• Nepomnyashchy: ‘Nigeria ‘ll be tougher than Iran’

The Super Eagles’ delegation for Tuesday’s international friendly game against Russia departed Abuja yesterday for the Eastern European country.

The Super Eagles returned to Nigeria shortly after their disappointing 3-0 loss to the Wild Dogs of Guinea-Bissau on Tuesday.

The game against Russia is one of the matches lined up for Coach Eric Chelle in his now-tainted rebuilding of the Super Eagles after they failed to make the 2026 World Cup.

The match at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium will offer some new players in the Super Eagles set-up to show Chelle what they can do for the team.

Among the players who could make their debut in the game are Ikorodu City goalkeeper Michael Atata, SJK goalkeeper Samuel James, and Basel defender Victory Akpe.

The Franco-Malian tactician named a separate 24-man squad for the friendly, with Wilfred Ndidi, Stanley Nwabali, Benjamin Fredrick, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Raphael Onyedika and Akor Adams among the more experienced players included.

Russia and Nigeria drew 1-1 in Moscow in June 2025, with Semi Ajayi scoring an own goal before Tolu Arokodare equalised in the second half.

Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze are among the key absentees for the Super Eagles.

Meanwhile, Cameroon’s Italia ‘90 World Cup coach, Valery Nepomnyashchy, has tipped Nigeria to be a tougher opponent for Russia than Iran, reports soccernet.ng.

As part of their schedule for the September/October FIFA international window, the Russians will face Iran and African opponents Namibia and Nigeria.

Valeriy Karpin’s side defeated Iran 2-0 in their first friendly, thanks to a first-half brace from Monaco star Aleksandr Golovin.

Nepomnyashchy anticipates a challenging encounter against the Super Eagles and suggested that the match could prove more difficult than Russia’s meeting with Iran.

Speaking to Euro Football, the former Cameroon coach said: “I can’t say anything about Namibia because they’re a dark horse for me. And against Nigeria, it’ll be pretty much the same as yesterday.

“It won’t be easy for us. I think we’ll have some major changes in our lineup. It might be even tougher for the Russian team than against Iran.”

The Russian side is also expected to make serious changes to its starting lineup.

Despite Russia’s impressive display against Iran, Nepomnyashchy believes the Super Eagles will be a more difficult challenge for the hosts, particularly with changes expected in the Russian lineup.

Speaking to Russian outlet Euro-Football, Nepomnyashchy was asked about Russia’s upcoming games against Namibia and Nigeria following their victory over Iran.

The former Cameroon coach described Namibia as a dark horse, but had a much stronger prediction about the Super Eagles.

“Against Nigeria, it will be roughly the same as yesterday. We will have a difficult time,” Nepomnyashchy said.

“I think there will be serious changes in our lineup. The Russian national team may even have a harder time than against Iran.”

His comments came after Russia produced an impressive first-half performance against Iran, with Monaco midfielder Golovin finding the net in the 21st and 36th minutes.

The 83-year-old also highlighted the difference between players competing in Russia and those playing in Europe, pointing to Golovin and Safonov as examples of players who made a significant impact against Iran.