•Coach Sekou Chelle (Right) on training ground
Super Eagles’ Coach, Eric Sekou Chelle, has blamed Nigeria’s failure at the group stage of the ongoing African Nations Championship (CHAN) on inadequate preparation.
Nigeria was knocked out of the championship being hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda after losing 0-1 to Senegal, 0-4 to Sudan and beating Congo 2-0 in their three games, reports The Guardian.
With one silver and two bronze medals, the Super Eagles B team was expected to go one better by winning the trophy this term, but that dream ended in the opening stage of the championship.
Explaining his wards’ failure to live up to expectations, Chelle said the boys were overwhelmed by more prepared teams, adding that with a little more time, the story would have been different.
Speaking after Nigeria’s 2-0 win over Congo in their final group match at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, Chelle said: “The preparations for a CHAN tournament should start a year in advance.
“We weren’t ready to participate in this tournament. Whoever attended our training sessions will notice that our players weren’t mentally prepared to participate in this version of the tournament.”
Chelle cited the late inclusion of Alex Young Oyowah, who was named Man of the Match against Congo, as evidence of the rushed squad assembly.
“I put the player, who won the Man of the Match award against Congo, Alex, on our list for the tournament a week before we left. Everyone said, why did you call him up when he is not known?” he explained.
While Nigeria’s elimination was confirmed before the final match, Chelle found solace in the team’s spirited performance, which he described as a reflection of their true potential.
“We showed our technical ability in the last part of the match, but we lost several balls before that. In any case, we played well. Our performance was great and we deserved to win the match.
“I really feel sorry because our last match was good, but the previous two matches had mistakes. We started at a high speed and had a lot of possession.”
Chelle praised the resilience of his youthful squad, referring to them as ‘young cubs’ who responded admirably under pressure.
“I don’t think my cubs let me down. The pressure was high on these young players, and they sometimes played scared. But during the last match against Congo, they played for honour, and that’s why they performed well.”
“Letdown doesn’t come from winning this match. Our players responded to the previous results and said they didn’t want to go home with zero points,” Chelle stated.
Meanwhile, the Super Eagles are expected to open their camp for the final leg of the 2026 World Cup qualifying series in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on September 1.
Chelle revealed that he has submitted the names of players in his provisional squad for the crucial games against Rwanda and South Africa next month.
Nigeria is currently occupying the fourth spot in Group C behind South Africa, Rwanda and Benin Republic.
On the general Africa World Cup qualifiers, Nigeria is at number 30 and only the top nine countries get automatic tickets to the 2026 World Cup finals to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The four best after this round of qualifiers will be involved in a playoff that may offer Africa one more slot. The four best group runners-up will be drawn into play-offs to determine the CAF representative at the inter-confederation play-offs.
Super Eagles will host Rwanda on Match Day 7 on September 6, while Nigeria will travel to South Africa three days later for the all-important confrontation against Bafana Bafana in Bloemfontein.
The last time Nigeria met with the Amavubis of Rwanda at the Amahoro Stadium on March 21 for Match Day 5, the Eagles triumphed 2-0, with two first half strikes from Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen.
