If you look at the Senegal national team, they pick players based on merit and who is in form. You must prove yourself to get called up,” he stated.
Udi also applied the same logic to Stanley Nwabali, who has been without a club since leaving Chippa United in February, insisting that a player without a team has no business in the national squad.
“The national team isn’t a rehabilitation centre. Nwabali isn’t a bad goalkeeper, but for now he is clubless, so how do you bring a clubless player into the national team? As I always say, ‘I get am before no be property.’ You should always pick based on form,” he added.
