By Daily Sports Nigeria on January 9, 2025

Super Eagles forward Moses Simon has welcomed new head coach Eric Chelle with a message in French following the Mali tactician’s appointment by the Nigeria Football Federation on Tuesday, The PUNCH reports.

The Nantes winger took to his X account to post “Bienvenue au Nigeria” (Welcome to Nigeria), becoming the first national team player to publicly acknowledge Chelle’s appointment.

The former Mali coach was named as Augustine Eguavoen’s replacement, with the NFF confirming his tenure would begin immediately as the Eagles aim to revive their faltering 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Chelle takes over from Eguavoen, who had served as interim head coach since September 2024 following Finidi George’s resignation and the collapse of Bruno Labbadia’s proposed appointment.

Simon, who has earned over 70 caps for Nigeria since making his debut in 2015 and featured in three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, will hope the new manager can turn around the team’s fortunes in the World Cup qualifiers.

The three-time African champions currently sit fifth in their qualifying group without a win after four matches, leaving them with a mountain to climb to reach the 2026 World Cup which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The qualifiers resume in March 2025 with crucial matches against Rwanda – who claimed a shock 2-1 victory over Nigeria in Uyo in November – and Zimbabwe.

Having missed out on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after losing to Ghana in the playoffs, failure to qualify for a second consecutive mundial would be considered catastrophic for Nigerian football.

While Eguavoen successfully guided the Eagles through their 2025 AFCON qualifying campaign, topping a group containing Libya, Rwanda and Benin Republic, the World Cup qualifying struggles ultimately led to the NFF seeking a change in leadership.

Source Punch Ng

Posted January 9, 2025

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