Every word Eric Chelle said on areas to improve, tactical tweaks, Super Eagles players, facing Russia

Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has identified two key areas for improvement following Nigeria’s dramatic 5-4 victory over Jamaica at the Gtech Community Stadium, a result that saw the team retain the Unity Cup.

Chelle, who celebrated his first trophy as a manager, watched as the Super Eagles battled to a 2-2 draw in regulation time before edging Jamaica in a tense penalty shootout.

Speaking during his post-match press conference, Chelle was quick to highlight the areas for improvement, especially as the team eyes a return to the FIFA World Cup.

"We need to work because there are lots of things we have to work on in our game," Chelle said. In this game, we made two mistakes and we need to improve and step up in our goal to qualify for the World Cup."

"In this team, there are lots of good strikers and wingers. It is difficult because there are lots of great players in the team. The most important thing for me is that we try to play together in defense and attack.

"We need to improve mentally to become a Warrior on the pitch. We need to improve physically and technically, there are lots of things to work on."

Chelle also offered insights into his tactical approach during the game, noting how his team shifted between formations such as the diamond midfield, 4-2-3-1, and 4-4-2.

"I can say that my team and players have a great spirit, and I am happy about that. If you watch the game, you will see that we started with diamond and after that, we played 4-2-3-1, and after that, we played 4-4-2,” he added.

The coach used the friendly to give opportunities to new faces and experiment with different tactical setups. Despite limited training time, Chelle expressed pride in how quickly the team adapted.

"We had a difficult time bringing our players because they played a long season and were tired. After that, I said, the first thing I said is that I can be with my players, and secondly, I can work with the players ahead of September.

"I just wanted to give some chances to a lot of guys to show us something. I am really proud of my players because, in two or three training sessions, they work hard. During the tournament, they scored maybe three goals."

Ahead of a friendly match against Russia, Chelle reaffirmed his team’s ambition to win every game.  

"Our goal is to win every game - so we're going to play them for a win. This is my speech when I talk to the players, we need to show the world of football what our state of mind is. We want to win against Russia and come back to Abuja with the win."

The Super Eagles coach will be hoping the team can build on their strong performance as they prepare for the resumption of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in September.

Adeyemi Adewale

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