2026 World Cup: Two reasons Eric Chelle failed to qualify with the Super Eagles

Eric Chelle has broken his silence on Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, admitting that two dropped points in matches the Super Eagles should have won ultimately cost them a place at the tournament, Afrik Foot reports.

The Super Eagles finished second in Group C of the African qualifiers, one point behind Bafana Bafana, before losing to DR Congo on penalties in the CAF playoff final in Rabat, a defeat that ended Nigeria’s hopes of appearing at their first World Cup since Russia 2018.

It was a painful conclusion to a campaign that began under enormous pressure, with Chelle inheriting a side that had collected just three points from their first four qualifiers before he was appointed in January 2025.

The Franco-Malian tactician dragged Nigeria back into contention and ultimately delivered enough to reach the playoff stage, but two moments from the qualifying campaign proved decisive.

Why Super Eagles failed to make World Cup – Eric Chelle

Speaking to Algerian influencer Riadh Belaïche, Chelle did not shy away from identifying exactly where the campaign fell short after he took over.

“I was appointed in January last year. When I arrived, Nigeria had three points out of 12, so we fought hard to try to qualify,” the 48-year-old said.

“Having reached the playoffs, we lost against the Democratic Republic of Congo. We lost on penalties; they deserved the victory.

“It’s true that in some matches, like against Zimbabwe, we drew at home while the match was in our hands. In the end, these two dropped points hurt us a lot.

“We drew in South Africa. Of course, we are disappointed because we felt we could qualify for the World Cup,” the former Mali coach concluded.

The Zimbabwe draw: A 90th-minute collapse

The first reason Chelle and the Super Eagles failed to qualify is the one that remains most difficult to process, the 1-1 draw at home against Zimbabwe in Uyo in March 2025, the coach’s second game in charge.

The Green and Whites toiled all game to break the deadlock against Michael Nees’ side. Tolu Arokodare came off the bench, and the Wolves striker offered some beautiful hold-up play that allowed Ola Aina to cross in from the left to find Victor Osimhen in the 74th minute.

Nigeria looked set for all three points until Victor Osimhen was taken off in the 87th minute, replaced by Victor Boniface. Three minutes later, Tawanda Chirewa nutmegged William Troost-Ekong to put the ball beyond Stanley Nwabali to level the scores for Zimbabwe.

Had the Super Eagles held on in Uyo, the final standings would have looked entirely different. Bafana Bafana’s one-point advantage over Nigeria, the margin that separated World Cup qualification from the playoff route, would have been overturned.

Osimhen was livid after the game, lashing out at his teammates before he was eventually calmed down by Victor Boniface.

William Troost-Ekong, who was megged by Chirewa, was the culprit again when Nigeria travelled to South Africa.

The South Africa draw: Failing to close the gap in Bloemfontein

The 1-1 draw in Bloemfontein against South Africa did not just cost Nigeria two points; it cost them the one result that would have put the Super Eagles directly in control of their own destiny heading into the final qualification push.

Nigeria arrived at the Free State Stadium knowing that a win would leapfrog Bafana Bafana and put qualification firmly in their own hands. However, the state of the pitch didn’t do well to aid the plans of Chelle’s men, and in the 25th minute, Troost-Ekong scored an own goal.

Calvin Bassey replied with a goal just before half-time, before a dreadful second-half display followed.

Former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr, watching from the sidelines as Benin Republic’s manager, identified Nigeria’s problems, revealing they didn’t play as a team.

“Even though they had great individual players with immense quality, they simply didn’t play like a team early on and dropped too many points,” the German coach said.

As Nigeria’s players watch DR Congo at this World Cup, they’ll continue to feel the weight of failing to see out games when it mattered, and hopefully channel the energy into going all out in the next World Cup qualifiers.