CHAN 2025: Why we lost to defending champions, Senegal – Coach Eric Chelle

Femi Fabunmi

Head coach of Nigeria’s home-based Super Eagles, Eric Chelle, has attributed the team’s 1-0 loss to Senegal to a lack of intensity and aggression from his players.

The Group D encounter of the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) took place on Tuesday evening at the Amani Stadium in Tanzania, where Christian Gomis scored the only goal in the second half to hand Senegal all three points.

Speaking during the post-match press conference, Chelle said the Senegalese side simply showed more hunger and energy throughout the match, which made the difference.

“Senegal was more aggressive than us. They put more intensity than us, and for me, this is normal. They deserve this victory,” the Nigerian coach said.

Chelle also admitted that his team made a costly error that led to the goal.

“In the second half, we gave the 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.

The Super Eagles will now aim to bounce back when they face Sudan in their second group match next Tuesday.