Ex-Flying Eagles coach warns Super Eagles ahead of AFCON 2027 qualifiers

Former Flying Eagles and Enugu Rangers coach John Obuh has weighed in on the Super Eagles’ AFCON 2027 qualifiers campaign, Afrik Foot reports.

Eric Chelle’s side have been drawn into Group L alongside the Taifa Stars of Tanzania, the Barea of Madagascar, and the Djurtus of Guinea-Bissau.

The group stage fixtures for the AFCON 2027 qualifiers will run across three FIFA international windows [21 September – 6 October 2026, 9 November – 17 November 2026, 20 March –30 March 2027], coming in the form of home-and-away fixtures to be spread over several months

Trainer John OBUH. Copyright: Imago

John Obuh warns Super Eagles ahead of AFCON 2027 qualifiers

The three-time African champions are clear favourites to top the group to seal a spot in the competition next year. Still Obuh has warned against complacency, a feat that described Nigeria’s World Cup qualifiers.

“I will start from their last competition, which was the Nations Cup. We did very well,” the 66-year-old said in an interview with Footy Africa.

“They brought back hope to us with the way they played, even though we lost out. It was a very good campaign, a very good performance, and there were a lot of positive discoveries.”

Super Eagles. Photo by Ganiyu Yusuf Copyright: IMAGO

“Taking that into this current campaign, I want to believe that as long as they do not underrate those countries—because Madagascar and the rest are no longer small football nations—they will succeed.

“Every country has experienced some level of development as far as football is concerned.

“Therefore, any country we play, we must face them as if we are playing Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Ghana, or South Africa.”

The AFCON 2027 tournament will be jointly hosted by three East African countries: Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Nigeria have claimed silver and bronze medals in the previous two editions of the competition, but the former Kwara United coach urged for patience when quizzed about the possibility of Chelle’s men bringing the trophy home next year.

Super Eagles stars Emmanuel Fernandez and Frank Onyeka. Copyright: xAmeenxAhmedx IMAGO

“The most important thing right now is for them to first focus on securing qualification. Let them concentrate on qualifying us before we start talking about representation at the next World Cup.

“With the way they are progressing, they are the ones we look forward to seeing replace the older players.

“My wish is for all of them to be part of it because they are young enough to serve us for a longer time. However, they have to perform very well to keep their places, because we need replacements as quickly as possible,” the John Obuh concluded.

Super Eagles stars Frank Onyeka, Alex Iwobi and Simon Moses. Copyright: xAdeniyixMuyiwaxIMAGO

The Super Eagles will play against Poland and Portugal next month before the AFCON 2027 qualifiers kick off in September.

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Adefolahan Guerreiro

Sports Writer