Former Super Eagles striker Brown Ideye has defended head coach Eric Chelle following Nigeria’s 4-0 defeat to Sudan at the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN).
Chelle’s team had already lost their opening game to Senegal, and the back-to-back defeats confirmed their early exit from the tournament in Zanzibar. The loss to Sudan sparked heavy criticism of Chelle and his squad selection.
However, Ideye, a 2013 AFCON winner, took to his X account (formerly Twitter) to back the Malian coach and point fingers at a deeper problem.
“Let’s keep lying to ourselves and keep blaming someone else every time we fail. We’re not good enough, that’s the bitter truth. It’s what you have, the coach will work with, period. And we don’t have what it takes to compete on the bigger stage. And we keep lying to ourselves,” Ideye wrote.
Nigeria’s defeat to Sudan saw them concede an own goal from Leonard Ngenge, a penalty from Walieldin Khedr, and two goals from Abdel Raouf.
The result has divided opinion among fans and pundits. While some agree with Ideye that the players available were not strong enough, others believe Nigeria’s football problems go beyond the pitch, pointing to structural and management issues.
The Super Eagles B will now look to salvage pride in their final group match against Congo on Tuesday, 19 August.