Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle has described the 4-0 defeat to Sudan as the worst game he has overseen as a coach in his coaching career.
The Super Eagles were eliminated from the ongoing CHAN tournament in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda after now two defeats in as many group D matches.
“We have lost all ambition. The CHAN is over for us. We have a third match to play for our honour and respect,” said Chelle who also doubles as the coach for Super Eagles A side.
“But I am disappointed by this match. It is the worst game I’ve overseen from the dugout as coach.”
Nigeria will play Congo for honours in the last game but the Malien says it could even be worse with same performance.
“If we play this way against Congo, it wouldn’t be just four. We have to clear our minds and mentally get ready for Congo.”
The coach pointed to the loss of key domestic players — nearly eight who had moved abroad — as a turning point.
“Though some important players left our preparations camp, these were the best players in our league. We can’t play a game like that and lose in the manner we did. We need to be more focused.”
“The players focused in the first 20 minutes. Our goal was ruled out, and afterwards, we made a lot of mistakes… 4 mistakes, 4 goals. Our training session before the game went well. We analyzed Sudan’s team. We prepared well, but were not ready for as many mistakes.”
Nigeria becomes the first team to officially get eliminated from the tournament.
The issue is that inexperienced players were featured,why is it that the coach cannot invite foreign based players, except Nigeria is not interested in the competition.