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On Tuesday, Nigeria will begin its quest for a continental title when the home-based senior men’s football team, the Super Eagle B or Home Eagles, take on cup holders Senegal in the opening Group B match of the 8th African Nations Championship (CHAN).
Nigeria’s technical and tactical approach to games will be curated by Eric Sekou Chelle, also the gaffer for the ‘A’ team. Chelle has spoken of belief and self-confidence among his 23-man squad, who spent three weeks at a training camp in Ikenne-Remo and another 10 days in Zanzibar.
At the 15,000-capacity Amaan Stadium on Tuesday, Chelle will go for the maximum points to underscore Nigeria’s ambition, as well as to diminish anxiety ahead of the clashes with Sudan and Congo.
Bronze medal-winners in 2014 and runners-up four years later, Nigeria have blown hot and cold in the 16-year-old tournament that is exclusively reserved for footballers plying their trade with valid contracts in the domestic league of their countries on the continent.
Ahead of the inaugural edition hosted by Cote d’Ivoire in 2009 and won by the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Eagles squandered a two-goal lead over arch-rivals Ghana in Accra to end up losing 2-3 and then failed to find the back of the net in the return encounter in Calabar. Ghana qualified instead.
- Read more: Home Eagles Eye Historic First CHAN Title
Two years later, Nigeria also failed to reach the finals in Sudan. In 2014, the late Stephen Keshi coached the Eagles to a bronze medal finish in South Africa, overturning a 3-0 deficit at half-time against Morocco en route. It was a year after the great Keshi had led the ‘A’ team to lift the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the same country.
Nigeria failed to make it out of the group stage in Rwanda in 2016, but then went all the way to the Final in the following edition, losing to hosts Morocco on a frosty night in Casablanca.
The country failed to qualify for the 2021 edition hosted by Cameroon and also painfully missed out of the finals staged by Algeria two years ago. In essence, Nigeria will be making only her fourth appearance at the competition.
Tagged Pamoja 2024, this year’s African Nations Championship promises a lot of thrills and excitement across five venues in three host nations – a novel arrangement in hosting of sports events on the African continent.
The encounter between Nigeria and Senegal will be a true test of the Home Eagles’ tactical discipline, resilience and ambition. A positive result against such a formidable opponent would not only provide a massive confidence boost but also set a strong tone for the rest of their group stage campaign.
The Confederation of African Football awarded a joint bid by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda the hosting right for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and afterwards opted to grant the three nations the opportunity to use the CHAN as a dress rehearsal.
The 19 participating countries have been cast into four groups, with groups A, B and C having five teams and group D (where Nigeria will feature) having only four, including Cup holders Senegal, as well as Congo and Sudan.
Joint hosts Tanzania took the first three points of the tournament on Saturday, beating Burkina Faso 2-0 in their group B encounter at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
CHAN 2024 Groups
GROUP A: Kenya, Morocco, Angola, DR Congo, Zambia
GROUP B: Tanzania, Madagascar, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic
GROUP C: Uganda, Niger Republic, Guinea, Algeria, South Africa
GROUP D: Senegal, Congo, Sudan, Nigeria.