After 10 minutes — Eric Chelle explains why Super Eagles lost to Guinea-Bissau

Nigeria, who had come from behind to beat Madagascar 2-1 just three days earlier, were completely outplayed in Bissau.

Franculino Djú gave the hosts the lead in the first half, before Mama Baldé and Álvaro Djaló completed the scoring after the break.

Speaking after the match, Chelle was honest in his assessment.“They were more aggressive than us; they were better than us,” he said.

The French-Malian coach pointed to the difficult conditions as a contributing factor, though he refused to use them as a full excuse.

“Though this is not an excuse, they know their pitch. They usually play on this pitch, but for us, it was the first time, and the pitch was very bad. The weather was very hot too.

“So, Guinea-Bissau entered the game more motivated and more aggressive. They put more intensity, and we never found a solution.”

Chelle revealed that his team tried to respond after half-time but quickly lost their way.

“We tried to go forward after halftime, to bring something new, but after 10 minutes, we stopped, and I don’t know why.”

The heavy defeat leaves Nigeria with just three points from their opening two Group L fixtures and raises early questions about the team’s ability to be successful under Chelle.

The Super Eagles will now look to regroup ahead of November's double-header against Tanzania.