Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has warned that Nigeria’s clash with Tunisia at the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will not be an easy game, insisting his side must be fully prepared to battle for control of Group C.
Nigeria and Tunisia both opened their AFCON campaigns with victories, setting up a high-stakes encounter on Saturday. The Super Eagles edged past Tanzania 2-1 in a hard-fought contest in Fès, while the Carthage Eagles were more comfortable in their 3-1 win over Uganda in Rabat.
With both teams sitting on three points, Saturday’s showdown could prove decisive in the race for qualification, as victory would almost certainly book the winner a place in the knockout stages.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Chelle praised Tunisia’s quality and warned against underestimating their strength.
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“We had a training session after the first game to recover and yesterday we tried to put more intensity in the training session. We have the game tomorrow against Tunisia, a great team. They play really well,” Chelle said.
“This game isn’t going to be easy. Tunisia have some good players with experience, they have some young players too. So they play well as a team, and they’re very focused on the AFCON. This is why it is a great game because we want to win too,” he added.
Chelle stressed that mentality will be key for the Super Eagles as they aim to build on their opening win: “The most important thing is the state of mind of the group. We have the last training session tonight and we’ll finalise the last things we need to have a great game tomorrow.”
The Super Eagles boss was coy when asked about his starting XI, refusing to reveal his selection while hinting at possible tactical adjustments.
“I cannot talk about my starting 11, we’ll see at the beginning of the game. In my mind I have two options, the first is to let the ball to Tunisia and when we get the ball, to try and directly score a goal, or continue our philosophy. Because it’s a great game, maybe we’ll change something.”
Reflecting on Nigeria’s victory over Tanzania, Chelle admitted his side made costly errors but praised their response after conceding: “We analysed the game. Sometimes we did something good, very good, sometimes we did something bad, very bad. The goal we conceded was very bad. But there was a big reaction because we scored just after.”
“For sure we’ve worked on this. If there’s no mistake there’s no goal in football. The most important thing when you concede a goal is the state of mind after, and for sure my players are very ready for that.”
Nigeria will face Tunisia at the Complexe Sportif de Fès by 9pm. In the other Group C game, Uganda will take on Tunisia at the Al Medina Stadium in Rabat by 6:30pm.
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