Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle has hinted at the team maintaining the diamond formation when they qualifiers for the 2026 world cup resumes in September, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
The coach has played with the formation since taking over as coach of the Super Eagles, with two draws and three wins in five matches so far. He looks certain to maintain the formation.
Nigeria will be up against Rwanda and South Africa respectively in the world cup qualifiers, where they are currently six points behind the leaders South Africa, although a three potential point deduction for fielding an ineligible player is expected to be slammed on South Africa.
Talking about his tactics, Chelle explained why he prefers playing the diamond formation in an interview with Onzemondial.
“I like the 4-4-2 in diamond. I like to play with two strikers, have numerical superiority in midfield. Because already, there are not many teams that play with a diamond. So, we are still in numerical superiority in midfield. And then, I also like the flat 4-4-2 that turns 4-2-4 when you have the ball”,
Chelle went further to defend the system saying like every tactics, it has it strength and weakness but can be varied based on how the team is set up and players availability.
“Every scheme and vision has strengths and weaknesses. In game systems, it’s animation that counts. You can play in 4-3-3, with a top striker who goes down to the midfield, as in (Pep) Guardiola’s Barça (Barcelona ) with Messi. In reality, it turned into a diamond. So it is the animation of your players and the profile of your players that will make you readable or not.
“The idea is to have a starting system. But again, what matters to me is movement. I play in a 4-4-2 diamond. If I have two top attackers, I know I will be more axial. Now, if in my two attackers, I line up two wingers, I necessarily know that my two wingers, unconsciously, will orient themselves towards the corridors.
“So in fact, the most important thing for me, when we talk about the game system, is the animation and the profile of the players that you will align. They are the ones who will power your system. And to answer your question, there is no ideal system. I have a preferential system, but above all, I work on the animation and movements of my players”, he concluded.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
