Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has cleared the air on the rift between Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman during Nigeria’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) round of 16 game against Mozambique, Bold Sports reports.
Although Nigeria cruised to victory to book a place in the quarterfinals, the win came with some drama. Lookman had played a key role in three goals, opening the scoring himself, setting up the second which Osimhen finished, and later providing the assist for the striker’s brace and the Super Eagles’ third.
However, in pursuit of a hatrick, the Galatasaray star was seen fuming with Bruno Onyemaechi and later Lookman for not passing the ball, directly shouting at the Atalanta forward and asking to be substituted immediately. Few minutes later, he was withdrawn for Moses Simon.
The Super Eagles went on to get one more goal after the change, with Lookman once again assisting Akor Adams to make it 4-0, securing Nigeria’s place in the final eight.
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Speaking in a recent interview on After Foot RMC, Chelle clarified exactly what happened between the Super Eagles stars.
“In front of goal, those two guys are top-level. Even better, this tension would almost make sense when you’re talking about two strikers obsessed with scoring.”
“Victor is a machine. If he doesn’t do his specific striker drills, if he doesn’t score in training, it drives him crazy. He wants to win everything. For him, it’s not a funfair. Lookman is the same, but calmer. Frankly, I’ve seen strikers, but to strike the ball like they do, right foot, left foot, that’s a very, very high level.”
“On the pitch, there was a discussion with Lookman. Victor told him, ‘We need to stop playing in front of goal.’ Things got a little heated, a minor altercation, but that’s part of locker room life.”
“At the end of the match, he went home upset; he needed time to calm down. And once he did, he became the Victor we know again. There was never any question of him not playing against Algeria, never,” Chelle explained.
“What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room. I didn’t even need to intervene. We went back to the hotel, they talked it over, and that was it,” he concluded.
Since the AFCON, Osimhen has returned to his impressive form with Galatasaray, scoring in three straight Super Lig games. Meanwhile, Lookman joined Atletico from Atalanta and scored on his debut for the Spanish side in a 5-0 win over Real Betis.
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