Super Eagles beat the Red Devils 2-0 in their last match of the 2024 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday night, August 18.
Nigeria bowed out of the tournament with one win in three matches, all thanks to last season's NPFL highest goal scorer, Anas Yusuf and experienced Sikiru Alimi.
The Super Eagles found the back of the net in the 56th minute when Anas Yusuf connected to a headed pass by Sikiru Alimi, following a cross by defender Abdulrafiu Taiwo.
Three minutes later, Remo Stars player Sikiru Alimi made it two for Nigeria as the team exited the tournament with three points, per CAF.
FULL TIME!
— CAF_Online (@CAF_Online) August 19, 2025
Nigeria close their campaign with a 2-0 win against Congo. 🇳🇬
Purchase your #TotalEnergiesCHAN2024 tickets here 👉 https://t.co/awXbLaBpH9 pic.twitter.com/KgXMIzxXXk
Nigeria U17 star Ebenezer Harcourt made his debut and was impressive between the goalposts.
The 2018 silver medalist lost their first match to defending champions Senegal 1-0 before their 4-0 humiliation at the hands of Sudan, led by Ghana legend Kwesi Appiah.
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.
Nigerians unimpressed despite win
Nigerians have attributed the Super Eagles' ouster to the selection process of coach Eric Chelle.
They accused the coaches of selecting a large chunk of players from the winners of last season's Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) and relegating the highest goal scorer to the bench for the first to matches.
Nnaemeka Andy-Adrian Okwu said:
"This winning is called "Medicine After Death", simply known as "MAD"!
Alexandra Jerome Markus wrote:
"The CHAN Eagles gave South Africa and Ghana bragging rights against us."
Duffy Dublino said:
"When you say "better late than never" you mean you have qualified to the quarter finals at the last minute? It is surprising, because you are one team that has used their best local players unlike Zambia and South Africa for example."
Chibuzor Precious Preshley wrote:
"And this coach didn't start him all this while, keeping the league top scorer on the bench.. now he started with a goal."
Thompson Okoh added:
"I've never seen a Nigerian team play so badly, running into their opponents like m*dmen."
