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Chelle confirms Nigeria are ready for Rwanda, defends Lookman call-up

Nigeria coach Eric Chelle
Nigeria coach Eric ChelleMAXIM SHIPENKOV / EPA / Profimedia
Nigeria coach Eric Chelle says his team are ready to face Rwanda in Saturday’s decisive FIFA World Cup qualifier, urging his players to stay focused.

The Super Eagles face Amavubi at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, desperate for a win to revive their faltering qualification hopes.

In the first meeting at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, the three-time African champions claimed a 2-0 victory courtesy of a first-half brace from Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen.

Speaking to the media ahead of the return fixture, the Franco-Malian coach praised the quality of the Rwandan squad but maintained that his players are fully prepared to execute their game plan and secure another win.

"This is only about the Rwanda game," said Chelle. "We have a good team coming to Uyo tomorrow, and they (Rwanda) also have a good technical staff. 

"For us, we are ready with our game plan, and I want my players to be focused on just this game, and not the World Cup qualifiers as a whole. 

"We need to talk about the game here, and we need to win this game. After this, we will see what happens."

READ MORE: Troost-Ekong shares Super Eagles' motivation ahead of must-win Rwanda clash

Nigeria stumbled at the start of the campaign, drawing 1-1 at home to Lesotho before being held again in Zimbabwe. 

In fact, all their home fixtures have ended in stalemates, leaving them fourth in Group C with just seven points from six matches. 

Chelle has since hinted at his strategy to contain the East African side: "What I can only tell my players is to play with intensity. 

"We want to take control of the game from the first minute. The most important thing is what we do in the opening five, 10, 15 minutes. We also must be in the right state of mind to achieve our objective."

Chelle also explained his decision to call up Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman for the matches against Rwanda and South Africa, despite the player having yet to feature this season due to his ongoing transfer saga.

"About Lookman, can we do a list without the best player in Africa? This is my job to do," he continued.

"If he can play, maybe five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 50 minutes, or even 60 minutes. So, I cannot make a list without him.

"I trust him, and I have so much confidence in him. After this final training session, I have a lot of responsibilities to do. This is my job, and we will see (on match day)."

A win for Nigeria would lift them above Adel Amrouche’s side into third place, before heading to Bloemfontein for Tuesday’s clash with Bafana Bafana at the Free State Stadium.

READ MORE: Mugisha taking inspiration from AFCON win over Nigeria to fuel Rwanda's World Cup push

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