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Osimhen Warns Super Eagles About Chelle’s High Demands
Victor Osimhen has sent a clear message to his Super Eagles teammates about the high expectations of the new head coach, Eric Chelle. Chelle took over earlier this year, replacing Augustine Eguavoen, and his first real test will be the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe this month.
The Franco-Malian coach has already named his 23-man squad for the games, and Osimhen has shared some insight into what to expect under Chelle’s leadership. Speaking on the Obi One Podcast, Osimhen revealed that he has already spoken with Chelle ahead of the qualifiers.
“I know him from the last AFCON with Mali. He’s a coach who loves attacking football and demands a lot from his players,” Osimhen said. “He told me he needs me and the senior players to step up and help him achieve great things for Nigeria.”
Osimhen added that Chelle made his expectations clear. “If you don’t fight for every ball or give your all, you won’t play. He was very direct about that. He said he can be like a big brother or an uncle off the pitch, but once we step on the field, it’s all business. If the younger players see us giving everything, they’ll follow.”
Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey has opened up about a difficult period in his career, revealing that he almost stepped away from football.
Speaking during a recent interview, Bassey shared that he once made a personal promise to himself to quit pursuing football professionally if he failed to secure a spot at a professional club.
“I remember being 15 and going into my final year, and I told myself that if I didn’t get into a professional club, I would quit football. It was that simple,” he said.
“I would just stop pursuing it seriously and only play for fun. Thank God I eventually got a club, because I honestly don’t know where I would be otherwise.”
It has been reported that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) fined Egypt $5,000 following their clash with Zimbabwe for failing to manage post-match media obligations.
It was noted that after the match, the Egyptian players ignored the media. This action was said to be a violation of CAF’s media regulations, which led to the fine being imposed.
Head of the Super Eagles, Eric Chelle, shared that the big-name players on the team are not happy about being benched.
He recalled when he took out Samuel Chukwueze during the match against Tanzania.
“Yes, of course, we’ve in this team a lot of big names. They are competitors; they aren’t happy when they go to the bench,” Chelle said at his post-match interview.”
“My job is to make choices, and we’re playing a 4-4-2 diamond, and at this moment I feel we have to protect the wing.”
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