Nantes star Moses Simon’s first words for new Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle

Nantes forward Moses Simon has become the first Super Eagles player to comment on the appointment of Eric Chelle as the new head coach of the Nigerian national team, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) announced the Malian’s appointment late on January 7, 2025, with his tenure beginning immediately.

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Chelle, a former Mali international defender, replaces Augustine Eguavoen, who had served as interim head coach since September 2024 following the resignation of Finidi George and the collapse of Bruno Labbadia’s proposed appointment.

Taking to his official X account, Moses Simon extended a warm welcome to the new coach, writing in French: “Bienvenue au Nigéria“, translating to “Welcome to Nigeria.”

Simon will hope Chelle can help revive Nigeria’s fading hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The Super Eagles currently face a challenging path in their bid to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

After four matches, the Super Eagles are without a win and sit fifth in their qualification group, which includes Benin Republic, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Rwanda.

The qualifiers resume in March 2025 with Nigeria scheduled to face Rwanda – the Wasps claimed a 2-1 AFCON qualifying win in Uyo in November- and Zimbabwe.

Simon, a key figure in the Nigerian squad since his debut in 2015, has represented the team over 70 times and featured in three Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments.

He has played under several coaches, including Gernot Rohr, José Peseiro, and Eguavoen.

Eguavoen led Nigeria through the 2025 AFCON qualifiers, steering the team to top their group, which included Libya, Rwanda, and the Benin Republic.

However, the World Cup qualifiers have proven more challenging, raising the stakes for Chelle.

Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2022 edition of the World Cup in Qatar and will consider it catastrophic should the Super Eagles not make the 2026 festival set to be jointly hosted by the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico.