Nantes ahead Moses Simon has turn into the primary Tremendous Eagles participant to react to the appointment of Eric Chelle as the brand new head coach of the Nigerian nationwide staff.
The Nigerian Soccer Federation (NFF) introduced Chelle’s appointment late on January 7, 2025, and his tenure started instantly.
Chelle, a former Mali worldwide defender, replaces Augustine Eguavoen, who had been appearing as interim head coach since September 2024, following the resignation of Finidi George and the collapse of Bruno Labbadia’s appointment.
Moses Simon welcomed the brand new coach on his official X account, writing in French: “Bienvenue au Nigéria”, which implies “Welcome to Nigeria.”
Simon will likely be hoping that Chelle may help enhance Nigeria’s probabilities of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Tremendous Eagles are at present struggling of their qualification group, having performed 4 matches and not using a win, and sitting in fifth place in a gaggle that features Benin Republic, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Rwanda.
The qualifiers will resume in March 2025, with Nigeria scheduled to face Rwanda and Zimbabwe. Rwanda defeated Nigeria 2-1 in an AFCON qualifying match in November 2024.
Moses Simon, a key participant for Nigeria since his debut in 2015, has earned over 70 caps and performed in three Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments. He has labored beneath a number of coaches, together with Gernot Rohr, José Peseiro, and Eguavoen.
Eguavoen led Nigeria to high their AFCON qualification group in 2025, however the World Cup qualifiers have been more difficult, making Chelle’s job even more durable.
Nigeria didn’t qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and it could be seen as an enormous disappointment in the event that they miss out on the 2026 World Cup, which will likely be hosted by america, Canada, and Mexico.
