The Nigeria Football Federation Technical Director, Austin Eguavoen, has clarified the rumors that newly appointed Super Eagles head coach, Eric Chelle, had been given a free hand in picking the final roster for Nigeria’s do-or-die 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
On Tuesday, March 11, Chelle revealed his 23-man team, featuring retained players such as Stanley Nwabali, William Troost-Ekong, Calvin Bassey, Ola Aina, Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Ademola Lookman, and Victor Osimhen.
The Super Eagles will start with Group C leaders Rwanda in Kigali on Friday, March 21, then return to Nigeria to face Zimbabwe at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on March 25.
During an appearance on SuperSport’s Monday Night Football, Eguavoen confirmed that Chelle had the final say on the final squad of players, with no contribution from the NFF technical department.
“Nigerians need to understand that whatever national team senior coach in the world makes a final decision concerning players,” affirmed Eguavoen.
“We can chat, but cannot interfere. In case he is refusing a player, then no way. National team coaches could be dismissed at any time for that reason.
Eric Chelle invested time coming up with this list, and the decision belongs to him alone.”
Former Super Eagles striker and technical committee member, Victor Ikpeba, seconded Eguavoen’s statement confirming Chelle’s authority on the choice of the team.
“This young man (Chelle) has been monitoring between 45 to 50 Nigerian players abroad,” Ikpeba stated.
“He knows his 23 or 24-man squad, and it’s his right to do so. There was no interference in his decision.”
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