Eric Chelle, Super Eagles head coach, has defended his decision to bring on Samuel Chukwueze for the penalty shootout against Morocco.
On Wednesday, Nigeria lost 4-2 on penalties to Morocco and
failed to qualify for the final of the continental competition.
The match ended goalless after 120 minutes, and penalty
misses from Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi sealed the loss for Nigeria
in the shootouts.
Chukwueze was brought on late into extra time, and his only
contribution to the match was the penalty miss. Many Nigerians on social media
have criticised Chelle for the substitution.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Chelle said
Chukwueze was one of the best penalty takers in training, and his call was
based on “statistics”.
He added that all the Eagles’ players who took kicks during
the shootouts were the “best” takers during practice.
“I put Chukwueze for the penalty session because we did work
in all training sessions for the penalties,” the coach said.
“With the statistics, the guys who kicked penalties were the
best during the warm-ups; that is why we have these guys on the pitch.”
In November 2025, penalty shootouts cost Nigeria its ticket
to the 2026 World Cup. The Eagles lost 4-3 on penalties to DR Congo in the
final of the African playoffs for the World
Cup.
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