Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle admitted that he was nervous in the closing moments of his team’s 3-2 victory over Tunisia in Saturday’s AFCON clash, SportPremi reports.
The Super Eagles almost squandered a three-goal advantage in the clash, but held on for victory as they sealed their place in the next round of the competition.
Both sides had sealed comfortable wins in their opening encounters, with Nigeria defeating Tanzania, while Tunisia overcame Uganda in the other group game.
However, the Super Eagles produced a dominant performance for majority of the game, unsettling the North Africans with their intense pressing and team play.
The third goal was evident of that as they won the ball in midfield, before Alex Iwobi played in Victor Osimhen who then squared for Ademola Lookman to score.
Before that, Osimhen and captain Wilfried Ndidi had both scored to put Nigeria two goals up as they dominated proceedings.
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Tunisia fought back by scoring two late goals, but it didn’t matter as Nigeria held on for victory and move top of their group.
What Chelle said after Nigeria crucial win over Tunisia
Eric Chelle made two major changes to the lineup ahead of the clash against Tunisia and it proved to be a tactical masterclass as his side delivered a statement performance.
The former Mali head coach has now led the Super Eagles to two wins from two matches and will be targeting a top-spot finish in the group in their final match.
“Tunisia didn’t let in one goal during the World Cup qualifiers. Three goals against this team! This is for me a great game. We kept the ball so well during 70 or so minutes.”Chelle said after the match.
“Those final 15 or so minutes will give me nightmares. I was going a little bit crazy about what was happening because the players deserved a big game. And it was a test against a big team like Tunisia.
We still have to play a game that will bring the confidence and show our ambitions,” Chelle added.
“There’s positives in Tunisia’s comeback, it shows that there is still something for us to work on and something to improve. It will keep me and my players motivated.”
Nigeria have now booked their spot in the knockout stages and will be looking to finish top of their group when they face the winless Uganda in their final group C match on Tuesday.
Tunisia, on the other hand, will face Tanzania simultaneously to conclude action in the group.
