Exclusive: How Super Eagles coach Chelle lost faith in NPFL players

Nigeria senior national team coach Eric Chelle did not include any Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL) players in his squad for the AFCON where they finished third in Morocco.

The coach also ignored them in his latest list of players for the upcoming friendly tournament in Türkiye, where they will face World Cup hopefuls Iran and Jordan, respectively.

In the list that was made public yesterday there was no place for players from the Nigerian league, although sources close to the coach say that it is likely to include a maximum of two of them when the team plays friendlies next June.

Revealing further, our source said that Chelle’s lack of faith in NPFL players is largely due to his understanding of how he wants his team to play and his inability to cope with their high-pressure, aggressive and fast-paced style.

He said that at the Unity Cup in England last summer, a couple of local players were unable to keep up with their drills and physical demands, but at the time the fact that they were so far into the season was said to have played a part in their inability to cope.

The last straw was the CHAN tournament, where they ended up capitulating under his instructions and demands. Ironically, it was the same formation that the Super Eagles used in the AFCON and that left everyone speechless until they were deadlocked in the semi-final, where they lost to Morocco on penalties.

Chelle will undoubtedly take a look at them in league matches before making the decision to invite them in the future. In previous times they relied more on recommendations but the players were not up to the task.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman