Eric Chelle Apologises Again As Super Eagles Leave For Poland Friendly

Nigeria’s head coach, Éric Chelle, has again apologised to supporters over the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and their inability to win the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

The apology came shortly after Nigeria retained the Unity Cup with a convincing 3-0 win over Jamaica at The Valley in London on Saturday night, May 30.

Despite lifting the trophy, Chelle admitted the disappointments of the past year still weigh heavily on him.

“I want to once again say sorry we didn’t go to the World Cup, this is my feeling, sorry we didn’t win the AFCON, I tried to do my job,” the 48-year-old stated.

“I want to say thank you for all the support that was put in the team and once again I will give everything to this national team.”

Nigeria will miss next month’s World Cup finals, which will be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, after suffering a 4-3 penalty shoot-out defeat to DR Congo in the African play-off final.

The Super Eagles also fell short at AFCON 2025 in Morocco, finishing third in the continental tournament.

Attention has now shifted to Wednesday’s international friendly against Poland at the PGE Narodowy in Warsaw.

The Super Eagles are scheduled to depart for the Polish capital on Sunday, with Chelle, his backroom staff and several members of the Unity Cup-winning squad making the trip.

There have, however, been changes to the travelling party. Millwall winger Femi Azeez has been called up to replace Samuel Chukwueze.

Star forwards Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman have both withdrawn from the fixture, while midfielders Alhassan Yusuf and Samson Tijani will miss the trip because of visa-related issues.