Former Nigeria national team coach James Peters has urged the Nigeria Football Federation to resist any knee-jerk reaction to the Super Eagles’ 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau, describing the result as a bad day at the office rather than evidence that Eric Chelle has suddenly become incapable of leading the team.
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Nigeria’s defeat in Bissau was their first under Chelle and left the Super Eagles three points behind Guinea-Bissau after two matches in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
For Peters, popularly known as JP, the result was shocking, but should be assessed alongside the progress made under Chelle rather than in isolation.
“It was simply a bad day in the office,” Peters said while reacting to the defeat.
The veteran coach believes one poor performance should not erase the positive football Nigeria have produced under the Franco-Malian, including during previous major assignments with the national team.
“This is a coach who has shown what he can do with this team,” Peters said. “He cannot suddenly become a bad coach because of one poor result.”
Chelle himself admitted after the match that Guinea-Bissau deserved the victory, saying the hosts displayed greater aggression and personality while Nigeria struggled to impose their game. He also apologised to supporters and accepted responsibility for the defeat.
The setback represented a sharp contrast to Chelle’s earlier run with Nigeria. During the Super Eagles’ 2026 World Cup qualifying revival, CAF noted that the coach collected 14 points from a possible 18 after inheriting a side that had taken only two points from its opening four qualifiers.
Peters believes that broader record is why the NFF leadership should concentrate on providing the technical crew with the support required to recover rather than allowing one result to create instability.
Nigeria still have four matches remaining in Group L, beginning with a November double-header against Tanzania before fixtures against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau complete the campaign.
With Guinea-Bissau already three points ahead, the margin for further mistakes has narrowed considerably.
Peters nevertheless believes the priority should be qualification rather than another coaching debate.
For the former national team handler, Bissau was a painful result that demands correction but not a reason to tear down the entire project after one disastrous night.
