Eric Chelle: Super Eagles Boss Analyses Russia Ahead of Friendly in Luzhniki

• The Super Eagles of Nigeria will face the Russian national team in a friendly at Luzhniki today
• Russia are still under a FIFA ban for invading Ukraine in 2022, a war which still lingers in the country
• Super Eagles head coach has analysed the opponent ahead of the first match since winning the Unity Cup

Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has analysed the Russian national team ahead of the international friendly match against the Europeans in Luzhniki later today.

Nigeria will play their third match of the post-season international break later today, having played two games in the just-concluded 2025 Unity Cup in London.

The Eagles beat rivals Ghana 2-1 in the semi-final, before beating Jamaica on penalties to win the trophy at Brentford FC's Gtech Community Stadium in London.

Attention has now turned to the friendly match against Russia, who are still under a FIFA ban imposed on them after invading Ukraine in March 2022.

Eric Chelle analyses Russia

Super Eagles boss Chelle has analysed Russia's style of play ahead of today's match, admitting that he is focused on building a plan to win the match.

“We know that the Russian national team is a very strong team. It has many high-class players, they demonstrate an intense, aggressive and technically equipped game,” he said as quoted by All Nigeria Soccer.

“Now I am thinking about how to build a plan for the upcoming match.”

The former Mali national team coach claims that, despite being a friendly match, he wants to win and prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier in September.

“In any case, for me as a coach, it is important to strive for victory in every match, regardless of its status,” he added.

“Tomorrow's game is a friendly, but we have serious goals: firstly, we want to win, secondly, to prepare for the next tournaments and qualifying matches.”

Ekong speaks boldly before facing Russia

Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong, who was left out of the squad for the Unity Cup, will lead the team out against Russia and describes the match as a serious business.

He added that the team has changed a lot, but since arriving in Moscow, they have been watching videos to analyse and better understand the team.

"We're taking this opponent very seriously. We know that the Russian team hasn't conceded a single goal in the last few matches – we'll try to change that tomorrow. We're looking forward to the game,” he told RFS.

“We have seen that the Russian team plays aggressively, often using a 4-3-3 formation and high pressing. This will not be an easy task for us, but I will not go into details. We know both the strengths and weaknesses of this team.”

He did not divulge information on Nigeria's game plan but is confident they are ready to face Russia.

Chelle highlights Nigeria's weakness

Legit.ng reported that Eric Chelle highlighted Super Eagles’ weakness after the matches against Ghana and Jamaica in the 2025 Unity Cup in London.

The manager admitted before the mini-tournament that he would use it to assess new players in different roles, which he did and identified a problem to be fixed.

Source: Legit.ng