Club Brugge star Raphael Onyedika could miss Nigeria’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin Republic,reports Completesports.com.
Onyedika left the pitch in the 16th minute of Club Brugge’s thrilling 5-5 draw with Westerlo on Wednesday night.
The 24-year-old was replaced by Alexander Stankovic.
The defensive midfielder has made six league appearances for Nicky Hayen’s side.
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Hayen is expected to provide more update on Onyedika’s fitness ahead of his side’s next league game with Standard Liege on Saturday.
Super Eagles head coach, Eric Chelle will hope the injury is not serious.
Chelle is already sweating on the fitness of another midfielder, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru ahead of the October international break.
Dele-Bashiru sustained a muscle injury in Lazio’s 1-0 home loss to AS Roma on Sunday.
By Adeboye Amosu
14 Comments
If all of you like get injured before October am sure many fans here are indefrence.
Our hope of making it has already been watered so nobody cares.
Never say never!
16th minute…..?? How can a player get injured as early as the 16th minute of a football match? He wasn’t even tackled by anybody. He just did a sprint and signalled to the bench to be subbed off. He even walked off the pitch himself…..he didn’t need a stretcher
Omo, this injury must be fake. If it wasn’t fake, they would have told us he would need surgery. This Raphael boy is just faking injuries to avoid national team games like their arrogant Osimhen, Aina, and co. He is not committed to the national team and should be banned.
Common sense is indeed not common.
As the saying goes, ‘ a dead child is better than a dumb one’
Some players like Onyedika and Frank Onyeka have struggled to find their feet under Coach Eric Chelle.
So, as much as I wish Rafael Onyedika a speedy recovery, I will not miss him at all for October’s dead rubber 2 game qualifiers in October.
Under Finidi, Onyedika shone like a million stars due to his further-forward right attacking midfield role in Finidi’s messy 4-3-3 formation.
Coach Chelle, in the main, plays 4-1-3-2 with different arrangements, roles and expectations for his attacking midfielders.
On the right, he tried Frank Onyeka in right attacking midfield, but it failed spectacularly. Chelle requires that the post-holder to be comfortable drifting to the flanks, taking on full-backs, delivering crosses, and supporting the support striker, all the while contracting and expanding across that region and supporting with defensive duties when required.
On the left, Simon performs this role well enough. On the right, Chukwueze punches his weight, and Dele-Bashiru ticked some of the boxes.
But Onyedika has not been given enough time to show whether he can fully grasp the nettle in that role.
On a similar note, I think Iwobi performs well as the centre attacking midfielder in this 4-1-3-2 formation. When the formation morphs into 4-2-3-1 to support the defence, he combines excellently well with Ndidi. The exchange passes effortlessly and know where each other is to buttress the double-pivot defensive midfield. Chukwueze also performed this role with emphatic authenticity in the friendlies against Ghana and Jamaica.
In front, Osihmen’s position is unassailable (if fit). But neither Simon nor Lookman have really clicked with him. I think starting him with Arokodare from the start or a rejuvenated Kelechi Iheanacho, could help deliver more goals.
I think Lookman should be excused from these games because his inclement club situation could negatively affect his match fitness. On the right, I think we should take a gamble with that lad that played against Russia, what is his name? Yeah, Olakunle Olusegun. I think his raw pace, directness and hunger could be harnessed to bring that position to life.
I will reluctantly retain Simon on the left due to experience and good match fitness.
Ndidi comes back for me. I know many don’t like his game anymore but the marking, interceptions, tackles, and moderate passes are still in his repertoire. Moreover, he combines so well with Iwobi that it is hard for me to picture another person.
At the back, Ekong definitely returns, but from the bench. His leadership qualities are a price beyond rubies. Plus, later in games, when we go 3 at the back with a centre-back to deliver precise long balls and provide a threat to the opposition in set pieces, Ekong is king.
I think we will end this later part of the campaign under Coach Chelle undefeated, but this might just not be enough for us to qualify for the World Cup.
Between you and I, any team that can only win 2 out of 8 World Cup qualifiers has no business going to the World Cup.
But finishing strong will enhance Chelle’s credibility and serve to prepare us for the gruelling Afcon. I think he will persist with his 4-1-3-2 formation. Once he finds a suitable partner for Osihmen and resolves the right attacking midfield position, then, it’s “Afcon, Here We Come!”
