“The Best Centre-Back at AFCON”: Eric Chelle Hails Calvin Bassey’s Commanding Campaign
Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has named Fulham’s Calvin Bassey as the standout central defender of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Despite Nigeria’s heartbreaking semi-final exit on penalties to the hosts, Chelle was full of praise for the 26-year-old, whose defensive mastery helped the team secure three consecutive clean sheets during the tournament.
While a second yellow card in the semi-final will force Bassey to sit out the bronze medal match against Egypt, his impact remains the talking point of the camp. Chelle revealed that he maintains a high-performance "agreement" with Bassey, pushing him to become one of the world's elite defenders by next season. "At this AFCON, he was outstanding," Chelle noted, highlighting Bassey's transformation into a vocal leader for the squad.