Former CHAN Eagles star, Ifeanyi Ifeanyi, is calling for togetherness in the Nigerian squad as they prepare to face the Falcons of Sudan on Tuesday in their second group D match at the ongoing 2024 CHAN tournament, www.aclsports.com reports.
The CHAN Eagles side, led by Eric Chelle, slumped to a narrow 1-0 defeat to defending champions Senegal in their group opener at the Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar last Tuesday.
Ahead of Tuesday’s clash with the Sudanese side, former MFM midfielder, Ifeanyi Ifeanyi, has advised the group, whom he considers to be a bunch of good players, to play together, exercise patience, and show enough belief.
“The players are not bad,” said Ifeanyi exclusively to www.aclsports.com.
“I have seen good players among the squad, and I think they just need to be calm and take their time to build, and know when to attack. They are just in a rush and too much in a haste. So, they need to play together as a team.”
Ifeanyi, who was part of the CHAN squad in 2018 when Nigeria played against Sudan in the semifinal in Marrakech, emphasized the need for the current group to exhibit teamwork.
“I played against Sudan back in 2018, and I know no team is easy to win. What I can say is that they should believe in themselves. They must believe they can do it. If they can play together as a team, they will come out victorious,” Ifeanyi added.
“Although no team is easy to beat, Nigeria can get the job done. Even though they lost to Senegal in the previous game, they played very well. The loss against Senegal was due to just one mistake, not because Senegal were better than them. Teamwork will win, so they need to play as a team.”
In response to a question about the choice of Eric Chelle leading the team, Ifeanyi thinks that the local coaches who handled them during the qualifiers should have been given the chance to lead.
“The CHAN Eagles will have done better with the local coaches leading the squad because most of the players have played under them or against them, so they know them better than Eric Chelle. It would have been great if they were given the chance to lead the team,” the 29-year-old, who last played for Newroz of Iraq in May 2025, concluded.
Nigeria will aim to bounce back from an opening-day defeat when they face Sudan on Tuesday night at the Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar. Kickoff is 6pm (Nigerian time).
