Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle has underlined the Tremendous Eagles’ dedication to defeat South Africa in September, Soccernet.ng experiences.

Chelle is satisfied that victory towards the Bafana Bafana is non-negotiable if the Tremendous Eagles are to maintain their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification hopes alive.

The Tremendous Eagles discover themselves in a precarious place in Group C, trailing leaders South Africa by six factors with simply 4 matches remaining within the qualification marketing campaign.

Bafana Bafana presently sit atop the group with 13 factors after six video games, having strengthened their place with back-to-back wins over Lesotho and Benin Republic in March.

Nigeria, in the meantime, managed an important 2-0 away victory towards Rwanda however have been left pissed off after a 1-1 dwelling draw with Zimbabwe.

The second Eric Chelle was misplaced within the arms of Victor Osimhen pic.twitter.com/LJ4zaV9dxi

— POOJA!!! (@PoojaMedia) March 27, 2025

These outcomes have put added stress on Chelle’s aspect to safe most factors of their upcoming fixtures—first at dwelling to Rwanda in Uyo, earlier than a decisive showdown towards South Africa away.

What Eric Chelle stated about South Africa vs Nigeria

Whereas Chelle stays centered on the quick activity towards Rwanda, he’s absolutely conscious of the importance of the South Africa conflict.

“It’s an obligation we win in South Africa, however a very powerful match for us proper now could be Rwanda in Uyo,” Chelle advised SCORENigeria.

“South Africa are a very good aspect, however for that sport we can not afford to permit them play. However first, we have now to beat Rwanda at dwelling after which we’ll deal with the sport in South Africa.”

— Adepoju Tobi Samuel (@OgaNlaMedia) March 26, 2025

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The Tremendous Eagles have a historical past of intense battles with Bafana Bafana.

Of their most up-to-date encounter in June 2024, Nigeria fought again to safe a 1-1 attract Uyo due to a well-taken equalizer by Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.

The 2 groups additionally met within the semifinals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the place Nigeria emerged victorious through penalties after a tense contest. Whereas South Africa completed third within the match, Nigeria needed to accept silver after dropping the ultimate to hosts Cote d’Ivoire.

Chelle, nevertheless, has private expertise of defeating South Africa.

As Mali’s head coach at AFCON 2023, he led his group to a dominant 2-0 group-stage victory over Bafana Bafana, controlling the match from begin to end.

Now, he might be seeking to replicate that success with the Tremendous Eagles as they purpose to maintain their World Cup dream alive.

Regardless of Nigeria’s present struggles within the qualifiers, historical past favours the Tremendous Eagles on this fixture. In 16 earlier conferences, Nigeria have received eight instances, whereas South Africa have managed simply two victories. Six encounters have resulted in attracts, together with the final assembly in Uyo.

Nevertheless, previous information will depend for little when the 2 sides meet in September. With South Africa having fun with dwelling benefit and Nigeria needing a consequence, the conflict is about to be a high-stakes affair that might outline each groups’ World Cup ambitions.