Super Eagles head coach Eric Sékou Chelle has called for a marked improvement from his players ahead of Nigeria’s crucial Group C clash against Tunisia at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, despite opening the tournament with a 2–1 victory over Tanzania.
Nigeria edged the Taifa Stars on Friday night in Fès, but Chelle admitted that the performance fell short of the standards required to compete at the highest level of the competition. The former Mali international said the team must raise its game when it faces Tunisia on Saturday, particularly after the North Africans stormed to a 3–0 win over Uganda to go top of the group.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Chelle said he was pleased with the result against Tanzania but stressed that the Super Eagles must show greater consistency over the full 90 minutes. He pointed to a strong first-half display in which Nigeria created several chances but lamented a dip in performance after the break.
“We have to analyse this match because we did a lot of good things. We created a lot of chances to score in the first half,” Chelle said. “But in the second half, we allowed Tanzania to come back into the game. We made two mistakes, even though we still had opportunities to score more goals.”
Nigeria, three-time African champions, arrived in Morocco aiming to improve on their runners-up finish at the last AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire. Chelle has repeatedly stated that the Super Eagles are targeting a fourth continental title but acknowledged that such ambition requires steady progress from game to game.
“The most important thing at AFCON is to improve with every match,” he said. “We are happy with the three points, but we have to continue to improve. Against Tunisia, we have to be better defensively and also in the way we move as a team.”
Chelle nevertheless praised his players for securing a winning start, describing the victory as vital for confidence and momentum in a tightly contested group. He added that lessons from the Tanzania match would be addressed quickly ahead of the encounter with Tunisia.
Saturday’s showdown at the Complexe Sportif de Fès will revive a familiar rivalry between the two sides. It also brings back memories of their Round of 16 clash at the delayed 2021 AFCON in Cameroon, where Tunisia shocked Nigeria with a 1–0 win to knock the Super Eagles out of the tournament.
