The stakes couldn’t be higher for Eric Chelle, the newly appointed head coach of the Nigerian national football team. Tasked with the daunting challenge of securing Nigeria’s qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Chelle inherits a team and a nation desperate for redemption.

His appointment, announced by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has sparked conversations across the Nigerian football community, with many expressing cautious optimism. Among them is former Super Eagles midfielder Sylvanus Okpala, who didn’t mince words when assessing the weight of Chelle’s new role.

“The point is that if we don’t qualify for the World Cup, we have failed,” Okpala declared during an interview with Brila FM.

This blunt assessment comes as a sobering reminder of the Super Eagles’ heartbreaking miss in 2022, when they lost out to Ghana on away goals. Another failure to qualify, Okpala warned, would be a devastating blow to Nigerian football.

“Nigeria cannot afford to miss the World Cup for the second time. It will be disastrous. Things are tough, but not impossible. With six games left, there is still room to recover,” he emphasized.

The pressure on Chelle is immense. His first tests will be crucial qualifiers against Zimbabwe and Rwanda, games the Super Eagles cannot afford to lose. The former Lens defender must rally his squad quickly, knowing that the eyes of a football-loving nation are fixed on him.

However, Okpala also called out the NFF, urging them to take responsibility for their decisions. He warned against using Chelle’s mid-qualifier appointment as a scapegoat should Nigeria falter.

“They shouldn’t later claim that the situation was already beyond repair before his appointment. If that was the case, they should have waited until after the qualifiers to appoint him,” Okpala concluded.

With six qualification matches remaining, Chelle’s tenure begins under a cloud of urgency and expectation. Can he lead Nigeria back to the global stage, or will the weight of expectation prove too heavy? One thing is clear: failure is not an option for the Super Eagles.