Former Tremendous Eagles midfielder, Sylvanus Okpala, has expressed his considerations following the appointment of Eric Chelle as the pinnacle coach of the Nigerian nationwide workforce, Soccernet.ng reviews.
The previous Lens defender was just lately unveiled as the brand new boss of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations champions by the Nigeria Soccer Federation.
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This has been properly perceived by the Nigerian soccer group, in addition to the previous Enugu Rangers midfielder, who has additionally weighed in on his appointment.
The ex-international emphasised the significance of 2026 World Cup qualification for Nigerian soccer, and that lacking the event once more can be an enormous failure.
“The purpose is that if we don’t qualify for the World Cup, we’ve got failed,” he informed Brila FM “NFF has each proper if that’s the coach they need, however he has to qualify us for the World Cup. If he doesn’t do this, he has failed.”
The Tremendous Eagles missed out on the 2022 FIFA World Cup after shedding to Ghana on the away objectives rule, and a second consecutive absence from the worldwide stage would undoubtedly be devastating.
“Nigeria can not afford to not go to the World Cup for the second time. Will probably be very disastrous for Nigerian soccer. It’s changing into troublesome, however it’s not unimaginable; there’s nonetheless room with six video games left,” he added.
Chelle, Who was just lately appointed by the NFF, faces the robust job of profitable the remaining qualification video games to make sure Nigeria’s spot within the occasion co-hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
The @NGSuperEagles have a brand new coach.
Eric Sekou Chelle is the brand new coach of the #SuperEagles.
A brand new daybreak is right here. pic.twitter.com/RwYGpm74ji
— The NFF (@thenff) January 13, 2025
The outspoken former participant additionally urged the NFF to carry themselves accountable for his or her choices and to not use Chelle’s mid-qualifier appointment as an excuse for failure.
“So later, they shouldn’t include the excuse that issues had already gone mistaken earlier than his appointment as a result of they’d have waited till after the qualifiers to nominate him,” he concluded.
With six video games left within the qualification course of, the stress is mounting on Chelle and the Tremendous Eagles to ship the anticipated outcomes.
Chelle’s first job can be a must-win conflict in opposition to Zimbabwe and Rwanda, the place all eyes can be on him and his troops for victory.
Ayomide Oguntimehin
Ayomide Oguntimehin is a CAF-accredited sports activities journalist and Editor at Soccernet.ng, with a confirmed monitor file in conducting interviews with Tremendous Eagles stars similar to William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Vivid Osayi-Samuel, Ademola Lookman, and lots of others. He has additionally made a big influence in breaking switch information tales.
Grounded in video enhancing, video journalism, social media administration, and content material technique, Ayomide brings a wealth of experience to his work.
