Nigeria’s head coach, Eric Chelle, has shed light on his decision to substitute star striker Victor Osimhen during the Super Eagles’ semi-final defeat to Morocco on Wednesday.
Osimhen, who had scored four goals during Nigeria’s campaign at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, was withdrawn in the closing minutes of extra time, with Paul Onuachu introduced ahead of the penalty shootout.
Onuachu went on to convert his penalty, but Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou saved spot-kicks from Samuel Chukwueze and Onyemachi, before Youssef En-Nesyri sealed a 4-2 shootout victory for the hosts.
Asked about Osimhen’s substitution before the penalties, Chelle explained his reasoning in his post-match press conference.
“Since the beginning of the Africa Cup of Nations, we have been practising penalty shootouts every day in every training session, and the statistics have shown that the players who took the penalty shootouts were the best, and that is why we made changes by including the players who would take the shootouts,” he said.
The Nigerian coach added, “So when we saw that the game was heading towards penalties, we brought on the players who were in the best form to shoot.”
Chelle further revealed that Osimhen was not fully fit at the time of the substitution.
“Victor was suffering from a minor ankle injury, and that’s why we brought in Paul, who statistically was one of the best shooters during this period.”
