Admin
Super Eagles head coach, Eric Chelle, has attributed Nigeria’s 1-0 defeat to Senegal in their opening Group D fixture of the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) to a lack of aggression and poor mentality from his players.
Speaking during his post-match press conference at the Amani Stadium in Zanzibar on Tuesday night, Eric Chelle admitted his team was second-best throughout the encounter, which was decided by a second-half strike from Christian Gomis.
“Senegal was more aggressive than we. They put more intensity than us, and for me, this is normal. They deserve this victory,” Chelle said.
The Nigerian side, made up entirely of home-based players, failed to register a shot on target in the first half and rarely troubled the Senegalese goalkeeper after the break.
Chelle pointed to a defensive lapse that led to the lone goal, but emphasised that the overall mindset of the team was a bigger concern.
“In the second half, we scored a goal. This was a small mistake. But this is normal because we never got into this game. Maybe mentally, or maybe we were scared about something,” he added.
With crucial fixtures against Sudan and Congo still to come, Chelle urged his players to improve their mentality and fight harder if they hope to stay in the tournament.
“So we need to improve our state of mind. We need to be more competitive, and once again, more aggressive,” he said. “If we play like this, if we are scared about some things, we’ll come back to Nigeria.”
Nigeria will return to action against Sudan next Tuesday at the same venue, knowing that anything less than a win could severely damage their hopes of progressing to the knockout stage.
The post CHAN 2024: Eric Chelle Blames Poor Mentality, Lack Of Aggression For Nigeria’s Loss To Senegal appeared first on Naija News.
