The Super Eagles’ early exit from the African Nations Championship (CHAN) has caused a lot of anger towards Coach Eric Chelle. Many people are asking for his job after Nigeria lost 4-0 to Sudan in Zanzibar on Tuesday night.
This loss comes after a 0-1 defeat to Senegal on the first day of the tournament, which ended Nigeria’s chance of moving on to the knockout stages.
Chelle has faced a lot of criticism for his choices of players and his tactics. He reportedly picked six players from one NPFL club for the first match against Senegal, and seven from the same club in the second game against Sudan.
Some Nigerians are worried that if Chelle doesn’t improve quickly in the next two games at the CHAN, it will be hard for Nigeria to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
However, former Super Eagles striker Brown Ideye thinks the calls for Chelle’s dismissal are unfair. Ideye, who helped Nigeria win the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013, said the blame on Chelle is not right.
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He wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Let’s keep lying to ourselves and keep blaming someone else every time we fail.
We are not good enough, that is the bitter truth. It is what you have that the coach will work with, period. And we don’t have what it takes to compete on the bigger stage.”
The home-based Super Eagles, under Chelle’s leadership, did not do well in the CHAN. Nigeria’s loss to Sudan included an own goal by Leonard Ngenge, a penalty from Walieldin Khidir, and a brace from Abdel Raouf.
This defeat has placed Chelle’s team at the bottom of their group, with only pride left to fight for in their final match against Congo on August 19.
