Nigeria's new head coach has sent a stern warning to South Africa and all their other FIFA World Cup qualification rivals.
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Earlier this month, the Nigerian Football Federation made a bombshell announcement when they confirmed that Malian Eric Chelle will be the new Super Eagles manager.
The 47-year-old becomes the first non-Nigerian African to lead the three-time continental champions, and he has been tasked with qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
That will, however, not be a straightforward task for Chelle as the West African powerhouse are currently second from bottom in the qualification group, having yet to register a win.
While the Abidjan-born tactician was confirmed as Nigeria's newest head coach last week, he was only revealed to the media and public for the first time on Monday.
During his initial press conference, Chelle emphasised the need for his charges to win all six of their remaining World Cup qualifiers if they are to usurp teams like Bafana Bafana in their bid to automatically qualify for the global spectacle.
"The most important thing is not Eric Chelle or the players. The first goal is Nigeria, to qualify Nigeria," Chelle stated, as per Brilla.
"We must win all six games. I'm focused on the next game, and after that, we will take it one step at a time."
He also emphasised what type of environment he is going to need to cultivate if he is to create a winning team.
"You need to put in place strict rules around this team," he added. "We need to build a team with great spirit, motivate the players, talk to them like brothers, and impose our game everywhere.
"Aggression and focus on our goals will be key."
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Nigeria and South Africa will only be renewing their rivalry in September 2025, but Chelle's first match in charge will be against current Group C table-toppers Rwanda.