Onyedika did not shine under Finidi. He hasnt impressed in Super Eagles colors. I wish Simon isnt incited at all. Terrible player!
Wasn’t he the one who scored the only goal against Benin under Finidi? Did you watch the match against Russia? He was the standout player…football IQ was clear like night and day. When our coaches make him a main team player like he is at Brugge then we’ll see why he’s highly rated in Europe, not the 10mins sub roles he gets. This is someone who has been consistent in Champions league, scored against Man city, and is usually the first name on Bruges’ game day squad.
Chelle has been nothing short of a tactical tourist since he walked into the Super Eagles dugout. The man looks like he’s on internship, still fumbling around trying to “understand his players,” while Nigeria bleeds critical points. At this stage, what’s left to understand? These boys are not strangers. They’re not from Mars. They’re the same players we saw play at the last AFCON and still seeing playing at their clubs, superb players— but somehow, under Chelle, they look confused, wasted, and worse than their talent.
Defensively, we’re still shipping kindergarten goals at the most tragic moments, undoing the little progress our attack manages to scratch out. Isn’t this what a coach is hired to fix first? But no, under Chelle, it’s back to square one — an expensive comedy of errors. Watching Ekong fumble time and time again is like déjà vu of Yobo in his dying days with the Super Eagles, so awful they named him calamity. Yet Chelle acts blind. Instead of hunting for hungry young lions like Oboabona and Omeruo, who back in 2013, tnought Yobo how to mark Didier Drogba, and Yaya Toure, he doubles down on those slow legs and tragic positioning. Without Ajayi, our backline collapses like soaked cardboard. How can a coach not see that?
Then, his selection… my God. Onyeka and Dele-Bashiru — both in red-hot form back in the penultimate FIFA window — dropped. Uche then nowhere to be found too. Instead, we get Papa Daniel and Abdullahi, players whose only qualification seems to be “free slots available.” Who does that? We snatched only four points from Zimbabwe and Rwanda in that round, and that last-minute equalizer against Zimbabwe in Port Harcourt, courtesy of Ekong’s nap, signed, sealed, and delivered our goodbye note to the World Cup. Meanwhile, our rivals, South Africa, back then, gobbled up wins. That’s what you call unintentional sabotage.
And don’t get me started on the Dessers vs. Tolu Arokodare debacle in this last window. Tolu was on fire, scoring in consecutive games, brimming with confidence. What does Chelle do? Bench him in the most crucial match against South Africa — only to start Dessers, who has the urgency of a man shopping in a quiet supermarket. By the time Hugo Broos’ boys bullied us into submission, I wasn’t even angry anymore. I had already given up when I saw the lineup. When Tolu finally came on, Bafana Bafana froze — they didn’t want to come out again after Bassey’s equalizer. But Ekong had already killed the momentum. He had killed the game.
Against Rwanda at home — a team parked in ultra-low block mode — what does our genius coach deploy? A double pivot of Ndidi and Onyeka. Defensive midfielders galore. Why? To defend against players whose only plan was to defend? Madness. A thinking coach throws in Dele-Bashiru alongside Iwobi to drive creativity. But Chelle’s creativity begins and ends with 4-4-2 and 4-1-4-1, a tactical prison he doesn’t know how to escape. His “diamond” formation? Please, it’s been a disaster since the one-time success against Rwanda in Kigali. Now our wingers are ghosts, trapped in a predictable, one-dimensional system.
This team needed a Shaibu Amodu-type revival — that fire, that energy, that ability to turn chaos into qualification. In 2002 and 2010, Amodu stormed in, woke the Eagles from slumber, and made us believe again. He beat Sudan 4–0 away, conquered Kenya 3–2 in Nairobi, and dragged us to the World Cup with iron hands. That’s what we needed now: urgency, ruthlessness, belief. Instead, what do we get with Chelle? Two shaky home wins, limp performances, and the most uninspired Super Eagles in decades.
This isn’t coaching. This is sleepwalking. And if Chelle continues at this rate, forget AFCON — Nigeria will become the easiest team to read, plan for, and decimate on the continent. A shame of epic proportions.
