Chelle demands intensity as Nigeria begin 2027 AFCON qualifying against Madagascar

Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle has called on the Super Eagles to show aggression and intensity when they host Madagascar in their opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Uyo on Friday.

The match will be the fifth meeting between the two nations in AFCON qualifying. Nigeria, three-time African champions, have not lost any of the previous four encounters, winning three and drawing one.

Chelle said his players had completed their final training session and were ready for the start of the qualifying campaign, while acknowledging the pressure surrounding the national team.

“We want to stay focus on our group and our team, this is our job, to manage the pressure,” Chelle said at his pre-match news conference on Thursday. “The qualifiers start tomorrow, we have to be ready first for the group and for us and after, of course for the country.”

“There’s a big game tomorrow, we had the last training session to prepare for this game. This team has a good ranking in the world, so we are motivated and the first idea is to give the signal to everybody, every nation who Nigeria is.”

The coach said the squad were in a positive frame of mind and understood what would be required against Madagascar.

“My players are in a good state of mind, they understand everything and like I said this is not a question of to win or lose, this is a question of state of mind,” he added.

Chelle also called for a forceful performance from the Super Eagles and urged them to move on from the difficulties of last year.

“We are in Uyo and the opponent needs to know they are coming to hell, I want my player to be very aggressive, put a lot of intensity,” he said. “We have to go forward and try to forget about what happened last year, to be ambitious at every moment, every training session, every game and if we do that, of course, we can hope to win every game.”

Nigeria will be seeking a positive beginning after a disappointing start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

The Super Eagles entered those qualifiers as clear favourites to secure the group’s sole automatic qualification place. However, they struggled in their first four matches, collecting only three points in a section that also included South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Rwanda and Benin Republic.

Friday’s fixture gives Chelle’s side the opportunity to start their latest qualifying campaign strongly, with Madagascar providing the first test in Uyo.