*Injuries, several yellow cards amongst Chelle’s worries
Duro Ikhazuagbe
Super Eagles will open camp in South Africa today ahead of Friday’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho inside the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
With all the invited 23 players expected to fly straight from their respective bases into South Africa, Head Coach, Eric Chelle, and his backroom staff must be excited by the good shows put up by top Super Eagles for their clubs in weekend fixtures before the international window.
Apart from Victor Osimhen who has been consistent since coming back from injury sideline, new invitee, Akor Adams also got on the scorers’ sheet, helping Sevilla to end Barcelona’s 15-game unbeaten run with a 4-1 victory. Adams netted the fourth goal for Sevilla in the 98th minute after receiving a brilliant assist from another Nigerian international Chidera Ejuke.
Osimhen had in midweek UEFA Champions League clash scored a 16th minute penalty that proved to lone winning goal against Liverpool.
However, the fears over Eagles defence heightened with injuries to key invited players. With Bright Osayi-Samuel out, another invited Werder Bremen defender, Felix Agu, was forced out of Saturday’s Bundesliga clash against St.Pauli due to injury. He remains a major doubt for Friday’s game with Lesotho as he’s scheduled to undergo a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan today to assess the injury to his ankle.
Wilfred Ndidi who is just working his way back to the team after injury layoff, on Saturday committed the catastrophic mistake that led to Galatasaray’s equaliser in the Istanbul Derby against Osimhen’s Galatasaray at Rams Park.
Therefore, as the camp in Polokwane opens, while Chelle will be happy with his sharp forward line, he will probably be filled with trepidation on what to make of his backline depleted by injuries and yellow cards. A second yellow cards will rule them out of the final group qualifier against Benin Republic next week in Uyo.
Those having one yellow cards ahead of the Lesotho clash include Semi Ajayi – booked vs Lesotho (16 Nov 2023); Calvin Bassey – booked vs Zimbabwe (19 Nov 2023); Jamilu Collins – booked vs Zimbabwe (19 Nov 2023); Umar Sadiq – booked vs Zimbabwe (19 Nov 2023);Bright Osayi-Samuel – booked vs South Africa (7 Jun 2024); Sodiq Ismaila – booked vs Benin (10 Jun 2024); Wilfred Ndidi – booked vs Rwanda (21 Mar 2025); Alex Iwobi – booked vs Rwanda (21 Mar 2025); Tolu Arokodare – booked vs Rwanda (21 Mar 2025); Stanley Nwabali – booked vs Rwanda (6 Sept 2025); Ademola Lookman – booked vs South Africa (9 Sept 2025); and Bruno Onyemaechi – booked vs South Africa (9 Sept 2025).



