Nigeria’s CHAN Eagles are already walking a tightrope at the 2025 African Nations Championship after a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Senegal in their Group D opener in Zanzibar, Footynaija.com reports.
The loss has placed pressure on Eric Chelle’s men ahead of their second match against Sudan, which could determine their fate in the tournament. The result means Nigeria must quickly rediscover form if they are to keep their qualification hopes alive in the expanded 19-team competition co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
For a squad made up entirely of home-based talents, expectations were high after returning to CHAN for the first time since 2018, having eliminated Ghana in the qualifiers.
Former Super Eagles defender and Atlanta ’96 Olympic gold medallist Abiodun Obafemi via a report by Sports247 has said that Nigeria’s approach in the Senegal match left much to be desired.
“If we do not get a very favourable result in the second match, then the team’s qualification will be difficult. But our approach to the match against Senegal was too reactive,” he said.
“I was expecting us to be proactive, but we were not. On the other hand, the way the Senegalese played, their transition was quicker and faster,” Obafemi explained.
“The Senegalese committed more men into attack whenever they had the ball. But, for our team, the coordination was not there.”
According to the former Fortuna Düsseldorf man, Nigeria’s offensive play needs urgency and more risk-taking.
“They wanted to play, but our build-up was a little bit too slow. So, we need to commit more men up front, and our wingers need to run,” he urged.
He stressed that work rate is non-negotiable in modern football.
“They were not running as a team; but a team that does not want to run cannot win matches. Nowadays, football is about running. Those were the things I noticed about this team,”
Nigeria’s next outing against Sudan will be decisive, with victory keeping them in contention for a quarter-final place. Sudan, who are also fighting to recover from an opening setback, will be no pushovers, especially after their coach publicly declared an ambition to bounce back strongly against the West Africans.