Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has revealed exactly what he expects from Nigeria’s many new faces ahead of Tuesday night’s Unity Cup semi-final clash against Zimbabwe national football team in London.
The Malian tactician has assembled one of the most experimental Nigerian squads in recent years for the four-nation tournament, with as many as 12 players hoping to make their senior international debuts.
Nigeria will begin the defence of their Unity Cup title against Zimbabwe at The Valley Stadium, home of Charlton Athletic, with the winners advancing to Saturday’s final against either Jamaica or India.
Several established Super Eagles stars, including Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Alex Iwobi, have been rested for the competition as Chelle focuses on testing new talent and building squad depth ahead of future international assignments.
The squad contains eight players from the Nigeria Premier Football League, including Ikorodu City goalkeeper Michael Atata, who earned attention after keeping 16 clean sheets during the domestic season. Enugu Rangers duo Chibueze Oputa and Obinna Igboke also made the list, while Rivers United defender Elias Ochobi and Shooting Stars pair Ayobami Junior and Tijani Al-Ameen complete the core of the NPFL contingent.
Chelle has also handed opportunities to several Europe-based talents. Wrexham goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo received his first senior call-up, while Millwall winger Femi Azeez, Plymouth Argyle striker Owen Oseni, Marseille midfielder Tochukwu Nnadi and Rangers defender Emmanuel Fernandez are among the fresh names hoping to impress.
Despite the inexperience in the squad, Chelle insisted the tournament offers a major opportunity for hungry players to prove they belong in the senior national team setup.
“Like I said, we have a vision for this national team,” the former Mali coach said at today’s pre-match briefing. “Some of the new players are ready and motivated. The players of the NPFL, the players of the European leagues, the have the chance to enter the Super Eagles (main) team.
“When you play a game like this, the first thing is the attitude, the state of mind. They have to show us first their state of mind. The most important thing for them is the…, you know when you play football, you make some mistakes. This is not the question about the mistakes. This is the question of what you can do after the mistakes. It’s a question about the state of mind. The only pressure that they can have is to fight for every ball. It is to run, run and run.”
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