Super Eagles head coach Éric Chelle has charged his players to start Nigeria’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign strongly, insisting that they must collect points early to avoid another difficult qualification race.
Chelle wants Nigeria to set the tone from their opening Group L fixture against Madagascar at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, on Friday before travelling to Guinea-Bissau for their second match four days later.
The coach is particularly keen to avoid a repeat of the uncertainty that characterised Nigeria’s FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, when a late surge failed to secure a place at the tournament.
“We have to show everyone from Day One that we want it, and the only way to do that is to go for it with our hearts and refuse to slow down at any point. We must go for the points without any hesitation,” Chelle said as he looked forward to the first two matches of the campaign against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau.
Nigeria will face Guinea-Bissau in Bissau on Tuesday, 29 September, in their second fixture of the campaign.
The Super Eagles will be without Victor Osimhen, who was withdrawn from the squad because of a muscle injury, with Taiwo Awoniyi drafted in as his replacement.
The squad also welcomes back defender Ola Aina, while Benjamin Fredricks provides another option in defence.
Chelle has several selection decisions across almost all the departments.
In defence, Nigeria have Aina, Fredricks, Bruno Onyemaechi, Calvin Bassey, Oluwasemilogo Ajayi, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Chibuike Nwaiwu among their options.
The coach also has attacking options in Moses Simon, Ademola Lookman, Akor Adams, Samuel Chukwueze, Tolu Arokodare, Moses Usor and new invitee George Ilenikhena.
Madagascar bring back 2019 memories
Friday’s encounter will revive memories of previous meetings between the two countries, including Madagascar’s surprise victory over Nigeria at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria defeated the Barea 2-0 in Calabar on 5 September 2010 in an AFCON qualifying fixture before recording another 2-0 victory in the return fixture in Antananarivo a year later.
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Madagascar, however, produced a major upset at the 2019 AFCON in Egypt when they defeated Nigeria 2-0 in their final group-stage match in Alexandria on 30 June.
Nigeria had already secured qualification for the Round of 16 before that encounter.
The Barea will now return to Uyo for another competitive meeting with the Super Eagles, having arrived in Nigeria three days before Friday’s fixture.
For Chelle’s side, the immediate objective is to begin the qualifying campaign with three points before attention turns to Guinea-Bissau.
Super Eagles squad for Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau
Goalkeepers: Arthur Okonkwo (Charlton Athletic, England); Maduka Okoye (Udinese Calcio, Italy); Stanley Nwabali (Chippa United, South Africa).
Defenders: Bruno Onyemaechi (Olympiakos, Greece); Isaac James (Alverca FC, Portugal); Benjamin Fredricks (Brentford FC, England); Emmanuel Fernandez (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (Hull City, England); Calvin Bassey (Fulham FC, England); Chibuike Nwaiwu (Trabzonspor FC, Turkey); Bright Osayi-Samuel (Birmingham FC, England); Olaoluwa Aina (Nottingham Forest, England).
Midfielders: Wilfred Ndidi (Besiktas FC, Turkey); Alex Iwobi (Fulham FC, England); Raphael Onyedika (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany); Frank Onyeka (Coventry City, England).
Forwards: Moses Simon (Paris FC, France); Taiwo Awoniyi (Coventry City, England); Akor Adams (Venezia FC, Italy); Samuel Chukwueze (AC Milan, Italy); Ademola Lookman (Atletico Madrid, Spain); Tolu Arokodare (Ajax FC, The Netherlands); George Ilenikhena (Al Ittihad, Saudi Arabia); Moses Usor (LASK FC, Austria).
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