Super Eagles’ coach, Eric Sekou Chelle has set in motion his game plan on how to defeat Algeria in the quarterfinals of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations, Sports247 gathered.
The Franco-Malian tactician admitted that Saturday’s match in the Moroccan city of Marrakech will be more explosive for his team than all others so far at AFCON 2025.
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Previews for the clash have been highlighted with memories of how Algeria defeated Nigeria courtesy a last-minute free kick by Riyard Mahrez in the AFCON 2019 semi-final.
Another symbolic angle to the game lies in how Chelle coached a club in Algeria – MC Oran FC – before dumping them midway through his contract in order to take up the Eagles’ job last January.
The former Mali coach acknowledged various talking points heading into the game and admitted that he has to prepare his lads very well for Saturday’s rematch.
In the same vein, the highly emotional gaffer, who was born in Cote d’Ivoire, disclosed that he is very ambitious and remains fully focused on the task of winning AFCON 2025.
Chelle declared, “My dream now is to stay ambitious. I want to engage my players in a lot of training with intensity and aggressiveness, so that we will do well in the next game.
“For sure, we want to win this game. We need to show what we want with what we do on the pitch. This is a big job and I’m very happy with the duty facing me.”
The soft-spoken tactician also gave an insight into the mood among players and crew in the Eagles’ camp, which will relocate to Marrakech on Thursday from Fes, where they played their first four games of this tournament.
He added, “I try to be the best coach of this team and give a good example to my officials. The players are also happy with our training sessions.
“They know this is the moment in which they have to work harder. We have to be very focused once again. We have players with high IQ, but the most important thing is to do it game after game.”
He concluded with a charge to his players to put away all manner of distractions, especially social media devices, in order to fully concentrate on the task of defeating Algeria on Saturday in Marrakech.
Chelle affirmed, “We have to stay focused … continue to work hard, continue to drive and try to do better than what we did in the last game.
“We know that Algeria are technically good, and their movement across the pitch is very good. So, it will be a great game. Now, we are focused on our preparation in Marrakech.
“We are focused on the training sessions we have to do before the game. My vision is that we must try to improve with every game.”
