Head coach Eric Chelle says that the Super Eagles B team will be playing for pride when they take on Congo in their final African Nations Championship (CHAN) group match at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium on Tuesday.
The CHAN Eagles have endured a frustrating campaign, falling 1-0 to Senegal in their opening fixture before being handed a humiliating 4-0 defeat by Sudan, a result that sealed their elimination with a game still to play.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Chelle stressed that the team’s focus is now on salvaging honour: “We left Zanzibar for here (Dar es Salaam) immediately after the game against Sudan. We are focused on our honour ahead of tomorrow’s game.”
The coach revealed that changes will be made to the squad as they look to close the tournament on a positive note: “For this game, there will be some changes because we lost two games, and we need to change something. We did a lot of mistakes in the previous games, and the tournament is done, but we need to go back with something.”
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Chelle further urged his players to show their ability despite the team’s struggles: “We need to show our quality tomorrow.”
Asked whether NPFL top scorer Anas Yusuf would be handed a starting role, the coach remained non-committal: “I can’t tell you if Anas Yusuf will start tomorrow. But I will be making changes to the team.”
He also defended his decision to use the 4-4-2 diamond formation, which has drawn criticism from fans and analysts: “This isn’t about my feeling but about my analysis, if I judge we are good with other formations, we will play it but this is my analysis.”
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