“Nigeria isn’t Mali” – Ex-Super Eagles coach warns Eric Chelle ahead of Nigeria debut

Former Super Eagles coach, Augustine Owen Eguavoen, has backed Nigeria's new coach, Eric Chelle to succeed with the team, albeit sending a note of warning that the stakes are higher, Soccernet.ng reports.

Eguavoen, in an interim role, led the Super Eagles to a place in the AFCON 2025 tournament and was reported to have been interested in the job on a full-time scale. Still, the Nigerian Football Federation struck a deal with Eric Sekhou Chelle.

Chelle is set to debut as Nigeria's coach next week when the Super Eagles travel to Rwanda for their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

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What Eguavoen said

“At the senior team level, you need to give the coach all the support you can give him. He will make his decisions, and we won’t force him. If you force him, you’re interfering because it’s about results now, and if anything goes wrong or right, he will be held responsible.

“I think he’s a very good coach. They played some decent football, and in the last two or three games, Mali beat us, and he was in charge,” the 59-year-old said in an interview with Brila.

However, Eguavoen warned the former Mali coach that the stakes are higher with the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

“Mali isn’t Nigeria. If you compare us, we have more talent than the Malian team. As a human being, he’s a wonderful guy. As a coach, he’s a good coach.

“We’ll work closely with him, provide him with all the resources he needs, and give him the freedom to make his own decisions,” Eguavoen concluded.

Nigeria are currently 2nd on their World Cup qualifiers list, four points behind group leaders, Rwanda. A victory against Rwanda and Zimbabwe puts the Super Eagles in a comfortable spot, but those wins do not mean the battle is over, meaning Chelle has a lot of work to do.

Nigeria will need to win all of their games to be assured of a spot for the 2026 FIFA World Cup that will be hosted in America, Canada and Mexico.