Chelle demands more from Nigeria

Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle insists there remains a lot of work to do as he prepares for the visit of Zimbabwe to the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in a 2026 World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, March 25.

Kick-off is at 6pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

Current form:

Chelle kicked off his tenure with a 2-0 triumph over Rwanda in Kigali on March 21, having taken over the reins on a permanent basis from interim coach Augustine Eguavoen on January 7.

It was the Super Eagles' first win in Group C as they breathed new life into the qualifying campaign after making an underwhelming start which saw them pick up just one point from their opening four matches.

The West African giants played out to three successive draws against Lesotho (1-1), Zimbabwe (0-0) and South Africa (1-1) before suffering a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Benin.

While Chelle was pleased to record what he believed was a deserved victory against the Wasps, he is adamant that there's still plenty to improve upon for his players.

The Warriors continue to search for their first win after a 2-2 draw with the Cheetahs on March 20 left them bottom of the group on three points, three behind Nigeria, who moved up to fourth place.

Michael Nees' side had made a decent start, holding Rwanda to a 0-0 draw in Butare and then taking two points off the Super Eagles following a 1-1 stalemate in the same city.

However, the Southern Africans slipped up in Johannesburg as they were beaten 2-0 by the Crocodiles to put further pressure on Nees and his players.

What was said:

Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle

"We need to be ready for the next game. I prefer to focus on my team rather than discussing weaknesses. My priority is analysing and improving our own play,

"I'm proud of my players - congratulations to them. But we have work to do. This was just the first game, and while I'm happy with the win, we must keep improving.

"We have a team with strengths and weaknesses, and my job is to shape the game plan accordingly. I want my players to understand that we can play in different ways. Today (Friday), we used two or three different systems.

"We only had one week and two training sessions to prepare, but we shared a lot of information. We had a clear game plan and the players followed it perfectly. So, I believe this win was deserved."

Players to watch:

Nigeria - Victor Osimhen has put his injury problems behind him after missing his country's first four qualifiers. The 26-year-old striker was back to his best against the Wasps, bagging a brace to register his first two goals in Group C.

He had helped the Super Eagles qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations by scoring two goals in four appearances as they finished top of their group.

Zimbabwe - Marshall Munetsi is an integral piece of the puzzle for Nees and scored his second international goal in the stalemate with Benin last time out.

The 28-year-old defensive midfielder has also caught the eye in the Premier League after making the move to Wolves in January, netting one goal in four games.

Head-to-Head:

Matches - 6

Nigeria wins - 4

Zimbabwe wins - 0

Draws - 2