Eric Chelle, the head coach of the Super Eagles, has acknowledged that he is under a lot of pressure as Nigeria gets ready for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations elimination round, with Mozambique standing in the way of his team’s quarterfinal spot.

On Monday night in Fes, Morocco, Nigeria will play the Mambas in a round-of-16 match as the competition advances from the group stage to the “win or go home” round.

Chelle stated that the competition essentially resets at this point during his pre-match press conference.

“This is the end of the group stage,” Chelle said. “Another tournament starts, and we play against Mozambique. The state of the mind of the group is good.”

Nigeria had high expectations going into AFCON 2025, and with the Nigeria Football Federation openly aiming for a run to the final, those expectations have grown.

Chelle acknowledged that pressure has been a part of the job since his appointment and did not back down from that fact.

“Since I took this job, I have been under pressure,” he said. “Game after game, we want to become ambitious, but we want to think about the next game.

“If God gives us the chance to go to the quarterfinal, we will think about it. But now we will think about the game against Mozambique, and for sure we want to win this game.”

Cyriel Dessers, a striker for the Super Eagles, will be out for several weeks due to injury, according to Chelle, who also acknowledged a major setback for the team.

“Dessers has a bigger injury and should be out for about 10–12 weeks. I am disappointed for him, but we have to look in front of us and play a great game tomorrow. Ryan should come back in a few days,” he said.

On Nigeria’s performances so far, the coach stressed the need for continuous improvement, particularly at both ends of the pitch. “We scored some good goals and conceded some goals. We have to improve every day,” Chelle added.

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