The Nigeria home-based Eagles have been eliminated in the group stage of the African Nations Championships (CHAN), co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. On Tuesday, the team, coached by Eric Chelle, suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to Sudan in their second match at Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
This loss marked Nigeria’s second consecutive defeat in the tournament, following their earlier loss to Senegal in the opening game.
As a result, Nigeria remains at the bottom of Group D with zero points, while Senegal and Sudan hold the two automatic qualification spots with four points each.
In the match against Sudan, Ikorodu City’s Leonard Ngege was a key figure in Nigeria’s poor performance, which featured players from the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL). Ngege inadvertently scored an own goal in the 25th minute, handing Sudan the lead.
Just before halftime, he handled the ball in the penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick. Sudanese captain Walieldin Khedr converted the penalty, deceiving goalkeeper Mustapha Lawal to double Sudan’s advantage.
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Between those goals, Nigeria thought they had scored through Anthony Ijoma, but the goal was disallowed for offside following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review. Sudan extended their lead early in the second half when Abdel Raouf capitalized on space to score from the edge of the penalty area. Raouf sealed Nigeria’s rout with another impressive strike shortly after.
The home-based Eagles will conclude their group stage campaign against Congo Brazzaville on August 19.
