Eric Chelle has declared Nigeria the best team in Africa as the Super Eagles prepare to open their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign against Madagascar in Uyo on Friday, Footynaija reports.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Thursday, the Nigeria coach demanded aggression and intensity from his players at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.
“For me, this is the best team in Africa. We are motivated. The first task is to give the signal to every country to know who Nigeria is.
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“We have very good players, they understand everything. It’s not about winning or losing, it’s about the state of mind.
“I want my players to be aggressive on the pitch, to put in a lot of intensity.
“We have to be ambitious, forget what happened last year, and if we do that, we can hope to win every game.”
Nigeria’s Group L opener kicks off at 5pm Nigerian time, with Tanzania already guaranteed a place at AFCON 2027 as one of the co-hosts.
Osimhen absence does not worry Chelle
Victor Osimhen will watch from the sidelines after the Galatasaray striker was ruled out of both September qualifiers while recovering from a right-thigh muscle strain suffered against Başakşehir.
Chelle also confirmed that Alhassan Yusuf and Dele-Bashiru are unavailable, but insisted their absences would not derail Nigeria’s plans.
“We have a lot of injured players. Victor Osimhen, Alhassan Yusuf, Dele-Bashiru, but it’s not a problem for us. We are ready; it’ll be difficult because Madagascar is a big team.
“It’ll be a fight, they defeated Nigeria in 2019.”
Madagascar’s 2-0 victory over Nigeria at AFCON 2019 is still the Barea’s only win in five meetings between the nations.
Chelle addresses Okoye’s late arrival
Maduka Okoye was the last member of Nigeria’s 24-man squad to join camp, arriving after Udinese requested that he complete club activities in Italy.
Chelle refused to reveal whether the goalkeeper would displace Stanley Nwabali.
“I can tell you the truth. He was supposed to come [earlier], but he had to do some things for his club.
“I will manage the situation and make my decision.”
Pressure? Chelle has one answer
Nigeria’s coach also addressed expectations surrounding the Super Eagles amid changes within the Nigeria Football Federation.
“We don’t manage the pressure. We try to deal with the pressure, which is our job.
“The pressure is part of the job, but we want to stay focused on our team, our group. The qualifiers start tomorrow; we have to be ready, first for the team, and then for the country.
“There’s a big game tomorrow, we’ve had the last training session, we’re prepared.”
Nigeria face Madagascar at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Friday at 5pm.
