Victor Osimhen has praised the influence of head coach Eric Chelle in Nigeria’s impressive campaign at the 2025 African Cup of Nations tournament, SportPremi reports.
The 48-year-old has guided the Super Eagles to one of their best performances in recent years in his first senior tournament in charge.
Chelle became coach of the Nigerian senior team over a year ago and has already made a noticeable impact in the way they play.
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The former Mali head coach first revived the nation’s dismal World Cup qualifying campaign and despite falling short, there were improvement in the way the team plays.
He has also guided the Super Eagles to the semifinals of the ongoing tournament, where they will face the hosts Morocco later today at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
Chelle, who won the CAF coach of the group stages will be hoping to lead his team into the final of the competition and to a fourth African title.
Osimhen speaks ahead of Morocco showdown
Osimhen who is close to becoming Nigeria’s all-time leading goalscorer has hailed the impact of Eric Chelle at the national team.
The Super Eagles have become more watchable and their goal tally of 14 is the highest so far at the 2025 AFCON tournament.
“About 70% to 80% of players in our squad have played football at the highest level, so, for me, the whole squad is calm. We’re just doing our job, doing what the coach wants us to do and playing how he [the coach] wants us to”, Osimhen revealed.
“I think he [Chelle] deserves a lot of praise, as well as the rest of the squad, because we’ve been playing amazingly well.
“When we look at the videos, for each action, the coach shows us, we applaud ourselves because we know we have the squad, we have the talent to play, but now we’ve got someone to put this talent in its place, who knows when to unleash the beast in his squad.
“I’m really pleased with the squad, I’m happy with the mentality. It’s not just about the leaders; it’s about everyone taking responsibility, and they’ve done that so far.”
The Galatasaray striker also acknowledged the difficulty of tonight’s encounter, but believes the Super Eagles have the opportunity to make history and advance from the clash.
“They[Morocco] have a very good squad, talented players, but I think we are one of the most feared teams within this tournament”, he continued.
“There is no pressure; we take it as it comes. We just display something for the world to see; we’re up for this trophy.
“It won’t be easy because the Moroccans are coming with their fans in thousands, but again, many of us have played in stadiums packed with 90,000 people.
“For me, there’s no pressure. I don’t think about it, but when the game comes, we go for the win. It won’t be easy, but we’ve got a chance”, Osimhen concluded.
The winner of the tie between Nigeria and Morocco will advance to meet either Senegal or Egypt in Sunday’s final.
