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, Soccernet.ng reports.
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.”
Chelle wary of Zimbabwe threat after painful World Cup qualifier setback
Nigeria head into the encounter still remembering the frustration of their last meeting with Zimbabwe during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in March.
The Super Eagles appeared set for victory at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo after dominating large parts of the contest. After a difficult first half, Osimhen finally broke the deadlock in the 74th minute with a diving header from Ola Aina’s dangerous delivery from the left flank.
However, Nigeria suffered late heartbreak deep into stoppage time when Zimbabwe substitute Tawanda Chirewa broke through a sleeping Nigerian defence before slotting past Stanley Nwabali to secure a dramatic 1-1 draw.
The dropped points proved costly. Nigeria eventually failed to secure automatic qualification from Group C, finishing behind South Africa before later losing their playoff hopes against DR Congo.
Chelle, though, believes the previous result did not fully reflect Nigeria’s dominance on the day, even while acknowledging the danger Zimbabwe still possess.
“Zimbabwe is a great team, a great team with strong players. If you want to talk about our last game, you need to talk not only about the result. Because if you see the result, you will say aha. But if you watch the game, we were supposed to win the game by at least 98 percent.
“Definitely, Zimbabwe is a great team. They come with a lot of motivation. They want to win.”
Nigeria arrive as the Unity Cup's defending champions after the Super Eagles defeated Ghana and Jamaica in last year's edition.
The three-time AFCON winners hold a decent head-to-head advantage over Zimbabwe, with a record of four wins, four draws and just the solitary defeat against the Warriors.
