For nearly two years, the Super Eagles were a hard watch. They were disjointed, predictable, and flat. It was a team that looked like it trained together on WhatsApp and met for matches at the airport.
Then have suddenly, out of nowhere, they started playing football again.
The results started dropping, and the confidence returned. Nigerians, who are never shy of emotion, swung from abuse to belief in record time. So, the question must be asked: have the Super Eagles finally landed, or are we just being seduced by a good run?
There are still two games left to answer that question, but let’s talk about what we’re seeing right now.
Results first, explanations later
We must be honest that the early wins against Tanzania and Tunisia were not convincing performances. They were survival jobs. The kind where you thank God for the final whistle and move on.
Yes, we won. But the football raised eyebrows. Game management was shaky, substitutions were confusing, and the team had a bad habit of losing control after going ahead.
Then came the Mozambique game. The team was better, more coherent, yet still not much to write home about, and this was just because Mozambique was simply not top-drawer opposition.
But Algeria in the quarter final? That was a statement.
That performance screamed, “We can actually play football when we remember how.” It had the authority of the 4–0 demolition of Benin in Uyo. It had purpose, confidence and personality.
And once a Nigerian team starts showing personality, hope becomes dangerous.
This attack is not a joke
When Eric Chelle was appointed, many Nigerians rejected him immediately. And not unfairly too. His early games did little to inspire confidence. The draws against Zimbabwe and South Africa were poor. The loss to DR Congo in the World Cup qualifying playoffs was worse.
At that point, it felt like yet another wrong turn.
But football is funny.
Either Chelle has learned on the job at alarming speed, or he has benefited from something Nigerian coaches rarely get, which is time. Proper tournament time. Repetition. Structure.
The Akor–Osimhen partnership, with Lookman buzzing behind them, is genuinely frightening. Not “potentially good” but frightening, and actually dangerous.
It’s giving echoes of the 90s: Finidi, Amokachi, Yekini, Amuneke. Different era, same menace.
Fourteen goals scored, four conceded at the semi final stage is not luck.
That is a team that can hurt you.
Against our better judgement, Nigerians are dreaming
Two months ago, many Nigerians, myself included had written this team off as quarter-final material at best.
Now? People are whispering “1994.” People are saying “destiny.” People are asking if 2013 is finally getting a successor.
That is how quickly belief returns in this country.
Stanley Nwabali has been calm and reliable. Osayi-Samuel, Ajayi, Bassey and Onyemaechi have defended like men who know their jobs are on the line. Ndidi has rediscovered himself. Onyeka is doing the dirty work. Lookman is everywhere.
This team suddenly looks serious, and this should worry the rest of Africa.
But let’s not pretend the coach is perfect
Eric Chelle still scares me.
Not with his ideas, but with his substitutions.
The diamond 4-4-2 has been his hill to die on, and during the World Cup qualifiers, it nearly buried him. Even now, some of his in-game decisions feel like rolling dice in traffic.
The changes against Tanzania and Tunisia were borderline self-sabotage.
That said, winning cures everything. Whether it’s a diamond or a 4-3-3 dressed differently, the results are talking and Nigerians are smiling.
For now.
Is this just the benefit of time together?
People keep asking if this revival is simply because the team spent three full weeks together.
Maybe.
But that argument falls apart quickly, because Gernot Rohr had time. The football was dead. Peseiro had time. The system worked but suffocated creativity. Finidi and Eguavoen never had the luxury.
So, the answer is No! Time alone doesn’t fix things.
What Chelle seems to have done, and we must give credit where due, is that he found a balance between structure and freedom. That is not easy. And it deserves acknowledgment.
Football will humble all of us
Today, Eric Chelle is a hero. Yesterday, he was “not good enough.” Tomorrow? Football will decide.
“In football, you are only as good as your last game” is not a cliché. It is a curse.
“Chellesauce” is trending now. Nigerians are in love again. But one bad semi-final and the same voices will sharpen their knives.
That is not wickedness. That is football fandom.
Chelle must know this. And he must survive it.
The Alex Iwobi redemption arc
Through all this noise, Alex Iwobi deserves special mention.
For years, he has been Nigeria’s favourite scapegoat. Every misplaced pass became evidence. Every quiet game became a crime.
Now look at him.
He is controlling games, dictating tempo, cutting teams open, and playing with confidence and clarity. This is the Iwobi Nigeria has needed for years.
He didn’t run away. He didn’t sulk. He stayed. And now he’s leading.
That matters.
Nigeria might win its fourth AFCON title in Morocco. If that happens, Eric Chelle, his players, and the National Sports Commission deserve credit for resisting panic and staying the course.
And if Nigeria doesn’t win it? Chelle should still continue.
Not because he is flawless. But because constant resets have done more damage to this team than any bad formation ever could.
I am rooting for Nigeria.
Hope, dangerous as it is, has returned.
