Super Eagles B coach, Eric Chelle, has revealed that he was criticised for selecting midfielder Alex Young Oyowah in Nigeria’s squad for the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) in the Ivory Coast.
It was reports that Eric Chelle and his Home-based Super Eagles players bowed out of the 2024 CHAN on Tuesday despite a 2-0 win over Congo in their final Group D fixture, with goals from Anas Yusuf and Sikiru Alimi sealing the victory. Oyowah, who was named Man of the Match, emerged as one of the few bright sparks of the campaign.
Speaking after the game, Chelle revealed that Oyowah’s inclusion was widely questioned.
“For example, the player who won the Man of the Match award against Congo, Alex, I put him on our list for the tournament a week before we left, and everyone said, ‘Why did you call him up when he’s not known?’” he said via CAF’s official website.
The coach admitted the team was far from fully prepared for the tournament.
“We were not ready to participate in this tournament. Whoever attends our training sessions will notice that our players were not mentally prepared to participate in this version of the tournament,” Chelle explained.
Despite finishing with three points, the Super Eagles placed third in Group D behind Sudan and Senegal, who advanced to the knockout stage. Chelle admitted Nigeria’s heaviest blow was their 4-0 defeat to Sudan.
“Our deep regret stems from our heavy defeat to Sudan, but that’s football,” the coach added. “We will carefully analyse the Sudan match to make up for what happened in the future.”
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