Former Super Eagles’ star, Mutiu Adepoju has predicted that the Nigerian national team will eventually qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as he believes the team’s new coach, Eric Chelle is settling down fast and ‘everything will soon get back to normal’ for the squad.
Sports247 gathered that expectations are already at an all-time low among Nigerian football fans regarding the 2026 World Cup ticket, as the Eagles lie fourth on the table heading into their next two matches of the qualifiers in September.
However, Adepoju is staying upbeat ahead of the home fixture with Rwanda and the next game away to the group leaders, South Africa, which will be followed in October by a trip to Lesotho and then end their quest with the visit of Benin Republic in the same month.
Adepoju, who was fondly called ‘Headmaster’ during his active days, enthused that seeing the way Chelle has settled down quickly on the job gives him cause to remain expectant of a huge turnaround for the Eagles once the qualifiers get back into full swing.
The former Real Madrid II and Real Sociedad of Spain attacking midfielder, who is now a Spanish La Liga ambassador in Nigeria, declared, “I think Chelle is on a stride. Although, unfortunately, in the qualifiers, he couldn’t win his second match.
“That makes it a little bit difficult. But, looking at what he has done, I believe he’s trying his best. I just hope everything will get back to normal, and we’ll be able to see more effort from the players.”
Adepoju concluded with a pass mark for Chelle, who has won two matches and drawn three, one of which the team still won via penalties, being the 2-2 draw with Jamaica in the 2025 Unity Cup final in London on May 31st.
“At the moment, I think they have been trying their best (and there is hope of improvement) from what I’ve seen so far,” the Shooting Stars of Ibadan icon stressed
