AFCON 2025: Eric Chelle Reacts After Super Eagles Reach R16 With Win Over Tunisia
- Eric Chelle has shared his thoughts after Nigeria reached the Round of 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
- The Super Eagles breezed past Tunisia 3-2 to become the second country to progress to the next round after Egypt
- Nigeria will close their AFCON 2025 group stage campaign against the Cranes of Uganda on Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has shared his thoughts after his team reached the round of 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Nigeria joined the Pharaohs of Egypt as the two teams who have confirmed their spots in the next round after the 3-2 win over the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia.
Source: Getty Images
The Super Eagles started on the front foot and their dominance paid off when Victor Osimhen headed home Ademola Lookman’s cross just before halftime.
Lookman turned provider again early in the second half, delivering a brilliant corner kick for captain Wilfred Ndidi to head home, before the Atalanta star scored to make it 3-0.
The final 15 minutes were nervy for the Super Eagles; Montassar Talbi pulled one back before Ali Abdi scored another from a controversial penalty.
As noted by NFF, Nigeria survived the late scare to move into the next round and leave Group C open for Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania ahead of the final group game.
Watch the highlights of Nigeria's 3-2 win over Tunisia below.
Eric Chelle reacts after beating Tunisia
Super Eagles boss Eric Chelle is happy with what he saw from his players despite how the match ended, describing their performance as an improvement.
“I'm happy because we won. We improve in every game. The first game was good, not bad, we won,” he said at the post-match conference, as noted by Soccernet.
“The second game we improved, but we did some good things and had things too, so we have to continue to improve in every game.”
Nigerians slammed the manager's game management which nearly cost the team a dominant win, but he defended his decision to sub in wingers Moses Simon and Chidera Ejuke after a 3-0 lead.
Source: Getty Images
“You can say what you want but the reality is that we deserve this win. We can’t do 90mins with big high pressure. We did for 75mins and that’s why I did two wingers sub,” he said.
Next for Nigeria is a final group game against the Cranes of Uganda and Chelle is expected to heavily rotate his squad to give rest to key players and minutes to fringe players.
However, Chelle would be careful with rotation, as the Super Eagles need to finish top of Group C to avoid tough draws and remain in Fez for the round of 16.
Ademola Lookman sets tournament record
Legit.ng reported that Ademola Lookman set a personal record at the Africa Cup of Nations after scoring a goal and assisting two against Tunisia.
The 2024 African Footballer of the Year has eight goals contributions so far at AFCON since his debut in 2023, more than any other Nigerian player.
Source: Legit.ng
