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From Akanimo Kufre, Uyo
Super Eagles head coach Éric Chelle has declared that Nigeria is ready to send a strong message to the continent when they begin their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign against Madagascar in Uyo on Friday. Chelle spoke with confidence at Thursday’s pre-match press conference, insisting that pressure is part of the responsibility of managing Nigeria and that his players are focused on delivering victory.
Nigeria will host Madagascar at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium before travelling to Guinea-Bissau for their second Group L fixture on September 29.
The pressure surrounding the Super Eagles is heightened by Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the absence of Victor Osimhen from the opening AFCON qualifiers. Osimhen was ruled out after suffering a muscle injury while playing for Galatasaray, with the Nigeria Football Federation confirming that he would miss both the Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau matches.
The striker remains one of Nigeria’s most productive international forwards, having scored eight goals during the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Chelle, however, is refusing to allow the circumstances to distract his squad. “Pressure is part of our job. We want to stay focused on our group and our team will win the match. We have to be ready for the country,” the Franco-Malian coach said, projecting confidence ahead of the Group L opener. His message comes as Nigeria seek an early advantage in a qualifying group that also contains Tanzania, one of the three co-hosts of the 2027 AFCON, alongside Kenya and Uganda.
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The coach also faces selection decisions in goal following Maduka Okoye’s late arrival in camp. Okoye was the only invited player missing from Nigeria’s first full training session in Uyo, having received permission to attend to family and personal matters, but he subsequently joined the squad Thursday.
Asked about the situation, Chelle said: “I’ll have to manage the situation because I have to take some decisions.” He now has Okoye, Stanley Nwabali and Arthur Okonkwo competing for the goalkeeper’s position.
Chelle also delivered a bold assessment of Nigeria’s status in African football, telling the players to use the occasion to announce themselves. “Nigeria is the best team in Africa. We are motivated. We have to give a signal to every nation in the world about who Nigeria is,” he said, adding that the Super Eagles have a “good state of mind.” The declaration underlines the coach’s belief that the team must respond to the disappointment of missing the World Cup with a strong start to the AFCON campaign.
The absence of Osimhen will nevertheless provide one of Chelle’s biggest tactical tests. Nigeria’s recent World Cup qualifying record shows how heavily the striker featured in the campaign: he scored eight of the Super Eagles’ 20 goals in the 12-match qualification series. However, the claim that Nigeria under the previous three coaches had not won a World Cup qualifier without Osimhen needs qualification. Nigeria recorded a 2-0 victory over Rwanda in March 2025 with Osimhen scoring both goals, while he also featured in subsequent wins over Lesotho and Benin; earlier matches under José Peseiro and Finidi George produced draws and a defeat before Chelle took charge. The available records do not support the broader claim that Nigeria had never won a World Cup qualifier without Osimhen.
With Osimhen unavailable, Chelle has called up Taiwo Awoniyi as his replacement while retaining other attacking options including Akor Adams, Tolu Arokodare and first-time invitee George Ilenikhena. The Super Eagles will therefore enter the Uyo showdown with both expectation and uncertainty, but Chelle has made his objective clear: start the AFCON 2027 journey strongly, overcome Madagascar and remind the continent of Nigeria’s ambitions.
