The Super Eagles of Nigeria are set to lock horns with Team Melli of Iran in an international friendly this Friday afternoon, Soccernet.ng reports.
This fixture marks Nigeria’s first outing since the conclusion of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2025), and manager Eric Chelle will be keen to secure a positive result.
For the Malian tactician, AFCON 2025 served as a proof of concept following his appointment as Super Eagles head coach. Under his guidance, Nigeria played an exciting brand of football, only exiting the tournament after a fortuitous penalty shootout loss to hosts Morocco in the semi-finals.
Now, Chelle and his squad must prove that their impressive showing in Morocco was neither a fluke nor a flash in the pan.
Meanwhile, for Team Melli, coach Amir Ghalenoei will see this as a good opportunity to gauge his side’s preparedness for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Their 3-0 victory over North Korea in June 2025 made sure that Iran became one of the first teams to seal qualification for the tournament. Since then, their schedule has either been the Central Asian (CAFA) tournament and a series of friendly games.
Match Preview
Despite being a World Cup preparatory game, the atmosphere surrounding this match is somewhat subdued.
Many Nigerian fans are still disappointed after it was recently confirmed that the Super Eagles will miss a second consecutive World Cup.
FIFA recently dismissed Nigeria’s appeal following their playoff loss to DR Congo, meaning the three-time African champions must wait until 2030 for another shot at the global stage.
In contrast, while Nigeria deals with sporting disappointment, Iran faces a much graver situation due to geopolitical instability. Ongoing conflict has cast a shadow over Team Melli’s World Cup participation.
In fact, U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly stated that he cannot guarantee the safety of the Iranian team should they attend the tournament. Nonetheless, the players remain determined to compete on the world stage.
Form and Head-to-Head
On the pitch, Iran’s recent form has been mixed, with two wins and three losses in their last five games—though two of those defeats came after the regulation 90 minutes.
Their most recent outing was a goalless draw against Uzbekistan, which they eventually lost on penalties.
The Super Eagles, on the other hand, enter this match in fine form, having won four of their last five matches. Their only defeat in that period was the above mentioned shootout loss to Morocco.
In fact, Nigeria has not lost a game in regulation time since an AFCON 2025 preparatory match against Egypt last December.
Nigeria and Iran have very little history together, as they have only met twice. The first meeting was in 1998 in a friendly game. Then, it was a strike from Ahmed Garba that gave Nigeria a slim 1-0 win.
Both teams would later meet at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. But Team Melli held their own against a talented Super Eagles team, as they played out a goalless draw.
This will be just their third meeting. And as previously established, the Super Eagles enter this game in better form.
Team News
Iran Coach Ghalenoei will be without Saeid Ezatolahi due to a minor injury. Also, star forward Serdar Azmoun remains unavailable due to ongoing friction with the country’s leadership. However, the rest of the regular squad is fit and available.
For Nigeria, Eric Chelle is missing several key players. First-choice goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has been inactive since AFCON 2025 and was omitted from the squad.
Nottingham Forest star Ola Aina was also a notable exclusion from the 23-man list, while Calvin Bassey withdrew two days ago with a back injury. Meanwhile, star striker Victor Osimhen is also absent after sustaining an injury just before the squad announcement.
Match Details
- Fixture: Iran vs. Nigeria
- Tournament: International Friendly
- Time: 2:00 PM (Nigerian Time)
- Venue: Corendon Airlines Park, Antalya, Turkey
Possible Lineups
Iran: Beiranvand; Hardani, Nemati, Kanaanizadegan, Mohammadi; Razzaghinia, Ghorbani; Hashemnejad, Ghoddos, Mohebi; Taremi.
Nigeria: Okoye; Osayi-Samuel, Ajayi, Ogbu, Onyemaechi; Ndidi, Iwobi, Onyeka; Lookman, Onuachu, Akor.
Prediction
With little at stake, expect a relaxed atmosphere and several experiments from both managers. On paper, Nigeria boasts superior individual quality, but Iran’s disciplined, compact defensive structure will be difficult to break down.
Expect Nigeria to dominate possession, with Alex Iwobi looking to provide the line-breaking passes needed to unlock the Iranian defense.
But while goal poachers like Akor Adams and Paul Onuachu are likely to find the net, the absence of Calvin Bassey’s commanding presence in defence may leave the Super Eagles vulnerable to counter-attacks.
Final Score Prediction: Nigeria 2-1 Iran.
