Eric Chelle Laments Costly Zimbabwe Draw in World Cup Qualifiers

Nigeria  head coach Eric Chelle has admitted that Super Eagle’s hopes of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup were dealt a major blow by the team’s costly home draw against Zimbabwe.

Speaking in an interview with Algerian journalist Riadh Belaïche, Chelle reflected on Nigeria’s qualification campaign, describing the dropped points as a painful setback.

“I was appointed in January last year. When I arrived, Nigeria had three points from 12, so we fought hard to try to qualify,” Chelle said.

The Malian tactician explained that despite the team’s efforts to recover from a poor start, crucial points slipped away at decisive moments.

“It’s true that in some matches, like against Zimbabwe, we drew at home when the match was in our hands. In the end, those two dropped points hurt us a lot,” he said.

Chelle also pointed to Nigeria’s away draw against South Africa as another result that complicated their qualification hopes.

“Of course, we are disappointed because we felt we had the ability to qualify for the World Cup,” he added.

Reflecting on the playoff defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chelle acknowledged that the Super Eagles fell short despite their determination.

“We reached the playoffs, but we lost to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties. They deserved the victory,” Chelle concluded.