AFCON 2025: Eric Chelle Speaks About His Future As Super Eagles Boss After Loss to Morocco
- Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has provided an update about his future beyond the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
- Chelle took over as the head coach of the Nigerian national team over a year ago, but fell short of his primary target
- Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after losing to DR Congo during the playoffs in November 2025
- A Nigerian football enthusiast based in Morocco says only Eric Chelle can decide what he wants to do with his future
Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has provided an update about his future beyond the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after Nigeria failed to reach the final.
Nigeria lost 4-2 to Morocco on penalties in the semi-final after an intense 120 minutes, with Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi missing their spot kicks.
Source: Getty Images
As confirmed by the NFF, the Super Eagles will face Egypt and compete for the bronze medal, which they have won a record eight times in the competitions.
The match between Nigeria and the Pharaohs of Egypt will take place at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca on Saturday, January 17, 2026, at 6 pm.
Read Eric Chelle's first message to Nigerians as Super Eagles coach below:
Eric Chelle speaks about his future
Eric Chelle has explained how his future is expected to pan out after AFCON 2025, with no decision made so far after the Super Eagles missed out on the final.
“My future? Now I don't know [but] I know something - I'm the coach of Nigeria, and maybe in a few days my president will tell me it's finished for you or maybe you have to continue, so I don't know. So, the question of my situation, no,” he said as quoted by Foot Africa.
He added that he remains focused on the third-place match against Egypt, which will officially spell the end of AFCON 2025 for the Super Eagles, after which there will be conversations with the NFF.
“We have a last game and then after, normally I will have some meetings with the NFF, and we will decide something. But like I said, I'm the coach of Nigeria, and if nobody tells me you have to stop, I'm here,” he added
“So, after the AFCON, we will talk for sure with lots of people, and we will make a decision together, but now the AFCON is not finished.”
Source: Getty Images
Eric Chelle’s record as Super Eagles boss
Chelle is yet to lose a match in charge of the Nigerian first team in normal time, and his only defeats have come in penalty shootouts against DR Congo and Morocco.
He has coached 16 competitive matches in charge of the team, winning 12 and drawing four, two of which ended in the costly defeats of his reign.
The shootout loss against DR Congo and Morocco eliminated Nigeria from the World Cup qualifier and from AFCON 2025, the two most crucial matches.
In charge of the Super Eagles team B, he lost to Senegal and Sudan, and beat Congo at the African Nations Championship, a tournament in which Nigeria was eliminated in the group stage.
Nigerian football fan based in Morocco, Olayemi Busari, claimed that only Eric Chelle can decide his next step as NFF would accept whatever decision he takes.
“Eric Chelle earned the love and support of Nigerians despite not winning the title, and it has been a long time since Nigerians loved a Super Eagles coach,” he told Legit.ng.
“He has the ball in his court, and whatever decision he makes is what the NFF will agree with. He has options to leave, he has the backing to stay. The decision is up to him.”
Chelle receives offer from Tunisia
Legit.ng reported that Eric Chelle received a lucrative offer to coach the Tunisian national team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Tunisia fired Sami Trabelsi after its AFCON 2025 Round of 16 elimination and looked to hire the Franco-Malian manager for the Mundial.
Source: Legit.ng
