Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle said his side will play the best game of their lives on Tuesday when they file out to face the Falcons of Sudan at the ongoing CHAN tournament, www.aclsports.com reports.
The Franco-Malian coach, whose side slumped to a narrow 1-0 defeat to defending champions Senegal in their opening game last Tuesday, stressed the readiness of his side and focused on the game against Sudan at the Amaan Stadium on Tuesday night.
“We are focused on our next game. This game against Sudan is a big game for us. Last training session for us today to be ready for tomorrow,” Eric Chelle said in his opening remarks at the team’s pre-match press conference on Monday afternoon.
“I just want to win the game. The game will have a lot of intensity. I don’t think about the journalists or the camera when the game is on. When I’m happy or unhappy, it’s just me doing my job.”
Chelle also added: “We are ambitious, and we just want to win tomorrow’s game. There is a lot of pressure, but we are together.”
Asked about Nigeria’s CHAN semifinal record after losing an opening group game, Chelle responded: “I don’t think about what happened before. I’m just focused on the game tomorrow. I think about a positive attitude, and work on our mistakes. This game will determine what happens after.”
“It’s good for us in terms of preparation, but we need to win. This game is very important. If we win this game, we will become more ambitious. We have worked very hard in the past week, and tomorrow, we will play the best game of our lives,” Chelle responded to a question on playing every seven days.
Meanwhile, first-choice goalkeeper Ani Ozoemena’s tournament might be over after Chelle confirmed the reason behind the addition of U20 goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt to the squad ahead of the remaining games of the tournament.
“Left-back Taiwo Abdulrafiu is okay. However, the reality is that Ani Ozoemena is injured, and we just had to bring Ebenezer in, and I trust him,” Chelled concluded.
On his part, Skipper of the side, Junior Nduka, responded to the question on the weight of expectations from people back home following the recent strides of the nation in Sports on the continent.
“We are focused on the game tomorrow. We[Super Eagles] proved a point in the Unity Cup after the Zimbabwe setback in the World Cup qualifier, and we can make things right again against Sudan tomorrow.”
Nigeria and Sudan will trade tackles in a repeat of the CHAN 2018 semifinal at the Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar. The kickoff of the game is at 6pm (Nigerian time).
