Nigeria’s home-based national team will be back in action today (Tuesday) when they face Sudan in their second Group Stage match at the ongoing African Nations Championship (CHAN), co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The Eagles B, coached by Eric Chelle, began their campaign with a disappointing 1-0 loss to defending champions Senegal last week. The tightly contested encounter was decided in the 75th minute when Moctar Koïté broke down the right wing on a counter-attack and delivered a precise low cross for Christian Gomis to slot home the decisive goal.
Runners-up in 2018, Nigeria now find themselves in a must-win situation at the Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar if they are to keep their knockout stage hopes alive.
Speaking ahead of the match, Chelle expressed confidence in his players’ ability to bounce back.
“It’s a big game, an important game. We need to win, and after that, we will see,” he said during a pre-match press conference, adding that his team will approach the tournament one match at a time.
The Nigerian coach will be looking to inject more attacking intent after the team struggled to create meaningful chances in their opening fixture. For goals, Chelle will be relying on forwards Sikiru Alimi and Jabbar Malik to deliver in front of goal.
Sudan, meanwhile, will also be chasing maximum points after opening their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Congo. Their hopes will rest on 28-year-old Musa Hussein, the scorer of their only goal so far in the competition.
With both teams eyeing qualification, victory today would give either side a significant boost in the race for a quarter-final spot. For Nigeria, however, another defeat would almost certainly end their CHAN 2024 journey.
