Former Super Eagles striker Peter Ijeh believes Nigeria’s recent performances should serve as a major wake-up call for head coach Eric Chelle, urging the Franco-Malian to improve his tactical evaluation and management of matches as the battle for a 2027 Africa Cup of Nations ticket intensifies.
Ijeh’s latest assessment follows Nigeria’s damaging 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau, their first loss under Chelle and a result which left the Super Eagles three points behind the Wild Dogs after the opening two Group L fixtures.
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For Ijeh, the concern is not simply the scoreline in Bissau but what the performance revealed about Nigeria’s ability to recognise problems during matches and respond before opponents take control.
“The recent performances and results should be a wake-up call for Eric Chelle,” Ijeh said, insisting the Super Eagles coach must now reassess how he prepares for and manages different situations during games.
His comments build on his immediate post-match reaction, when the former Malmö FF striker argued that Guinea-Bissau had “exposed what Madagascar couldn’t”, particularly by testing Nigeria’s defensive structure, controlling midfield and punishing the Super Eagles with clinical finishing.
That assessment has been reinforced by Chelle himself.
The Super Eagles coach admitted Guinea-Bissau were more aggressive and intense, while revealing that Nigeria struggled to find solutions. Chelle attempted to alter the match by introducing Moses Simon and Moses Usor at half-time, but the changes failed to prevent the hosts from adding two more goals.
Ijeh believes those experiences must now translate into lessons for the technical crew.
Rather than allowing the Bissau humiliation to trigger panic, the former international wants Chelle to examine his tactical decisions, understand why Nigeria lost control and ensure a performance of that nature is not repeated.
The pressure to find answers is immediate.
Nigeria have four Group L fixtures remaining, beginning with a November double-header against Tanzania. Chelle has already acknowledged the significance of those encounters, insisting the Super Eagles need to win both to revive their qualification push.
Ijeh had warned even before the Guinea-Bissau encounter that Nigeria needed to play offensively and impose themselves rather than allow the Wild Dogs to dictate proceedings. The 3-0 outcome has only strengthened his conviction that the Super Eagles must become better at controlling matches.
For Ijeh, therefore, Bissau cannot simply become “a game to forget.” It must become a game Chelle studies — because how the coach responds tactically could determine whether Nigeria’s AFCON qualification campaign recovers or unravels.
