Nigeria’s Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has urged his players to show aggression and play with intensity when they face Madagascar in their opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
The Super Eagles will host Madagascar at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on Friday, September 25, as Nigeria begin their Group L qualifying campaign.
The encounter will be the fifth meeting between Nigeria and Madagascar in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, with the three-time African champions unbeaten in their previous four meetings, recording three wins and one draw.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Chelle said the Super Eagles must remain focused and manage the pressure surrounding the start of the qualifying campaign.
“We want to stay focus on our group and our team, this is our job, to manage the pressure. The qualifiers start tomorrow, we have to be ready first for the group and for us and after, of course for the country,” Chelle said.
The Franco-Malian coach said the team had completed its preparations for the encounter and was motivated to make a strong statement against Madagascar.
“There’s a big game tomorrow, we had the last training session to prepare for this game. This team has a good ranking in the world, so we are motivated and the first idea is to give the signal to everybody, every nation who Nigeria is,” he added.
Chelle also revealed that his players are in a positive state of mind ahead of the opening fixture, insisting that their approach and mentality will be crucial.
“My players are in a good state of mind, they understand everything and like I said this is not a question of to win or lose, this is a question of state of mind.”
The Super Eagles coach then challenged his players to make Madagascar feel the pressure of playing in Nigeria.
“We are in Uyo and the opponent needs to know they are coming to hell, I want my player to be very aggressive, put a lot of intensity.
“We have to go forward and try to forget about what happened last year, to be ambitious at every moment, every training session, every game and if we do that, of course, we can hope to win every game.”
Nigeria will be hoping for a strong start to the 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign after a difficult 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying run.
The Super Eagles struggled during the early stages of the World Cup qualifiers despite being among the teams expected to challenge for the automatic qualification spot from their group.
Nigeria collected just three points from their opening four matches in a group that also featured South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Rwanda and Benin Republic.
Chelle is now looking to put that disappointment behind the team as the Super Eagles begin their latest campaign with a home fixture against Madagascar.
Nigeria will face Guinea-Bissau in their second Group L qualifier on September 29, four days after the Madagascar clash.