Former Nigeria Football Association (NFA) Secretary-General Alhaji Sani Toro has made it crystal clear to Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle to remain focused on his core assignment, which is to help Super Eagles qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup or risk losing his job.
Chelle was appointed in January with the responsibility to secure Nigeria’s place at the expanded 48-team World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Also, the Franco-Malian coach has overseen the Super Eagles in two consecutive games and hasn’t encountered defeat, overseeing a win over Rwanda and a draw against Zimbabwe. He is expected to oversee Nigeria’s youth national teams and the CHAN Eagles.
The 46-year-old tactician is currently in Egypt, monitoring the Flying Eagles’ progress at the ongoing U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.
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However, despite those early results, Nigeria’s path to the World Cup remains complicated.
The Super Eagles have collected just seven points from their first six group matches, leaving them six points adrift of group leaders South Africa.
The qualification format only allows group winners to automatically qualify, while four of the best second-placed teams will advance to an intercontinental playoff for a final chance to reach the tournament.
Nigeria, having missed out on the 2022 edition in Qatar, now sit fourth in their group, behind Benin and Rwanda, with only four matches remaining.
Sani Toro, who played a key administrative role when Nigeria qualified for their maiden World Cup appearance in USA ’94, believes Chelle still has a chance but warned of the consequences of failure.
“They have given the coach a target,” Toro told the Nations Sport.
“Let him work towards it and qualify for the World Cup. Let’s give him enough support to achieve it. He should be given a free hand to select the players he knows can help him. We should not be dictating to him.
“If he succeeds, well and good, then his contract will be renewed. If he doesn’t succeed, definitely, he’s going to be fired. So, there’s a need for us to be positive about it to make sure we qualify.”
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Toro also reflected on the nature of Chelle’s contract with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), revealing that it is not formally tied to qualification. But he insists that public expectations are clear — and so are the consequences.
Nigeria last qualified for the FIFA World Cup in 2018 when Franco-German tactician Gernot Rohr was still in charge of the Super Eagles.
