Nigeria will aim to defend their Unity Cup title in London this coming week, and Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle says it will be a tough test for new players hoping to break into the main squad.
With all three Unity Cup titles since inception under their belt, the Super Eagles have maintained a record of success at the tournament, which has mostly featured countries with a large diaspora population in the UK. This time, it's India, Zimbabwe, and Jamaica joining Nigeria.
But Chelle says he comes with a different objective from previous tournaments, using the 2026 edition as a testing ground to unearth new players for the Super Eagles.
Chelle says he is looking first to use the tournament for rebuilding, with winning a secondary objective.
"This Unity Cup for us, this is not a question about winning the trophy," Chelle told reporters at the pre-game press conference on Monday.
"I have a goal and objective for this tournament, for these two friendly games. The first objective is giving an opportunity, a chance to show what we can do and what we can improve with our team.
"There are some new players that I want to give the chance to show something. This is our main goal. The second objective, of course, when you play, you want to win."
Those objectives are reflected in the players called up for the tournament, with the squad mostly populated by either debutants or players with only a few caps, while the core of his team are set to take part in two friendlies coming up next month.
With that in mind, here are a few things to keep an eye on.
Uzoho or Okonkwo in goal?
With most of the senior players unavailable for this tournament, Francis Uzoho has been handed the captain's responsibilities, but is still not certain of being picked to start.
"First of all, I'm a sit-in captain," he said on Monday. "I'm sitting in for Ndidi. I've been playing for this national team for so long, representing my country, and eventually I'm about to wear the band if the coach picks me for the game.
"So it's an honour for me. I appreciate it and it also makes me realize and reflect on all my efforts and hard work over these past years."
Even if he does not get picked, it may come down to less about his abilities and more about Chelle wanting to run the rule over Wrexham's Arthur Okonkwo, who is being tipped as the long term solution in goal for the Super Eagles.
Chelle, and Nigeria fans, have seen plenty of Uzoho, good and bad, and have a good handle on his abilities and what he brings to the position.
Okonkwo is a different proposition. Both Chelle and the fans will want to see at least 45 minutes of the Wrexham goalie in action for the Super Eagles.
Rookies fighting for places
With seven players form the domestic league invited, along with a posse of fresh faces from European clubs looking to make their mark in the battle for spots, Chelle says the call-up may ultimately prove to be a poisoned chalice for players who do not meet the standard.
"Of course, this is a test," he said. "This is not a present. This can be a good or bad present. This is a big opportunity because they come, they play, and if they are good, well done. But if they are not, then it is over."
According to him, to make the squad, the players have to be better than the ones already playing.
Chelle acknowledged that this was particularly true of the Nigeria domestic league players in the squad, who were invited because of their outstanding performances this past season, but would have to prove themselves in the green and white.
He said: "This is not a question about Eric being nice or giving some chance to these players. The reality is they deserve to be here because they played well during the last season in Nigeria. Now they are here, but this is not the end.
"This is the beginning. It is very difficult to enter that national team. If you want to play at center back, you have Calvin Bassey, Semi Ajayi, Benjamin Fredericks, Igoh Ogbu, Fernandez.
"You want to play at full back, you have Ola Aina, Bruno Onyemaechi, Osayi-Samuel, Zaidu. You want to play in midfield, you know the magician, Alex Iwobi? You want to play as a striker? You have Victor Osimhen, the best striker in the world.
"The reality is you have to be better than all of these guys to enter that team. You have to keep everything, the intensity, the aggressiveness. If you deserve to play in the qualifiers in Africa, I have no problem with that."
This suggests that unlike last tournament, where the local players barely got a chance, Chelle may be more willing to throw them into the fray this time, starting with the game against Zimbabwe.
While Chelle may have said his focus is primarily on testing new players, there will still be expectations for the team to win, especially against a Zimbabwe team whose late goal in Uyo played a big part in denying the Super Eagles a place at the World Cup.
But this is a squad that started out as a second string, then ended up getting depleted even further, as players pulled out and Swedish club AIK declined to release talented youngster Zadok Yohanna. Of the 20 players currently in camp for the game, only Uzoho, with 37, has over 20 caps.
Terem Moffi is closest with 19. Igoh Ogbu has nine while Alhassan Yusuf has eight. Chibuike Nwaiwu, Tochukwu Nnadi, Samson Tijani and Philip Otele all have one cap each while the rest are uncapped for a total of 77.
That is just two more than team captain Wilfred Ndidi and lot less than midfielder Alex Iwobi. With such limited international experience, the team will have to fall back on talent, mentality and effort.
Chelle is expecting no less: "We have a vision for this national team. The players have the chance to enter the team. When you play a game like this, the first thing is the attitude, the state of mind.
"So they have to show us, first, their state of mind. Second, when you play football, you make some mistakes. It's not a question about the mistakes. It's what you can do after the mistake. The only pressure they can have is to fight for every ball, to run, run and run."
Nigeria Unity Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (Omonia FC, Cyprus) Arthur Okonkwo (Wrexham FC, England); Michael Atata (Ikorodu City)
Defenders: Chibuike Nwaiwu (Trabzonspor AS, Turkey); Igoh Ogbu (Slavia Prague, Czech Republic); Tijani Al Ameen (Shooting Stars); Obinna Igboke (Enugu Rangers); Elias Ochobi (Rivers United); Chibueze Oputa (Enugu Rangers)
Midfielders: Tochukwu Nnadi (Olympic Marseille, France); Alhassan Yusuf (New England Revolution, USA); Aderemi Adeoye (Ikorodu City); Samson Tijani (FK Dukla Prague, Czech Republic); Ayobami Junior (Shooting Stars); Tosin Oyedokun (Ikorodu City)
Forwards: Philip Otele (Hamburger SV, Germany); Owen Oseni (Plymouth FC, England); Terem Moffi (FC Porto, Portugal); Rafiu Durosinmi (Pisa FC, Italy); Femi Azeez (Millwall FC, England)