{"id":911703,"date":"2026-06-10T13:13:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T18:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/10\/were-not-perfect-ndidi-rates-chelles-impact-on-super-eagles-ahead-of-portugal-tie\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T13:13:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T18:13:17","slug":"were-not-perfect-ndidi-rates-chelles-impact-on-super-eagles-ahead-of-portugal-tie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/10\/were-not-perfect-ndidi-rates-chelles-impact-on-super-eagles-ahead-of-portugal-tie\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe\u2019re not perfect\u201d \u2013 Ndidi rates Chelle\u2019s impact on Super Eagles ahead of Portugal tie"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi and coach Eric Chelle. Copyright: xshengolpixsxImago<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi has given a strong endorsement of head coach Eric Chelle, saying the Franco-Malian tactician has brought stability, unity and a clear football philosophy to the Nigerian national team, Soccernet.ng<\/a> reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ndidi spoke ahead of Nigeria’s international friendly against Portugal <\/a>on Wednesday, describing the match as another important test for a side that is still developing under Chelle.<\/p>\n

The Super Eagles head into the fixture after facing Poland in another high-profile friendly as they continue preparations for future competitive assignments. The three-time African champions impressed in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Poland <\/a>in Warsaw. However, the game against Portugal is expected to provide a further measure of how far the team has progressed since Chelle took charge in January 2025.<\/p>\n

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Super Eagles’ Victor James Osimhen and Eric Chelle. Photo by Thor Wegner DeFodi Images\/IMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since his appointment, Chelle has overseen a remarkable transformation of the national team. Nigeria have remained unbeaten in regulation time under his leadership, won two Unity Cup titles in London, and secured a bronze medal at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco after reaching the semi-finals of the competition.<\/p>\n

Soccer Ndidi thumbs up Chelle’s influence on Super Eagles<\/h2>\n

Ndidi credited Chelle for creating a positive atmosphere within the camp and building a group willing to work together for the country.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEric is a very great manager,\u201d the Besiktas midfielder said at a pre-match press conference<\/a>. \u201cHe is an amazing guy. The way he brings the team together is really good because everyone is so happy having him around, which is the most important thing to have a group who is ready to fight, work for you as a team, work for the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The former Leicester City midfielder also praised the direction the coach has given the team, pointing to the tactical identity and mentality that have emerged since Chelle’s arrival.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe has brought in a great philosophy and you see the way we perform at the Afcon,\u201d Ndidi added. <\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we couldn’t but it was exciting. And this is a positive thing and the mindset also is very positive going forward and we will look forward to everything, every training, every game like game by game, try to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi. Copyright: xshengolpixsxImago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the encouraging signs, Ndidi admitted that the Super Eagles are still developing and have not yet reached the level they aspire to.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo, we’re not perfect, but I know we’re getting there. We’re getting to improve every day. This is football. We learn both when we win, when we draw, when we lose, we keep learning. There’s so much confidence in the team with our philosophy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

After claiming a 4-0 win over Nigeria in their first meeting four years ago, Portugal will be favourites to eke out another victory against the Super Eagles on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"<!--Imhonlamhen” src=”https:\/\/media.soccernet.ng\/main\/2024\/12\/DSC_0327-copy-150×150.jpg” height=”80″ width=”80″>\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tImhonlamhen\t\t\t\t<\/a>
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\n\t\t\t\tImhonlamhen is a football writer and editor at Soccernet.ng with over six years\u2019 experience shaping its editorial voice. A lifelong Arsenal and Super Eagles fan, he combines engineering precision with training in journalism and digital media. He has covered four AFCONs and two Women\u2019s AFCON tournaments, specialising in Super Eagles history and tracking Nigerian players worldwide, while keeping a close eye on the NPFL and emerging homegrown talents.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Imhonlamhen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi and coach Eric Chelle. Copyright: xshengolpixsxImago Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi has given a strong endorsement of head coach Eric Chelle, saying the Franco-Malian tactician has brought stability, unity and a clear football philosophy to the Nigerian national team, Soccernet.ng reports. Ndidi spoke ahead of Nigeria’s international friendly against […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":911704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1886,2005,2882],"tags":[6551,6094],"class_list":["post-911703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-perfect","category-soccer","category-were","tag-perfect","tag-were"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=911703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/911704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=911703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=911703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=911703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}