Super Eagles head coach, Eric Chelle, has offered reasons behind Nigeria’s 1-0 loss to Senegal in their opening Group D match at the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) on Tuesday evening.

A second-half strike from Christian Gomis secured the win for Senegal at the Amani Stadium in Tanzania.

During his post-match press conference, Chelle stated that Senegal outperformed his home-based Nigerian squad by showing more aggression and intensity throughout the game.

“Senegal was more aggressive than us. They put more intensity than us, and for me, this is normal. They deserve this victory,” Chelle remarked.

He also acknowledged that Nigeria’s team committed a costly error after the break.

“In the second half, we gave the goal. This was a small mistake. But this is normal because we never got into this game. Maybe mentally, or maybe we were scared about something,” he added.

Nigeria will now take on Sudan in their next CHAN group match next Tuesday.