Coach Eric Chelle is going for all-out attack in must-win 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe and as such he has listed as many as five strikers.
SCORENigeria has learnt the strikers are Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface, Paul Onuachu, Sadiq Umar and new boy Tolu Arokodare.
Osimhen will lead the attack as expected and the battle will be who will play alongside him in a twin attack force.
Despite his exploits with Bundesliga double champions Bayer Leverkusen, Victor Boniface has yet to shake the net in a Super Eagles shirt in a dozen appearances.
Onuachu bombed last June against Bafana Bafana of South Africa, while Sadiq Umar will hope to revive his international career now that he is firing again in La Liga with Valencia.
Arokodare has yet to play for Nigeria at any level and this season he has enjoyed his most prolific season in Europe since he moved to Latvia in 2019.
He is the leading scorer in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League with 16 goals and his club Genk are top of the standings in the regular season.
MY MAJOR CONCERN IS THAT, IF TRULY THAT ERIC CHELLE WANT TO SUCCEED WITH SUPER EAGLE & QUALIFY NIGERIA FOR WORLD CUP. HE SHOULD JUST INVITE PLAYERS BASE ON QUALITY, POTENTIAL, FITNESS & PRESENT FORM, MERIT WITHOUT SENTIMENT
HE SHOULD NOT INVITE PLAYERS BASED ON USELESS EXPERIENCE/LEADERSHIP/CAPTAISHIP, MENTORSHIP, AGING, EGO, RECORD OR PAST FORM.
AND WITH ALL THIS YARDSTICKS, THE LIKE OF THIS PLAYERS: IHEANACHO, ONUACHU, AWONIYI, BONIFACE(Boni-yeye), BALOGUN, OMERUO, IZOHO, ARIBO DIDN’T DESERVED TO INVITED FOR CRUCIAL WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS.
** ONUACHU HAS FAILED WOEFULLY IN SUPER EAGLE UNDER FOUR DIFFERENT COACHES (ROHR, Equavoen, Paseiro, Finidi) because he cannot adjust to playing style of super eagleIH
** ARIBO IS A SLUGGISH PLAYER, HE CANNOT PLAY AFRICA FOOTBALL.
** BONIFACE HAVE BEEN GIVEN ENOUGH CHANCES TO PROVE HIMSELF AS AN EITHER ALTERNATIVE OR MAIN STRIKER ON THE FIELD OF PLAY, BUT HE FAILED TO EVEN SHOW HIS STUFF (i.e Quality) TALKLESS OF SCORING GOALS.
** IHEANACHO, MUSA AWONIYI, BALOGUN, OMERUO ARE JUST HANGING AROUND JUST IN THE NAME OF EXPERIENCE, LEADERSHIP, CAPTAINSHIP, MENTORSHIP.
### ERIC CHELLE SHOULD GIVE OTHER WELL MATURED, EXPOSED, QUALITY WITH GREAT POTENTIAL PLAYERS CHANCES TO SHOWCASE THEIR STUFF.
@@@@ OLISA-NDAH, AKPOM, DESSERS, AKPOGUMA, GIFT-ORBAN, EJUKE, NWAKALI, ALHASSAN, AKODARE, TELLA, ARE ALL WELL MATURED, EXPOSED, QUALITY WITH GREAT POTENTIAL PLAYERS.
### NIGERIA SHOULD STOP DECEIVING THEMSELVES WITH WORD EXPERIENCE, MENTORSHIP, CAPTAINSHIP ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I think we need to be patient with the new coach cos nobody can say he knows his style of play, that is why I believe it’s premature to start suggesting to him who and who he needs to invite.
About managing players, you will discover, that some players might not perform under a particular manager and when they get to another club, handled by another manager, they begin to excel, what is the difference, Manager B, has the knowledge and skill to bring out the best of that player than Manager A, based on this, It’s premature to dictate to our coach on who to invite and not to invite.
The has his flare and style he knows who can fit into it therefore we should be neutral and not biased against any of his choice of players to prosecute the qualifier.
I would have worried over few names like Boniface or Awoniyi but in view of the above submission, I am cool with anyone including Ahmed Musa if invited.
One thing I know is that there will be fierce competition in the camp, it will no longer be business as usual.
Let’s be positive any willing player can deliver, no matter where he plays. GASKIA NI!
YOU CAN’T DISCARD EXPERIENCE O, LET’S BE CAREFUL
We should all patient and judge the coach by his performance not his plan. If Omo oga clues is eliminated and discipline is maintained then we are good to go.
Success in football is not by the big name but by the big skills.