Former Super Eagles forward John Utaka has encouraged Eric Chelle to keep faith with the current squad heading into next month’s Africa Cup of Nations, SportPremi reports.
The Super Eagles head to Morocco in December for the 2025 African Cup of Nations tournament, hoping to bounce back from the disappointment of missing the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
On Sunday, Nigeria’s hopes of reaching next year’s World Cup tournament were finally ended following a penalty shootout defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The three-time African champions defeat Gabon 4-1 in the first playoff round, while Congo had recorded a 1-0 win over Cameroon.
Both sides clashed at the Moulay Hassan Stadium, to determine Africa’s representative at the intercontinental playoffs as part of qualification for the World Cup.
Frank Onyeka gave Nigeria the lead, but the Leopards hit back as well in the first half through Meschack Elia.
No further goals were scored in regulation time and an additional 30 minutes of extra-time, resulting into a penalty shootout to determine the winner of the clash.
Nigeria missed three of their six kicks, while DR Congo missed only two, allowing captain Chancel Mbemba to score the winning spot-kick and seal the victory for his side.
Utaka warns against changes to squad
John Utaka, who now works at French club Montpellier with the youth team, warned against the influence of changes to the squad.
According to the former Super Eagles forward, the addition of new players to the current squad could destabilize the team ahead of next month’s African Cup of Nations.
“No, you don’t need to bring in new players. Most of the present boys understand what it means”, Utaka admitted.
“Bringing in new players should be for maybe next year’s Nations Cup. You have to use your team because there is understanding between the players right now. I believe they know their errors and will try to amend things.
“Bringing five to ten new players who are you going to replace? The players there are consistent and understand each other well. New players will need time to adapt and that can take a long time. There is also pressure and it might destabilize things”, the ex-international concluded.
Nigeria eye AFCON redemption
The Super Eagles will head into next month’s AFCON tournament hoping to erase the disappointment of their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Nigeria will also hope to overcome their failure to win the last edition, after suffering an agonizing 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast in the final of the 2024 tournament.
The tournament is expected to commence on the 21st of December, with Nigeria participating in group C alongside Tunisia, Tanzania and Uganda.
