Retired Russia international Stanislav Cherchesov, who now coaches Russian Premier League side FC Akhmat Grozny, has described the Super Eagles a as a quality opponent ahead of next week's friendly.
The African powerhouse will do battle with Russia on October 6 at at the 44,000 – capacity Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, which hosted matches during the 2018 Fifa World Cup.
When the two teams met in June 2025, they played out a draw, with Tolu Arokodare's second-half strike cancelling out an own goal by Semi Ajayi.
For the friendly against Russia, Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle will be without several key players from his preferred starting lineup, including Bruno Onyemaechi, Calvin Bassey, Semi Ajayi, Alex Iwobi, Samuel Chukwueze, Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen.
Despite the absence of the aforementioned players, Cherchesov acknowledged the quality of the Nigeria team.
Speaking about Russia's upcoming friendly matches, he was quoted as saying by Championat: "All teams, including ours, test something in friendly matches.
"The Iranian and Nigerian teams are of a good standard and have a lot of experience, although I don't know what lineup they'll be playing, so it will be a good test for the Russian team. I've never seen Namibia and can't say anything about it."
Following their hard-fought 2-1 victory over Madagascar, Nigeria will face Guinea-Bissau on September 29 before travelling to Russia for their final match of the September/October Fifa international window.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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