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AFCON 2025
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Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle discussed Raphael Onyedika's struggles against Morocco in Wilfred Ndidi's absence.
Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle analysed Raphael Onyedika’s performance against Morocco in the AFCON semi-final, explaining why the Club Brugge midfielder struggled against the Atlas Lions.
Chelle and the Super Eagles coaches before him have been pressured to give Onyedika a more prominent role in the Super Eagles setup, with some analysts even suggesting that he was ready to replace Wilfred Ndidi, citing his excellent performances in the Champions League.
Onyedika got the rare chance to show his quality in the AFCON third group stage clash against Uganda, with Ndidi given a rest after the Super Eagles had clinched qualification, and the 24-year-old excelled, scoring two goals in addition to an excellent job orchestrating play in midfield.
Why Onyedika struggled against Morocco — Eric Chelle
Onyedika secured another start in the competition, a high-stakes game this time, coming in for the suspended Ndidi for the AFCON semi-final defeat to Morocco. The stage proved too big for him, and he largely struggled.
Chelle, in his recent appearance on the After Afrique podcast, explained that Onyedika needed a different system to thrive as he was a different profile from the Super Eagles captain.
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“We didn't have Wilfred Ndidi, who is the captain. We press where I have five players who are the first line of defence on the press. We have Ndidi, who secures everything.” Chelle said, per RMC Sport.
“There are two different profiles. You are going to be Raphael Onyedika, or you're going to be a profile who plays more in a system where you are going to have wingers, 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, and you're going to be more of a mid-block, and you're going to cut out passes.”
“He [Onyedika] is very intelligent in his tactical reading, but Wilfred is a profile where he goes to the players and recovers the ball from the feet of the opponents. So they are two different profiles.
“In this match [against Morocco], he was indeed less good than Ndidi, but he's still a great player. He was good against Marseille [in the UEFA Champions League], wasn't he? And I even thought he was going to be transferred during the January transfer window.”