As the Super Eagles take on the Biało-czerwon of Poland in an international friendly at the Stadion Narodowy in Warsaw Wednesday, two of both sides’ star players, Alex Iwobi and Robert Lewandowski are looking to achieve separate football milestones.
Both nations missed out on the FIFA World Cup in the play-offs on their respective continents. While the pain still lingers, Wednesday’s match doesn’t carry a lot of weight for either nation.
However, Chelle, who’s yet to lose a competitive game for Nigeria in 90 minutes, will want to keep his record that way, while both nations battle to keep each other out to avoid a drop in their FIFA rankings.
While Fulham forward Iwobi is on the verge of earning his 100th international cap if Chelle features him against Poland, Lewandowski could hit the 90-goal mark for his national team against Nigeria if he scores, as he’s currently on 89.
Iwobi would join an elite club of former Nigeria internationals who have achieved the milestone of 100 cap for the Super Eagles, the fourth Nigerian player to reach the landmark after Joseph Yobo, Vincent Enyeama and Ahmed Musa.
Iwobi’s availability for the Warsaw showdown is a huge boost for Chelle, whose squad has been depleted by the withdrawal of Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Femi Azeez, Samson Tijani, Alhassan Yusuf and Ebenezer Akinsanmiro.
Iwobi had been a doubt after suffering a hamstring injury in Fulham’s Premier League clash against Brentford in April but recovered to feature in the club’s final two matches of the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle United.
While the Super Eagles last lost a game in 90 minutes in the friendly against Egypt before the AFCON 2025 tournament kicked off, Poland lost to Ukraine two days ago and will be looking to avoid the same feat when they lock horns against the Super Eagles, their final game before the Nations League in September.
Possible Lineups
Nigeria: Arthur Okonkwo; Semi Ajayi, Igoh Ogbu, Emmanuel Fernandez, Bruno Onyemaechi; Wilfred Ndidi, Frank Onyeka, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Moses Simon; Akor Adams, Paul Onuachu.
Poland: Marcin Bulka; Tomasz Kedziora, Przemyslaw Wisniewski, Jakub Kiwior; Arkadiusz Pyrka, Piotr Zielinski, Jakub Piotrowski, Nicola Zalewski;Oskar Pietuszewski, Robert Lewandowski,Sebastian Szymanski.
