The Super Eagles B will take on the Zanzibar national team today, Thursday 31st July in their final preparatory match ahead of the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN), which kicks off on Saturday across Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya.
Both sides played out a goalless draw in the first leg of the friendly on Monday at the Mau Zedong Stadium, with Nigeria dominating possession but failing to convert chances.
Today’s encounter, also scheduled for the Mau Stadium, comes five days before Nigeria’s first match of the competition – a clash with Cup holders Senegal – at Zanzibar’s 15,000 -capacity Amaan Stadium.
The Nigerian side, led by national team coach Eric Chelle, will be aiming to sharpen their tactical and physical edge ahead of their group-stage opener. Chelle expressed satisfaction with the team’s progress during their East African training camp.
“Our preparations started two weeks ago in Ikenne, and we worked hard—physically, tactically, and technically. Now we’ve continued our build-up in Zanzibar, which is perfect for us. It’s a good team with great players, and they are helping us prepare well for CHAN,” Chelle said.
Nigeria, runners-up in the 2018 edition, are drawn in Group D of the 19-team tournament, alongside defending champions Senegal, Sudan, and Congo.
While expectations remain high, Chelle is tempering ambition with realism.
“Our ambition is to take the games one after the other. We’ll see what we can do after that,” he added.
The Super Eagles B missed the last edition of the tournament but booked their return by defeating long-time rivals Ghana 3–1 on aggregate in the qualifiers.
They will begin their CHAN campaign with two group matches against Senegal and Sudan at the Amman Stadium in Zanzibar, before rounding off the group stage against Congo at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
Nigeria’s best finish in the tournament remains their second-place run in 2018, following a third-place finish in 2014.