Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has given his reasons for inviting two home-based players in his final 23-man squad for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe, Afrosport reports.
Chelle, who was named Super Eagles boss in January, released his first-ever squad this month and included Niger Tornadoes midfielder Papa Daniel Mustapha and Remo Stars goalkeeper Kayode Bankole.
The 47-year-old having toured Europe to speak to some of the big boys, also watched some games in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) before handing call-ups to the two players for the World Cup qualifiers.
Chelle, in his pre-match conference ahead of Nigeria’s matchday six tie against Zimbabwe in Uyo, revealed his decision to include the duo in his final squad was based on their current qualities as well as for future importance.
“My job is to see all the Nigerian players in the world, to analyse the players because this is the World Cup qualifiers,” Chelle said. “After that there is the CHAN [African Nations Championship] and also the AFCON [Africa Cup of Nations] afterwards. So we need to work together.
“I think there are a lot of players who can work together and bring something to our national team. But they need to work and they need to know how I want my team to play.
“So this is why I pick two players [Daniel and Bankole from the NPFL] and I think they are good and they are very good for the future.
“But we need to work now with them. We prepare the future for now and like I said in my first press conference the time is the enemy of the coach.”
