It’s now a full house in Nigeria’s camp in Polokwane ahead of the Super Eagles’ must-win 2026 World Cup qualifier against Lesotho on Friday, October 10 and Benin Republic on Tuesday, October 14. The last time the Super Eagles were in action, their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup were extinguished after the 1-1 stalemate against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. However, about a month after that devastating outing, the Eric Chelle-led side’s fortunes were somewhat revived after FIFA deducted three points from South Africa for fielding an ineligible player in their win over Lesotho in March.

Group C has now been thrown wide open, with Benin Republic (14 points), South Africa (14 points), and Nigeria (11 points) the only sides of the six in a good spot to snatch the lone automatic qualification spot in the group in the concluding two matches. Not exactly an inspiring position for Nigeria, they begin this last push against Lesotho on Friday before facing the Benin Republic at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on Tuesday. Anything short of victories would put Nigerians right back where they were before the FIFA intervention, but in the pursuit of these victories, here are three things Eric Chelle and his Eagles must be committed to changing.

Dismal Away Form

Although the Super Eagles are far from being a fortress at home in the qualifiers, their away form has been particularly unhelpful to their quest. Of the four matches the three-time African champions have played outside Nigeria, they have only won once: a 2-0 victory over Rwanda back in March, while the others have been a 2-1 loss to Benin in Abidjan, and 1-1 draws with South Africa and Zimbabwe in Bloemfontein and Butare respectively.

Looking broader to their last competitive involvement in the second quarter of 2024, during the AFCON 2025 qualifiers, the numbers do not look any better. Though the Super Eagles managed to qualify comfortably, their away performances left much to be desired, as their only victory in three matches on the road came from a walkover 3-0 awarded after Libya failed to honour the fixture.

It has largely been a poor run for Nigeria on opposition grounds. Poor pitch conditions, hostile crowds — whatever the reasons might be, the Super Eagles must put this under control when they file out against the Crocodiles on Friday.

William Troost-Ekong’s Starting Role

Defensive stability hasn’t been Nigeria’s strongest suit in recent times. But the pattern in their last three World Cup qualifiers particularly revealed the uncomfortable culpability of captain William Troost-Ekong.

When Zimbabwe struck late to snatch a last-minute equaliser against Nigeria in Uyo in March, the team largely had itself to blame for wasting chances that could have put the game well out of the Warriors’ reach, even if it was Ekong’s poor attempt at clearing the ball that gifted the visitors a last-minute point.

In the September fixture against Rwanda, which Chelle’s men won 1-0 in Uyo, attacking bluntness remained an issue, but there was a noticeable improvement in defensive organisation in the absence of Ekong, who only came on as an 87th-minute substitute after the centre-back pairing of Calvin Bassey and Benjamin Fredrick had marshalled a composed backline.

For reasons best known to him, Chelle restored Ekong to the starting lineup against South Africa, only for the former Udinese man to give the hosts a first-half lead. No doubt Ekong has earned his stripes as one of the Super Eagles’ exemplary leaders of all time, but his recent form leaves little room for sentiment, especially at a time like this.

Eric Chelle’s Midfield Dogma

Creativity from the middle of the park isn’t a new concern for Nigeria. It was on full display at AFCON 2024 under José Peseiro and has persisted under Chelle. The Malian tactician doesn’t have it any easier ahead of the concluding World Cup qualifiers, with the absence of Raphael Onyedika adding further strain to what is already the team’s weakest area. Considering Alex Iwobi and the largely untested Chrisantus Uche as the only remotely creative outlets in the current camp, there’s no better time for Chelle to reconsider his preferred diamond midfield setup.

The diamond structure can be as good or bad as any other tactical shape, but given the spatial demands it places on players — requiring great positional discipline and familiarity — it can easily become a costly gamble. Maintaining this setup with less-than-ideal midfield options, limited training time, and the heavy weight of expectations may simply be too much to ask at this point.