Super Eagles forward Umar Sadiq is backing the team’s new head coach, Eric Chelle, to succeed in his role.
Chelle was appointed as the Super Eagles’ permanent head coach earlier this month.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has faced significant criticism for their decision to hire the Malian coach.
However, Sadiq is confident that the 47-year-old will have a successful tenure with the Super Eagles.
“You can see what he did in the last AFCON. Everyone was thinking that Mali were also among the favourites,” Sadiq told Sporty TV.
“You can see how they played. They were so good but they got knocked out in the quarterfinals because sometimes it is not the best that wins.
“But I can tell you, I watched a lot of games of Mali because I have a teammate there. And you can see how they play. You can see the coach (Chelle) has a lot of things.”
The former defender made headlines after guiding Mali to their first victory over the Super Eagles in 50 years during a friendly last March.
His first official match in charge of the Super Eagles will be a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Rwanda’s Amavubi in March.
