The Super Eagles of Nigeria have bowed out of the 2024 African Nations Championship with pride after winning their final group match.

Nigeria got their first win and first goals in the tournament after defeating Congo 2-0, thanks to goals from forwards Anas Yusuf and Sikiru Alimi.

Eric Chelle’s side were confirmed eliminated after losing their opening two matches, 1-0 to Senegal and a whopping 4-0 to Sudan on matchday two.

Sudan and Senegal progressed with five points each after playing a 0-0 draw on the final day, while Congo were eliminated with two points at the bottom of the group.

Super Eagles' prize money at CHAN 2024

According to CAF Online, this year's prize pool for CHAN is $10.4 million, a 32% increase from the previous edition, while the winner will receive $3.5mil, a 75% increase from the last edition.

As noted by Punch, the Super Eagles will receive $300,000 (₦450,000,000) for finishing third in Group D, which had only four teams.

The team will fly back home in the coming days to rejoin their clubs and begin preparation for the 2025/26 Nigeria Premier Football League season.

Nigerians blame Eric Chelle for CHAN elimination

Eric Chelle named a slightly rotated squad for today's match, introducing some players who have not had minutes during the tournament.

The rotated squad got the job done with young goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt keeping a clean sheet, and NPFL top scorer last season scoring the first goal.

Nigerians have heaped the blame for the tournament on Chelle for failing to make the required changes from the start of the tournament.

@OgaNlaMedia wrote:

“You can say what you like about the NPFL, but the CHAN failure is 90% on Eric Chelle's poor Diamond system. Today, he played with wingers in the same Diamond system, and we defeated a team that was better than us in the previous two games.”

@TheBoluSport wrote:

“Eric Chelle started Anas Yusuf today, and he scored. I saw few attacking brilliance from Tochukwu Michael close to the box, but he has started as a DM in the last two games. Generally, the boys struggled, but some form is permanent, and the coach doesn't care. He isn't intelligent!”

@HenryNissi_AFC wrote:

“Naija home-based Super Eagles could have gone far in the tournament, supposing Eric Chelle was more proactive in his approach towards the games at group stage. Winning 2-0 against Congo was medicine after death 💔”