Nigerians’ comical responses to a Malian calling for Eric Chelle’s return to the country’s national team are going viral on social media.

Chelle, a Franco-Malian, coached the Malian men’s national team for two years. He led the team to the previous AFCON held in Cote d’Ivoire, where Mali crashed out in the quarter-final.

The 48-year-old was named the Super Eagles head coach in 2025 and has led the team to the semi-final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

On Saturday, Nigeria defeated Algeria 2-0 in the quarter-final and will face Morocco for a place in the final on Wednesday.

In a tweet on Sunday, Nation Mali, a Malian X user, jokingly demanded that Nigeria return Chelle to his native country.

“Naija men, abeg return our coach!” the tweet reads.

The post has attracted several similarly hilarious comments from Nigerians on social media.

Precious, an X user, said the Malian can have Finidi George, adding that “he is very good tactically”.

Omachuonu, another X user, replied that Nigeria will soon honour Chelle with a “chieftaincy title” and asked the Malian to forget about his return.

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