Nigeria’s home-based Super Eagles bowed out of the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) despite recording a 2–0 victory over Congo in their final Group D match in Dar es Salaam on Saturday.
After back-to-back defeats to Sudan and Senegal, the result had no bearing on qualification, but Eric Chelle’s men delivered their most assured performance of the tournament. Goals from Anas Yusuf and Sikiru Alimi in the second half sealed the win, giving Nigeria a morale-boosting finish to an otherwise disappointing campaign.
Nigeria looked lively from the start, creating chances through Taiwo Abdulrafiu and Junior Nduka, though Congo threatened sporadically through Gosim Elenga. The breakthrough came in the 56th minute when Yusuf pounced on Alimi’s knockdown to slot home Nigeria’s first goal of the tournament.
Congo’s hopes faded further when Charles Atipo was shown a late red card following a VAR review. From the ensuing free-kick, Sodiq Ismail’s cross was headed in by Alimi to secure the win in stoppage time.
The result placed Nigeria third in Group D with three points, behind Sudan and Senegal, who advanced to the quarter-finals. Congo finished bottom without a point.
Chelle described the victory as a sign of progress after underwhelming earlier displays, but admitted the team must improve ahead of Nigeria’s World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and South Africa in September.