So to you Chelle is the one that caused all this mess super eagles
is into..you are totally useless and senseless papafem..shut the f-ck up goat
@Anthony,
You wrote:
“So to you Chelle is the one that caused all this mess super eagles is into..”
Oga,, congratulations — you’ve just reinvented the art of missing the point. Nobody said Chelle caused all the mess. The mess is NFF-manufactured; Gusau & Co. own the factory. But Chelle’s job was not to sit in the mess and admire it. His job was to find a way out. That’s why he was hired. So if pointing out his tactical blunders, player mismanagement, and poor game control offends you, maybe you’re allergic to accountability.
You wrote:
“…you are totally useless and senseless papafem..”
Ah, the classic fallback of the football “keyboard warrior”: no stats, no logic, no insight — just playground name-calling. When serious fans are debating (Shout out to great minds here; @Deo, @Dr Drey, @Jimmy, @Field Marshall, @Greenurf, and many more), you’re serving us kindergarten vocabulary. If analysis is beyond you, at least Google what these players have been doing at club level before coming here to shout “useless.”
You wrote:
“…shut the f-ck up goat.”
Now this is where you really lose me. “Goat”? Thank you, @Anthony — that’s actually a compliment. In football, “GOAT” means “Greatest of All Time.” And if being the GOAT means analysing games with facts instead of empty rants, then yes, we will wear that crown happily because there are many GOATS here. I’ve mentioned some already. Meanwhile, you can keep bleating in the comments section.
Here’s the truth: Chelle isn’t the devil, but he isn’t the messiah either. He’s above Finidi and Peseiro, yes — but above failure is still not success. World Cup tickets, not excuses, are the standard. That’s my argument. If you can’t engage with that, Anthony, then maybe the one who needs to “shut up” isn’t me.
It’s not only the Coach whom I will not blame but Ekong who is using captaincy to get invites to the team. He should step aside and not use senior players to ruin the Super Eagles.
We have a midfielder who cannot dribble one player successfully starting every game. I have watched better players in the SE. Combative Oruma and the former Warri wolves player, I forgot his name. who will fall down, contest balls in the middle of the pack and score goals.
Onyedika too scores from the DM but our own is playing no contact football. The earlier we limit his introduction to the team from the bench, the better for Nigeria.
Oh PapaFem,
Excellent write-up from you up there, when it comes to style. In the substance department, it is way too one-sided and reeks of bitter pain from a fan desperate to lay most of the blame of failure on the door of a coach who, in fairness, is doing a brilliant job.
Brilliant job? Yes, brilliant job.
Let me explain, sir.
In Chelle’s last 8 games with the (main) Super Eagles, we have yet to taste defeat. Four wins and four draws against the likes of Ghana, South Africa, and Russia is pretty impressive to me.
As there been bumps along the road? Absolutely yes – all of which you have so eloquently stated above. So I will not be litigating these with you.
Where I think your analysis hits a snag is that you failed to acknowledge a single thing this coach got right.
If he is as abject, awful and disgusting as you would like us to believe, how come he brought tears to Ghana and Russia?
Listen, in 4 World Cup qualifiers, Chelle has accumulated 8 points, 8 points, let that sink in! He took over this sinking ship after 4 games, guess how many points he inherited from Peseiro and Finid? 3. You heard me right, 3. It is not unreasonable for one to suggest that Chelle would have accumulated 8 points from those first 4 games were he in charge, which would have given us a cool 16 points now going into the last games.
I stand by what I said earlier: your criticisms of Chelle are valid. But, your entire piece is lacking in one ingredient: A SENSE OF BALANCE.
In March, we beat Rwanda conclusively and were very close to defeating Zimbabwe, very close to 6 points. In September, we again beat Rwanda and forced South Africa to a highly respectable 1:1 draw at home. Yes, highly respectable.
I remember South Africa defeating Gernot Rohr’s Nigeria at home and forcing him to a draw away. I remember South Africa about to humiliate Keshi in Uyo before Soni Aluko drew us level to make it 2:2 (it was 0:0 away). Finidi could not defeat the same South Africa in our backyard. Even Peseiro had to rely on penalties in the Afcon.
