Head coach of Nigeria Eric Chelle has said he would have considered retirement from coaching if his outfit had missed out on the bronze medal at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The West Africa football heavyweights triumphed over the Pharaohs of Egypt on penalties on Saturday, January 17, 2026 at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca following a pulsating goalless draw.
The victory ensured Nigeria return home with the bronze medal at the expense of the North African football powerhouse.
“On a personal level, I don’t know if it’s appropriate to talk about this now or not, but I will… If we hadn’t finished third, it would have been difficult for me to continue as a coach,” Chelle said after the match, in comments to the French channel Canal+.
“I played my first Africa Cup of Nations with the Malian national team, and we were the best team in terms of performance, but we were eliminated in the quarter-finals. In this edition as well, we were the best in terms of play and philosophy, and then we failed… I think continuing would have been difficult for me… Yes, I could have stopped coaching.”
“At that time I don’t know exactly what I would have done, maybe I would have worked in youth development, or as a technical director with one of the national teams.”
Meanwhile, Chelle has eulogized his players for gifting him with the bronze medal at the continental showpiece.
“The players gave me this wonderful gift… I promised my father and mother that I would return with the African title, and now I say to them: Father and mother, I am sorry, I only returned with third place, but it is a good thing for me”
Nigeria finished third for the eighth time in its history at the Africa Cup of Nations. This is the fourth time that the Egyptian national team has finished fourth in the African Cup of Nations, after 1976, 1980 and 1984.
Meanwhile, the West Africa football heavyweights has never lost a third-place game at the Africa Cup of Nations.
