Super Eagles coach, Eric Sekou Chelle, has admitted that he and Nigeria’s home-based players face a daunting challenge against Sudan at the Championship of African Nations (CHAN 2024), as they must win Tuesday’s match in order to remain in the competition.
Sports247 reports that, having lost their first match of the second-string continental competition 1-0 against the defending champions, Senegal, Chelle acknowledged that the CHAN Eagles are under pressure, but conceded that they must win on Tuesday.
The Franco-Malian gaffer added that preparations for the game began right after the loss to Senegal last Tuesday, and he now hopes that the players will rise to the occasion this time out.
Chelle retorted during the pre-match media briefing: “We’ve been preparing for this game in one week. We said earlier that we’ll take this competition game after game.
“This game against Sudan is a very big one for us, and we had our last training session on Monday evening for us to be ready for it.”
He then spoke about the mindset that the Eagles will put into the match, at the top of which will be a tactical approach filled with intensity and a very aggressive strategy aimed at achieving victory.
“I just want us to win this game. So, my game project will have a lot of intensity and a lot of aggressive play. I know that it will be physically difficult for us,” said the former handler of Mali’s national team.
He urged Nigerians not to judge the CHAN Eagles with what the men’s main squad and female team, Super Falcons, have achieved in recent times, positing that they all have different structures propelling them.
“We know that people want us to be like the men’s team that got to the AFCON final and the women’s team that won their own competition recently. But this is CHAN. So, we don’t want to compare ourselves with the other teams,” Chelle chipped in.
He then admitted that his emotions often show during matches, but pointed out that he keeps himself under control and always concentrates on what his players are doing in the field of play, to avoid getting distracted by other things going on around the arena.
Chelle stated in French and English, “When I’m on the pitch, I don’t think about journalists or the camera. I concentrate on my players. If I’m happy or sad, I take it the way it comes. I have a lot of expectations from my players, and I just do my best.
“That’s why I don’t want to talk about our ambitions yet. The most important thing now is this game. We are a great football country, and we need to do better than the last game. We need to win this game to remain in the contest.”
