Nigeria men’s national team head coach Eric Chelle has turned to Nigerian football icons like Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha and a number of others to motivate his squad ahead of their pivotal 2026 World Cup qualifiers in March, Soccernet.football reports.
The Super Eagles failed to secure a victory in their first four matches, playing out a stalemate the likes of against Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa, while suffering a shock defeat to Benin Republic.
Nigeria have managed only three points from a potential twelve, leaving them fifth in Group C, four points behind leaders South Africa, Rwanda and Benin, while they sit two behind fourth-placed Lesotho.
Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the highly anticipated tournament are in jeopardy after a poor start to the qualifiers. To secure automatic qualification, the three-time African champions must win their group, leaving little room for error.
In a bid to motivate his squad ahead of must-win ties against Rwanda and Zimbabwe on March 19 and 22 respectively, new Eagles boss Chelle revealed he has sought support from a number of Nigerian legends.
“I have invited Nigerian legends to join us in this battle, and I’m happy that they have accepted,” the Super Eagles gaffer said as reported by Mainland Metro via The Guardian.
“I want to assure Nigerians that we are going to have a good preparation for the matches, and we will do whatever it takes to be back on track.”
Super Eagles legends expected to team up with Eric Chelle include former Paris Saint-Germain star Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha, former Arsenal striker Nwankwo Kanu, ex-Chelsea midfielder Mikel Obi and former Lille goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama.