Coach Eric Sekou Chelle has warned that the Super Eagles’ 2026 World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe will not be an easy match. Despite securing a 2-0 win over Rwanda in their previous game, Chelle emphasized that the Warriors of Zimbabwe pose a significant threat.
“The second game (against Zimbabwe) now is the most important,” Chelle said at a press conference in Uyo. “I’m proud of my players, what they did in Rwanda was very difficult, but they made the job so… We worked yesterday (Sunday) and made a good training session, and we need to go again to the pitch to prepare for the game tomorrow.”
Chelle acknowledged that Zimbabwe has a good team with quality players and a good coach. “It (the match) will not be easy because Zimbabwe has a good team with good players and good coach. This coach (Michael Nees) has a good game project, and we need to be focused in order to do the job tomorrow.”
Team captain William Troost-Ekong expressed confidence in the team’s ability to adapt to Chelle’s tactics. “We have a lot of intelligent players that play at the highest level. They are used to changing tactics with different coaches, so it’s just about adapting (with Chelle) and I think the coach said it before, we have a lot of quality in our team.”
Ekong emphasized the importance of teamwork and harmony. “He (Chelle) doesn’t need to explain much how we need to play football. Rather, it’s just about getting everybody to play in harmony and understanding. I think we saw that in the last game, but that is in the past, and we have to show that again in the next game (against Zimbabwe).”
