SUPER Eagles coach Eric Chelle is hugely encouraged after he met with happy and “fired up” Super Eagles stars Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, and Wilfred Ndidi ahead of next month’s must-win 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
A top source told only this newspaper that Eric Chelle and his first assistant, Hedi Taboubi, were lifted by the enthusiasm of the Premier League stars for the Super Eagles cause ahead of next month’s all-important matches.
“The coaches expressed more confidence that the boys know what is at stake, they want to play at the World Cup, and so want to deliver for Nigeria despite the precarious position they have found themselves in the qualifying series,” the source informed this newspaper.
The coaches met with Ndidi, who is fast recovering from a hamstring injury from December, on Wednesday, before they hooked up with Iwobi on Thursday. They plan to meet up with more players before they then head back to France this weekend.
This newspaper can exclusively report that coach Chelle has already submitted to the NFF a provisional squad list of 31 players for next month’s must-win 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
Another top official informed this newspaper that the new Super Eagles coach spent many sleepless nights before he came up with this enlarged squad from where he will cut down 23 players for the decisive games against Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
As expected, the core of the squad who qualified Nigeria for the 2025 AFCON under interim coach Augustine Eguavoen made the cut
A source further told SCORENigeria: “Yes, there are a few surprises as well. This man is on a mission to succeed.”
The players will fly directly to Kigali, Rwanda, from their various bases for a crucial 2026 World Cup qualifier.
