“Played out of position” – Ex-Super Eagles defender blames Chelle for Zimbabwe draw

Former Super Eagles and Port Vale defender, Abbey Peterson George, has bashed Nigeria’s head coach, Eric Chelle, for their draw against Zimbabwe on Tuesday, Soccernet.ng reports.

Chelle aided Nigeria to a 2-0 win over Rwanda in Kigali on his Super Eagles debut but could not replicate the same at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium as his side fell late equalizer in Uyo.

George, who played 18 games for the Super Eagles, revealed majority of the blame falls on the Nigerian head coach as he played several players out of position.

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What Abbey George said about Chelle

“I believe Chelle made a mistake with the selection. He tried to accommodate all his best players rather than pick the best team.

“There’s no reason to play Ola Aina, who’s been excellent at right-back, at left-back when Onyemaechi is on the bench. The same goes for Lookman and Iwobi, who were played out of position,” the 46-year-old said in an interview with Brila.

Victor Boniface was brought on in place of Victor Osimhen in the 87th minute when Nigeria were a goal up, with Tolu Arokodare already on the pitch. George believed the substitution was a wrong one.

“As players on the field, with just five minutes remaining, there’s no need to be pushing forward. They should have held onto the 1-0 lead and secured the three points.

“Players need to step up. Experienced players from big European teams should know how to manage a
crucial game. They need to show some humility.

“Although it [qualification] is still possible, we must win the next match and hope the other outcomes work in our favour,” George concluded.

The Super Eagles are currently 4th in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying group and are six points behind table-toppers, South Africa.