Head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Eric Chelle has revealed why his side were knocked out of the CHAN 2024 tournament at Group Stage, Soccernet.ng reports.
Super Eagles B were drawn into Group D alongside Senegal, Sudan and Congo. An error by Leonard Ngenge saw Chelle’s side surrender a late goal to Senegal on the opening matchday.
The second game was a goalfest, as Sudan put four goals past Nigeria, confirming their exit from the tournament.
Still, the home-based National Team made up for their poor performance in the opening two games by sealing a 2-0 victory over Congo in the final group game, courtesy of goals from Sikiru Alimi and Yusuf Anas.
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Why Nigeria got knocked out of the CHAN tournament
After the game, the French manager cited Nigeria’s lack of experience in playing high-intensity games cost them a place in the competition’s knock-out stage.
“We deserve to win this game because we had the possession and the ball,” Eric Chelle said in quotes revealed by Brila.
“We tried to play, and we did, we played well during the game. The boys were determined as they didn’t want to come to Nigeria without a win.”
“We need to improve, we played in the tournament without much experience. Senegal has experience, and they read our game and scored a goal with our first mistake.
“In the Sudan game, the pressure was so high on the players, it was painful. We won but have lots of regrets,” the 47-year-old concluded.
Chelle faces a bigger challenge as he prepares for Nigeria’s World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and South Africa next month.
The ex-Mali coach has to win back the support of the fans in those games; otherwise, he might not be on the sidelines when the Super Eagles head to Morocco for the AFCON 2025 tournament.