Eric Chelle Reacts to Super Eagles’ AFCON 2027 Qualifier Group Stage Draw
- Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has reacted to Nigeria’s group stage draw for AFCON 2027 qualifier
- The draw held in Cairo, Egypt on May 19 pit Nigeria against Tanzania, Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau
- The presence of the Taifa Stars and other co-hosts will affect who can qualify from Group D, H and L
Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has shared his thoughts about Nigeria’s group for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The draw was held in Cairo, Egypt on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, with former Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong as one of the draw assistants.
Source: Getty Images
As noted by CAF, Nigeria were drawn in Group L alongside Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau and one of the three tournament hosts Tanzania.
The matches will take place during the international windows concluding the years and the March international of 2027 to decide AFCON 2027 participants.
Chelle reacts to AFCON 2027 draw
Super Eagles boss Eric Chelle has reacted to and analysed each member from Group L after the group stage draws was held in Egypt.
Chelle admitted that each team is capable of causing trouble for the the three-time African
“Tanzania have already qualified for the AFCON, so this is a group of three. If you play a draw, you can have some problems,” he told Proudly Austin. “Tanzania may give us problems, just as they did against Morocco, so this is not a small team.”
AFCON 2027 hosts Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda will take part in the qualifier group stages, despite having automatic slots to the tournament.
This means in Groups D, H and L, only the group winners will qualify for the tournament or if those teams finish first, only the second-placed teams will qualify.
“Madagascar, we know them as a good team because they beat Nigeria in 2019. With Guinea-Bissau, you cannot say there is a small team in Africa now,” he added.
The manager warned his team that they must remain focused on every match because of their tricky group because no team in football is easy right now.
“So you have to be focused on every game and every team. You have to do the job; this is not easy. Which game is easy in football right now?” he concluded.
Source: Twitter
The Super Eagles camp has opened in London for the 2026 Unity Cup, a four-nation tournament involving India, Zimbabwe and Jamaica.
Nigeria will face Zimbabwe in the first match, and their result will determine whether they will face the winner or loser of India vs Jamaica next.
Nigeria also have high-profile international friendly matches against Poland and Portugal in June before sitting at home for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which they failed to qualify for.
Troost-Ekong sends message to Super Eagles
Legit.ng previously reported that William Troost-Ekong sent a message to the Super Eagles of Nigeria after the AFCON 2027 qualifier draw was concluded.
The former Super Eagles captain, who was one of the draw assistants in Cairo, admitted that Nigeria is in a difficult group, but he trusts the team to qualify.
Source: Legit.ng
