Onazi Warns: Chelle Must Ditch U23 Role, Fix Super Eagles Crisis

Former Super Eagles midfielder Ogenyi Onazi has delivered a blunt message to the Nigeria Football Federation and head coach Eric Chelle: drop the dual role and focus solely on the senior national team. Speaking with Ifeanyi Udeze on Brila FM’s breakfast show No Holds Barred, Onazi declared, “Let Eric Chelle concentrate on the Super Eagles. He has a lot of problems to solve with that team already.”

The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations winner’s comments come at a critical moment for Nigerian football. Chelle currently holds dual responsibility as Super Eagles coach and head of the U23 Olympic Eagles. That arrangement is about to collide head-on with the November international window.

The Super Eagles face Tanzania in a 2027 AFCON qualifier double-header — home in Uyo on 13 November and away in Dar es Salaam on 17 November. On the exact same dates, the Olympic Eagles take on DR Congo in a U23 AFCON qualifying tie, first in Lubumbashi and then at home in Ikenne.

One coach cannot be in two places. The scheduling clash has already sparked criticism from other former internationals, including Sam Sodje, who called the dual role “ridiculous.”

Onazi’s intervention adds significant weight. The ex-Lazio star believes the senior side’s challenges demand Chelle’s undivided attention.

Those challenges are real. In the 2027 AFCON Qualifiers Group L, the Super Eagles sit in a precarious position. They opened with a hard-fought 2-1 comeback victory over Madagascar in Uyo, with goals from George Ilenikhena and Moses Usor.

Four days later, they were thrashed 3-0 by Guinea-Bissau in Bissau.

Franculino Djú, Mama Baldé and Álvaro Djaló scored as Nigeria’s defence and midfield were overrun. The result left Guinea-Bissau on six points, Nigeria on three, and Madagascar and co-hosts Tanzania on one each.

Because Tanzania are already qualified as co-hosts of the 2027 tournament, only one other team from the group will advance. Nigeria must overtake Guinea-Bissau and stay clear of Madagascar. That requires maximum points from the Tanzania games and a strong finish against the remaining opponents.

Chelle himself admitted after the Guinea-Bissau defeat that his side were second-best and that the hosts showed greater intensity and motivation.

Beyond results, the Super Eagles have shown defensive fragility, failing to keep a clean sheet in recent matches. Squad rotation, integration of new faces, and rebuilding confidence after the World Cup disappointment remain unfinished business.

Onazi’s point is straightforward: these are not side issues that can be managed while also preparing a young U23 side for Olympic qualification pathway matches.

The dual-role experiment was intended to create philosophical continuity between the Olympic Eagles and the Super Eagles, allowing promising home-based and diaspora talents a clearer path upward.

In practice, the fixture conflict exposes the practical limits. Assistants can fill the dugout for one team, but the head coach’s presence, selection authority and tactical identity matter most for the senior side under pressure.

Onazi’s call resonates because it prioritises the team that carries the biggest expectations and the biggest problems.

The Super Eagles need a coach fully present for the Tanzania double-header and the remaining AFCON 2027 Qualifiers campaign. Divided attention risks more setbacks at a time when Nigeria cannot afford them.

As the November window approaches, the NFF faces a clear choice. Keep the dual structure and accept compromised preparation for one or both teams, or free Eric Chelle to concentrate on the Super Eagles as Onazi demands. For a side that already has “a lot of problems to solve,” singular focus may be the only realistic path back toward consistency and qualification.