Eric Chelle has backed the Super Eagles of Nigeria new invitees to give a good account of themselves when they take to the field against Zimbabwe on Tuesday.
Nigeria will begin their Unity Cup defence against the Warriors on Tuesday evening, hoping to successfully defend the title they won by defeating Jamaica on penalties in the 2025 final.
Ahead of the tournament, head coach Eric Chelle invited several new players, including from the Nigerian Premier Football League.
The likes of Owen Oseni (Plymouth Argyle), Femi Azeez (Millwall) and Arthur Okonkwo (Wrexham) also joins the team as new invitees ahead of their tournament opener on Tuesday.
“Like I said, we have a vision for this national team. 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”, Chelle said.
“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.”
The Franco-Malian also warned his side to be wary of the threat posed by Zimbabwe and to give their best to avoid a shock defeat.
“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”, Chelle added.
“Definitely, Zimbabwe is a great team. They come with a lot of motivation. They want to win.”
The winner of the clash between Nigeria and Zimbabwe will go on to face either Jamaica or India in the final on May 30.
Olakitan is a young writer with a strong passion for sports, having gained experience with IndyPress and Nimelssa Press. His enthusiasm for sports inspired him to cover events both within his school and beyond. With a deep understanding of the game and a refined skillset, he brings sports coverage to a broad, global audience in a way that’s engaging and accessible.
