Eric Chelle, the head coach of the Super Eagles, has explained his choice to bring Samuel Chukwueze onto the pitch for the penalty shootout against Morocco.
On Wednesday, Nigeria was eliminated from the tournament after a 4-2 defeat in the penalty shootout, failing to secure a spot in the AFCON final.
The match concluded without any goals after 120 minutes, and crucial penalty misses from both Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi contributed to Nigeria's exit from the competition during the shootouts.
Chukwueze was substituted late in the extra time, but his only impact on the game was the missed penalty. His inclusion sparked criticism on social media from many Nigerian fans regarding Chelle's decision.
During the post-match press briefing, Chelle asserted that Chukwueze was one of the top penalty takers in training, asserting that his decision was founded on statistical analysis.
He noted that all players from the Eagles who participated in the shootout were among the best performers during practice sessions.
"I selected Chukwueze to take a penalty because we thoroughly practiced penalty kicks in all our training sessions," stated the coach.
"Based on the statistics, the players who stepped up for penalties were the most effective during warm-ups; that’s why they were chosen to be on the pitch."
In a related context, Nigeria faced a setback in November 2025, as penalty shootouts cost them their chance at the upcoming 2026 World Cup. They suffered a 4-3 defeat to DR Congo in the final playoff match for the World Cup spot.
Comments (0)
You must be logged in to comment.
Be the first to comment on this article!