Leverage Osimhen’s strength, fix leaky defence… five problems Eagles must resolve to succeed at AFCON

The Super Eagles of Nigeria continue their preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) that begins on Saturday in Morocco. The three-time champions, set to feature in their 21st AFCON tournament, are, however, beset by wide-ranging issues that have besieged the country’s football in recent years and culminated in a second consecutive failure to qualify for the World Cup.

The team comprises most of the players who finished second at the last AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire, but with a different coach and wildly different tactical philosophies, the Eagles head to Morocco with minimal expectations from most Nigerian fans.

The issues that dogged the team throughout the botched 2026 World Cup qualifiers persist, and some have even metastasised into fatal flaws. These problems extend beyond the pitch, including complete sabotage from sports administrators. However, Eric Chelle, the team’s head coach, and his team must be ready to fix the bugs and insulate themselves from outside to achieve anything remotely successful at AFCON.

TheCable recommends fixes to these nagging issues that stand between the Eagles and a successful AFCON in Morocco.

UTILISE OSIMHEN’S STRENGTH TO THE MAX

It is a no-brainer that Victor Osimhen is Nigeria’s best player. The Galatasaray striker has been in form for club and country, and his goals pushed Nigeria on the brink of the World Cup before the penalty shootout loss to Congo DR in the playoffs. He netted twice in four AFCON qualification appearances and has five goals in his last five matches for Nigeria.

Despite his healthy return for the Eagles, the velocity of supplies Osimhen gets from wingers, full-backs, and midfielders remains minimal. The crosses aimed at Osimhen are often too overcooked or underhit. Mostly, the wingers don’t put their heads up promptly to spot the striker’s positioning or run into the channels. Osimhen’s superiority among global strikers is defined by his all-around lethality. He is as good with his head as he is with his fiery rightfoot. More timely and accurate crosses from the wings, and Osimhen will pound more in every game.

FIX THE LEAKY DEFENCE

The Super Eagles conceded in all but two of their eleven games so far in 2025. The team’s defensive rigidity at the last AFCON is lost to memory. Under Jose Peseiro, the Eagles went on a four-match clean sheet run in Cote d’Ivoire, which served as the backbone of their journey to the final.

William Troost-Ekong, who marshalled the defence at last AFCON and was named the best player, has retired, and Ola Aina is also out with injury. Also, Benjamin Fredricks, the youngster hailed as the best defender in recent times, has also suffered a long-term injury, and these absences mean Nigeria is set to field Calvin Bassey as the only defender in a top league and in top form.

Others are in lower, less-fancied leagues, while some are struggling for game time. Chelle must find a way to avoid the endless defensive capitulation that led to the 2-1 defeat to Egypt in the tune-up game on Monday.

DECIDE MIDFIELD STRUCTURE EARLY

Chelle continues to experiment in the middle of the park, and this continues to affect the team’s rhythm. While captain Wilfred Ndidi is assured of a starting berth at the base, Alex Iwobi is being played out of position in a deeper role, and there are still question marks about who will regularly pair the duo in Chelle’s preferred three-man midfield. There is Frank Onyeka, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Raphael Onyedika, and the newbies Ebenezer Akinsanmiro and Tochukwu Nnadi.

Chelle has also experimented, to disastrous effect, with Ademola Lookman and Samuel Chukwueze dropping into midfield. The uncertainty about a perfect midfield combination and structure hurt Nigeria immensely during the World Cup qualifiers.

NFF MUST SETTLE UNPAID ALLOWANCES

Nigeria’s World Cup qualification playoff was marred by the players’ boycotting a training session over unpaid allowances. The age-long issue of administrative neglect reared its ugly head at the wrong time, and the country’s World Cup hope suffered.

With a few days to go before AFCON, reports are rife that Eric Chelle is owed. The rotten cycle is in fullswing yet again. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the National Sports Commission (NSC) must not let the wheels come off and the team down tools in Morocco before the needful is done.

ACCEPT THAT THE SUPER EAGLES ARE NOT EXTRAORDINARY

It is high time the Nigerian football governing body, administrators, players, and football fans alike accepted that the Super Eagles are just about a good team, not a superb one.

We are fifth-best in Africa, per FIFA rankings, but minnow nations either took points off Nigeria or outrightly defeated the Super Eagles — Benin Republic in recent times.

It takes Osimhen’s one-man show to rescue Nigeria in recent matches, with other supposed big names having off days or delivering their best average performance.

Nigeria, however, has a crop of young players such as Fredricks, Akinsanmiro, Dele-Bashiru, and Akor Adams that can be shielded from the undue external pressure and coached to take Nigeria back to her better years. With the right psychological training, AFCON 2025 could be the place for some of these boys.