Super Eagles coach, Eric Chelle says Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying hopes are still alive despite a 3-0 hammering away to Guinea-Bissau
Chelle didn’t hide from the result. He admitted Guinea-Bissau’s intensity caught his side off guard.
Chelle told reporter:
They were more aggressive than us, they were better than us,” Chelle’s said. “Though this is not an excuse but they know their pitch, they usually play on this pitch but for us it was the first time and the pitch was very bad and the weather was very hot too. So Guinea-Bissau entered the game more motivated, more aggressive, they put more intensity and we never found a solution .
There’s no getting around what this does to the group table. Guinea-Bissau now sit on six points after two wins, while Nigeria trail on three following the Madagascar win and this defeat. With Tanzania already through as co-hosts, only one of Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar advances from here, and Chelle’s side now have almost no margin left for another slip.
Chelle has already flagged the return fixture in Uyo as a chance to make things better
but promising to make life just as difficult for Guinea-Bissau on Nigerian soil. Whether that talk translates into results will depend heavily on how the Super Eagles respond in November, starting with back-to-back qualifiers against Tanzania.
Before that, the Super Eagles have a friendly against Russia on October 6 in Nizhny Novgorod, a low-stakes fixture that still gives Chelle a chance to reset the mood in camp before the qualifiers resume in earnest.
He further said:
This is not the end,” pointing to the games still left on the calendar and insisting Nigeria must win both matches against Tanzania in November to keep their qualification hopes intact.
