Former Super Eagles defender Sam Sodje has raised concerns over Eric Chelle’s tactical handling of the national team, insisting Nigeria’s 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau exposed weaknesses that require urgent attention despite the coach’s previously encouraging results.
The defeat in Bissau was Chelle’s first loss with Nigeria inside 90 minutes, ending an unbeaten sequence that stretched back to his first game in charge against Rwanda in March 2025. The Franco-Malian had overseen Nigeria’s improved World Cup qualifying run and guided the Eagles to the 2025 Unity Cup title before the latest setback.
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For Sodje, however, the manner of the defeat has created legitimate questions about whether Chelle can consistently extract the best from a squad packed with players competing at high levels in Europe.
“He is a good manager, but the question is whether he is the right man to get the best out of these players,” Sodje said.
The former Reading and Charlton Athletic defender believes Nigeria’s defensive organisation was particularly troubling against Guinea-Bissau.
The Wild Dogs repeatedly found spaces in the Super Eagles’ defensive structure before goals from Franculino Djú, Mama Baldé and Álvaro Djaló condemned Nigeria to a 3-0 defeat. Chelle subsequently acknowledged that his players struggled in individual duels and could not find solutions to Guinea-Bissau’s aggression.
Sodje identified two of the goals as stemming from defensive errors, arguing that mistakes of that nature cannot continue if Nigeria hope to recover their AFCON qualification campaign.
His concerns are not entirely new.
Following Nigeria’s earlier 2-1 victory over Madagascar, Sodje praised Chelle and his staff for successfully introducing new players but simultaneously warned about the Super Eagles’ tendency to concede avoidable goals, arguing that stronger opponents would eventually punish those mistakes.
Guinea-Bissau did exactly that.
Sodje believes one possible solution could be to strengthen Chelle’s backroom staff with a specialist defensive coach capable of working specifically on positioning, organisation and decision-making without necessarily dismantling the existing technical structure.
That distinction is important. Sodje is not dismissing everything Chelle has achieved; instead, he believes the Bissau performance exposed shortcomings that can no longer be overlooked simply because previous results were positive.
With four Group L matches remaining, there is still time for Chelle to provide his answer on the pitch.
But for Sodje, the warning signs appeared against Madagascar and became impossible to ignore against Guinea-Bissau — Nigeria’s defensive structure needs fixing before another opponent makes them pay.
