The Super Eagles open their qualifying campaign against the Barea at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, with the hosts hoping to make a bright start.

Nigeria lost 2-0 to Madagascar in their last outing at AFCON 2019 and the Franco-Malian tactician is demanding an aggressive approach from his players.

“We are in Uyo and the opponent needs to know they are coming to hell, I want my player to be very aggressive, put a lot of intensity,” Chelle told the media per [a href="https://www.completesports.com/2027-afconq-i-want-my-players-to-be-aggressive-play-with-intensity-against-madagascar-chelle/" target="_blank"]Completesports.[/a]

“We have to go forward and try to forget about what happened last year, to be ambitious at every moment, every training session, every game and if we do that, of course, we can hope to win every game.

“We want to stay focused on our group and our team; this is our job: to manage the pressure. 

“The qualifiers start (today), we have to be ready first for the group and for us and after, of course, for the country.

“My players are in a good state of mind; they understand everything, and like I said, this is not a question of to win or lose, this is a question of state of mind.”

Meanwhile, captain Wilfred Ndidi insists Nigeria must avoid another poor start after their difficult 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

The midfielder wants his teammates to remain focused and build early momentum when they face Madagascar in their opening 2027 AFCON qualifier.

 “It will never happen again because this is a focused team. We are planning to set the momentum because the first game is the most important game in every competition,” he told the media.

“This is qualifiers, but the first game sets the momentum. It gives us the confidence to go for the other games coming. We’re ready for it and everyone is focused for it.”

After taking on the Barea, Chelle and his men travel to Bissau to face Guinea-Bissau’s Wild Dogs on Tuesday, 29 September.