Yet, people expect the same South Africa to just lie down and die to Chelle. Na so e easy? It was a respectable 1:1 score line. Our World Cup qualification had been in jeopardy long before that match against South Africa.
Of the 3 coaches that managed the Super Eagles’ wretched World Cup qualification campaign (Peseiro, Finidi, Chelle), only one of them has brought us closer to qualifying, only one of them accumulated the most points in their first 2 matches, only one of them has given us any hope of even qualifying, and we know who that is.
So, give the man his respect and stop throwing your toys out of the pram!
Rather, throw your toys at Peseiro, who would have (statistically) managed 8 points out of 8 games. Throw your toys at Finidi, who would have managed 4 points out of 8 games, not Chelle, who would have (statistically) managed 16 points out of 8 games if he had been the one to start the campaign.
First off, let me pause and appreciate my brother @deo. Your submission is, as always, brilliant — deeply thought out, well-structured, and layered with that calm analytical touch that makes your perspectives a delight to read. Honestly, I can’t thank you enough for always bringing balance to these conversations.
That said, allow me to summarize your core points: you argue that, if Chelle had started the campaign, his trajectory suggests he’d have managed around 16 points out of 8 games, compared to Peseiro’s limp 8 and Finidi’s miserable 4. By your logic, Chelle deserves his flowers, and that we shouldn’t “throw our toys at him” but rather at his predecessors and at the NFF.
Now here’s where I must respectfully disagree with you, my friend. Because while your statistical reasoning is sound, it misses the very heart of our expectations. We didn’t bring Chelle here to be above average. We didn’t bring him here to collect 16 points on paper. We brought him to be the exceptional coach who would drag us — by fire if necessary — into the World Cup. Anything short of that is failure. Abi isn’t that what he promised us when signing the contract?
This is where your argument, brilliant as it is, cracks. Yes, he has been better than Finidi and Peseiro — but so what? Being “better” than two failures does not translate to success. It only means you are slightly neater. At this stage of Nigerian football, we don’t clap for above average. We clap for World Cup tickets, or at the very least a playoff lifeline. And if Chelle wouldn’t deliver that, then his “16-point trajectory” is academic, not practical.
Yes, he has tried. I give him credit: his numbers are stable, and he has brought a little structure. His results are not disastrous. But our bar is not “not disastrous.” Our bar is the Mundial — the world stage. That’s why I keep returning to my earlier criticisms of the NFF. Gusau and his board are architects of this mess. I’ve never been their fan — and I never will. But history has shown us that coaches can thrive even under similar dysfunction. Amodu did it. Keshi did it. Westerhof did it. They all faced chaos from the FA and still delivered World Cup tickets. If they could, then Chelle cannot hide behind Gusau’s shadow forever.
Where you gloss over, my brother, is his flaws in tactics, selection, and game management. Those were the exact areas that cost us critical points. His obsession with predictable formations, his poor use of players in form (Onyeka, Dele-Bashiru, Tolu Arokodare), his questionable loyalty to names who shouldn’t be near the team — all these compounded to keep us where we are. Please, Bro, do a piece on this. I really want to read your view on these. And don’t forget to add his game management ability. We all saw how South Africa killed off the game in the dying minutes in Bloemfontein, with mature, leggy, time-wasting tactics. Compare that with our players still bombing forward against Zimbabwe in Port Harcourt when keeping possession and being calm would have sufficed, because we were already leading after Osimhen’s brilliant and timely goal. To me, if those flaws were avoided, trust me, we’d be standing tall right now with realistic hopes of qualification.
So yes, I agree with you that Chelle is not the worst, and yes, he has steadied the ship compared to the disasters before him. But steadying the ship is not the mandate. The mandate is to sail us to the World Cup harbor. And on that count, he hasn’t hit the mark.
So, @Deo, your piece is gold, and I appreciate it deeply. But my toys stay in hand for now, not because I disrespect Chelle, but because I expect more from him. Nigeria deserves more. The World Cup is not for above-average coaches. It is for brilliant ones. YES! Brilliant ones!
Word on the streets is that Cyriel Dessers will be dropped from October’s Super Eagles squad due to underwhelming performances in the last window.
