Nigeria finished the four-nation invitational tournament in Antalya, Turkey with four points from two games, winning one and drawing one to end a March window that gave Eric Chelle more information about his squad than any result could fully capture, Footynaija.com reports.
The tournament brought together Nigeria, Jordan, Iran and Costa Rica, originally scheduled for Amman before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East forced a relocation to Turkey.
Each side played two games with no knockout stage. Iran and Jordan used the window as World Cup preparation. For Nigeria, this was about rebuilding, assessing depth, and giving players a platform to stake their claim ahead of the 2027 AFCON qualifier cycle.
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How the tournament finished
Nigeria led the standings with four points, followed by Jordan on two after their draw with Nigeria and their earlier 2-2 against Costa Rica. Iran picked up a draw with Costa Rica after losing to Nigeria, leaving Costa Rica with one point from their two outings.
Nigeria’s results: beat Iran 2-1, drew with Jordan 2-2.
Goals scored: Moses Simon, Akor Adams, Emmanuel Fernandez.
Goals conceded: Mehdi Taremi, Mousa Al-Tamari, Al Aldahod.
What Chelle learned
The wins alone do not tell the real story of this window. Chelle came to Antalya without Victor Osimhen, Stanley Nwabali, Calvin Bassey and Ola Aina. He handed first caps to Emmanuel Fernandez, Yira Sor, Philip Otele and Chibuike Nwaiwu, four players who had never worn the green shirt before.
Of the four, Fernandez made the strongest impression, scoring the decisive second goal against Jordan before the draw was conceded, and looking composed enough to suggest he belongs at this level.
Nwaiwu came off the bench in both games and handled himself well on each occasion. He is not yet ready to start for Nigeria, but the Trabzonspor centre-back showed enough quality to remain in Chelle’s plans going forward.
Sor and Otele had limited time to make an impression, but their inclusion is a sign that Chelle is actively widening the pool.
The more established names carried themselves well for the most part. Moses Simon captained the side against Jordan and scored in both games across the window, proving his value.
Akor Adams scored against Iran and worked hard in both fixtures. Alex Iwobi’s red card in stoppage time against Jordan was a frustrating end to a window in which he had otherwise performed with the quality and influence that makes him one of Nigeria’s most important players.
The one area that demands attention is game management. Nigeria led twice against Jordan and conceded twice. Against Iran, they nearly surrendered a two-goal lead before holding on.
Chelle will have noted that, because at AFCON level, those lapses cost trophies.
The AFCON 2027 qualifier draw is the next marker on the calendar, and when those games come, Chelle will have a better sense of his best eleven than he did before Antalya.
That, more than any result, was the point of this tournament.
