Femi Azeez was the star of the night when Nigeria and Zimbabwe clashed in The Valley for a place in the 2026 Unity Cup final.
Azeez grabbed a brace on his first outing as a Super Eagles and it was enough to send Eric Chelle’s side through to Saturday’s final at the same venue.
The 24 year-old earned rave reviews for his goals, but the versatile Millwall received tough love from the Super Eagles gaffer.
Quizzed about the player’s performance after the game, Chelle stressed the youngster needs to do more to earn future invitations.
“Congratulations to Azeez on his brace,” Chelle started. “Our objective was to ensure they run a lot and play a high pressure game for 90minutes, they did not do this.
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“We will analyze his performance; he lost ball a lot and couldn’t win some back – I was not happy.
“If I wake up with a good state of mind and I want him in the team for the Portugal and Poland friendlies he’ll get called up or not.”
Azeez on Purple Patch
Femi Azeez had a good season with Championship side, Millwall last season and helped their Premier League promotion push.
In the regular season, the midfielder had 19-goal contribution (11 goals 8 assists) in 35 league matches.
Millwall reached the playoffs but were dumped out by Hull City.
The player might use that playoff disappoint and Chelle’s words as impetus to deliver another special show when Nigeria plays in the final.