If that’s the case, who comes in? I will personally advocate for any of the following:
1) Kelechi Iheanacho: back to being managed by Brendan Rodgers appears to have emancipated Iheanacho’s hunger, drive and focus. I think he will be keen to reclaim his spot with a spirited performance in October.
2) Paul Onuachu: Oh my God! I can already picture many fans shouting:”Crucify deo”. To which I don’t give a fig! Playing 2 in front can work in Onuachu’s favour in October.
3) Terem Moffi: Back playing and back among the goals in club football combine to make a case for his return. A proven goal scorer, many fans will be keen to see him back in October.
4) Sadiq Umar: Time is running out for him to stamp his authority in Super Eagles colours as he now features for his club. Perhaps October might be his time.
Akor Adams: Though he is not lightening up the Spanish league with a rainbow of goals, being a regular on match days makes him relevant to the Super Eagles for consideration in October.
Outsiders include Tijani Muhammed whom many regard as not being good enough, Victor Boniface whom many have concluded will never be good enough.
Will Josh Maja get a second chance or will Chuba Akpom ever get a chance?
First off, let me pause and appreciate my brother @deo. Your submission is, as always, brilliant — deeply thought out, well-structured, and layered with that calm analytical touch that makes your perspectives a delight to read. Honestly, I can’t thank you enough for always bringing balance to these conversations.
That said, allow me to summarize your core points: you argue that, if Chelle had started the campaign, his trajectory suggests he’d have managed around 16 points out of 8 games, compared to Peseiro’s limp 8 and Finidi’s miserable 4. By your logic, Chelle deserves his flowers, and that we shouldn’t “throw our toys at him” but rather at his predecessors and at the NFF.
Now here’s where I must respectfully disagree with you, my friend. Because while your statistical reasoning is sound, it misses the very heart of our expectations. We didn’t bring Chelle here to be above average. We didn’t bring him here to collect 16 points on paper. We brought him to be the exceptional coach who would drag us — by fire if necessary — into the World Cup. Anything short of that is failure. Abi isn’t that what he promised us when signing the contract?
This is where your argument, brilliant as it is, cracks. Yes, he has been better than Finidi and Peseiro — but so what? Being “better” than two failures does not translate to success. It only means you are slightly neater. At this stage of Nigerian football, we don’t clap for above average. We clap for World Cup tickets, or at the very least a playoff lifeline. And if Chelle wouldn’t deliver that, then his “16-point trajectory” is academic, not practical.
Yes, he has tried. I give him credit: his numbers are stable, and he has brought a little structure. His results are not disastrous. But our bar is not “not disastrous.” Our bar is the Mundial — the world stage. That’s why I keep returning to my earlier criticisms of the NFF. Gusau and his board are architects of this mess. I’ve never been their fan — and I never will. But history has shown us that coaches can thrive even under similar dysfunction. Amodu did it. Keshi did it. Westerhof did it. They all faced chaos from the FA and still delivered World Cup tickets. If they could, then Chelle cannot hide behind Gusau’s shadow forever.
Where you gloss over, my brother, is his flaws in tactics, selection, and game management. Those were the exact areas that cost us critical points. His obsession with predictable formations, his poor use of players in form (Onyeka, Dele-Bashiru, Tolu Arokodare), his questionable loyalty to names who shouldn’t be near the team — all these compounded to keep us where we are. Please, Bro, do a piece on this. I really want to read your view on these. And don’t forget to add his game management ability. We all saw how South Africa killed off the game in the dying minutes in Bloemfontein, with mature, leggy, time-wasting tactics. Compare that with our players still bombing forward against Zimbabwe in Port Harcourt when keeping possession and being calm would have sufficed, because we were already leading after Osimhen’s brilliant and timely goal. To me, if those flaws were avoided, trust me, we’d be standing tall right now with realistic hopes of qualification.
So yes, I agree with you that Chelle is not the worst, and yes, he has steadied the ship compared to the disasters before him. But steadying the ship is not the mandate. The mandate is to sail us to the World Cup harbor. And on that count, he hasn’t hit the mark.
In summary: Deo, your piece is gold, and I appreciate it deeply. But my toys stay in hand for now, not because I disrespect Chelle, but because I expect more from him. Nigeria deserves more. The World Cup is not for above-average coaches. It is for brilliant ones.