Exactly 365 days ago, the Nigeria Football Federation announced Eric Sekhou Chelle as the official coach of the Super Eagles.
The decision came after the team were without an official head coach for about seven months. Finidi George had called it quits after a run of four games, winning one, losing two and drawing one in July 2024.
The NFF's go-to – Austine Eguavoen took over the side on an interim basis and guided them to AFCON 2025 qualification.
Finidi's and Peseiro's failures meant the Super Eagles were without a win from their opening four World Cup qualifying fixtures – a feat that eventually cost them a place in the tournament.
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Not a lot of people were expecting the NFF to hire the Franco-Malian tactician. For a lot of people, the 48-year-old was just a meme-famous coach after his AFCON 2023 campaign with Mali. They were knocked out by the eventual winners, Côte d'Ivoire.
Household names like Hervé Renard, Pitso Mosimane and even Tom Saintfiet were linked to the job, not to mention the failed scuffle with Bruno Labbadia – an eyesore of a deal from all parties.
Chelle didn't particularly have a proven track record, but Nigerians had to trust him to deliver anyway, especially after it was confirmed the coach would walk home with a monthly salary of $50,000, more than ten times what Finidi George was offered.
How Chelle has performed so far
The former RC Lens defender was charged with leading the Super Eagles to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and his first test came during the March International break.
An away win against Rwanda, courtesy of an Osimhen brace, signalled a sign of good things to come as Chelle kick-started his job on the sidelines, immediately fielding a diamond 4-4-2, as opposed to the back three that served Jose Peseiro.
Three points, yes, but the team hadn't quite kicked into gear yet, as the shadows of their former selves surfaced against Zimbabwe. They conceded a 90th-minute equaliser, courtesy of a William Troost-Ekong error. Looking back, had the Super Eagles secured three points in that game, they could've qualified directly for the Mundial.
A year ago, Eric Chelle became the manager of the Super Eagles. pic.twitter.com/gNsPJhZLV0
— Fola Guerreiro (@folahan_jnr) January 7, 2026
Although not an official tournament, the Unity cup allowed Chelle to try several players, home-based and otherwise. The games Nigeria played after would further prove that he didn't fancy the local players. Why? I guess we'll never know.
That is why his decision to take charge of the CHAN 2024 squad, already prepared by his assistants Daniel Ogunmodede and Fidelis Ilechukwu, surprised many, including me.
Chelle, like many other coaches, is a man fixated on his philosophy, and even if the players didn't fit the bill in the tournament at Zanzibar, he fielded them anyway, and the results were disastrous.
A loss to Senegal opened the CHAN 2024 tournament for the local players, before a resounding 4-0 loss to Sudan confirmed Nigeria's exit from the tournament. Those two games, by the way, are the only games the Frenchman has lost within 90 minutes of his 19-game Super Eagles career.
Eric Chelle: The positives
After 19 games, the 48-year-old averages 2.05 points per game. Only Shaibu Amodu 2.09 has amassed more after 19 games in charge of the three-time AFCON Champions.
Under Eric Chelle, the Super Eagles have not gone a game without scoring a goal. They've scored just one goal in a game four times, while the others have recorded doubles, and then more.
The goal is clear: play out from the back, get the ball to Alex Iwobi, who can break the lines with his impeccable passing ability, then Lookman and Victor Osimhen can sort themselves out. Samuel Chukwueze, to a certain degree, has proven he can be a provider in Chelle's system as well, although not as consistently as the coach's preferred starters.
Nigeria have recorded some high scoring games under Chelle; the recent 4-0 win over Mozambique, the 4-1 win against Gabon, and then the 4-0 win over Benin Republic last October, something they couldn't dare to dream of under Jose Peseiro and Finidi George.
Four straight wins at the AFCON 2025, with scintillating football on display in moments of the game is also something Nigeria's cannot complain about.
The negatives
With great power comes great responsibility. When you're the coach of a football-loving nation that houses over 220 million citizens, criticism isn't just constant; it's loud, housing the potential to be deafening whenever results don't go your way.
For all of Chelle's improvements in the Super Eagles' attack, the defence has had to suffer somewhat. In all of the competitive games he's been in charge of for the past year, Nigeria have kept just three clean sheets.
Some of that are down to individual errors, but that doesn't change the numbers.
Also, the ex-Niort defender makes some very questionable in-game decisions. Many would agree that the Super Eagles wouldn't have been in the World Cup play-offs without Chelle's masterclass, but his management against DR Congo might have well been the reason there's no World Cup to play.
Victor Osimhen's half-time injury saw Nigeria record a lacklustre performance from the start of the second half till the end of extra-time. The game was being played, and the giants of Africa were passengers on the pitch in Morocco.
DR Congo opted to swap their goalkeepers just before the match went to penalties, and Chelle, surprisingly, opted to bring Chidozie Awaziem into the game while taking Tolu Arokodare out.
In simple terms, he opted to play it safe with five minutes left on the pitch, when it was clear the opponents were down for a penalty showdown.
The result? dreadful. Calvin Bassey stepped up, and his spot-kick missed the goal by a mile. Moses Simon and Semi Ajayi saw their efforts parried as Nigeria confirmed they'd miss two consecutive World Cup tournaments.
A similar event happened in the game against Tunisia. Nigeria had secured a 3-0 scoreline, and while many coaches would opt to see the game out, Eric Chelle took Frank Onyeka out and brought on Chidera Ejuke in his attempt to ‘stretch' the game.
Nigeria conceded two goals, barely scraping through their teeth, and frankly, Tunisia were unlucky to end the match without a point.
There's no system without flaws, no coach without his philosophy, but with Nigeria gunning for a fourth AFCON title, tiny margins could decide the difference, and Chelle would not want to be on the receiving end of the blame.
While he has to do better, he's had a good run so far, and an AFCON title in Morocco will do the Super Eagles, Nigeria as a nation, and his coaching career a world of good.
