Nigeria head coach Éric Chelle has charged his players to make a strong start to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign when Nigeria host Madagascar in Uyo on Friday.

The Super Eagles will face the Barea at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in their opening Group L fixture, with Chelle insisting that Nigeria must establish the right tone from the first whistle. 

Chelle is particularly keen to avoid another difficult qualification campaign after Nigeria’s failure to secure a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The Franco-Malian coach wants his players to approach the AFCON qualifiers with urgency and collect points early, beginning with the home fixture against Madagascar before Nigeria travel to Guinea-Bissau for their second match on September 29. 

“We have to show everyone from Day One that we want it,” Chelle said ahead of the encounter. “We must go for the points without any hesitation.” 

Nigeria enter the campaign with a squad containing several experienced internationals, including captain Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Ademola Lookman, Moses Simon and Ola Aina.

The squad has, however, been affected by the absence of Victor Osimhen, who was withdrawn because of a muscle injury. Taiwo Awoniyi was subsequently drafted into the squad as his replacement. 

Chelle has also introduced three players to the senior setup for the qualifiers, with goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo, defender Isaac James and forward George Ilenikhena receiving their first Super Eagles call-ups. 

The Malian coach has several attacking options available despite Osimhen’s absence, including Lookman, Akor Adams, Awoniyi, Tolu Arokodare, Samuel Chukweze, Moses Usor and Ilenikhena.

Friday’s fixture will also bring back memories of Madagascar’s famous 2-0 victory over Nigeria at the 2019 AFCON in Egypt.

The Barea won that group-stage encounter through goals from Lalaina Nomenjanahary and Charles Andriamahitsinoro, although Nigeria had already secured qualification for the knockout stage before the match. 

Madagascar went on to reach the quarter-finals at the 2019 tournament, their best-ever AFCON performance, but have not returned to the finals since.

For Chelle and his players, the immediate task is therefore to ensure that the new qualifying campaign begins with a positive result and that Nigeria avoid giving their opponents another opportunity to reproduce their 2019 success.

With Tanzania also in Group L as one of the co-hosts of the 2027 tournament, the qualification group offers only one available ticket, increasing the importance of securing points from the opening fixtures.