Super Eagles of Nigeria B coach, Eric Chelle, has said the squad selected for the African Nations Championship in Zanzibar represents the best players from the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), despite the team’s 4-0 loss to Sudan.
Chelle maintained that the selection was made in good faith and based on merit, noting that the squad at the tournament is markedly different from the team he originally had in mind.
He said, “Even if the outcome was disappointing, the squad was chosen to represent the best of the league.
“Maybe five players left the camp or never came at all. They were left to play in another league. So the team was not like we imagined. But the reality for me is it was the best player in the league,” Chelle said
The loss eliminated Nigeria from the 8th CHAN after Sudan took a 2-0 lead before half-time and added two more goals in the second half, leaving the Eagles bottom of Group D.
Sudan capitalised on Nigeria’s defensive errors, with Yagoub Omer scoring twice in the second half to seal the win and end Nigeria’s hopes of advancing.
Chelle admitted that the Eagles began the match strongly but were undone as errors quickly accumulated.
Reflecting on the match, he said, “The players were focused, and we scored a goal, but after that, we made a lot of mistakes and gave up the game in the second half. Four goals, four mistakes for me,”
“We cannot play games like that and lose because we made a lot of mistakes during these two games. The first goal against Senegal was a mistake. In this game, the first two goals were mistakes, and after that, the other two goals were due to mistakes in positioning,” he explained.
The Franco-Malian coach also explained the difficulties of competing at this level.
“It’s difficult at this level of competition. We need to be more focused,” he said, urging the team to learn from the experience.
Nigeria’s final Group D match against Congo next week will be a mere formality following their elimination from the competition.