Speaking at a press conference before his side take on Uganda in their final group game of the Africa Cup of Nations, Eric Chelle has defended his decisions following criticism over Nigeria conceding after bringing on substitutes in their 3-2 victory over Tunisia.

Chidera Ejuke and Moses Simon were introduced from the bench after the Super Eagles saw their lead cut, while centre-back Chidozie Awaziem came on in stoppage time as the three-time African champions struggled to hold onto their slender advantage.

Nigeria have failed to keep a clean sheet since the 2026 World Cup qualifier against Benin's Cheetahs, and have now conceded in five consecutive matches across all competitions. 

Chelle stressed the unpredictable nature of football, noting that substitutions are never guaranteed to have an immediate impact.

"We conceded the first goal before the substitution. When you do a substitution, I try to analyse during the game what happened. Because we played a 4-4-2 diamond for this game, it means you let the fullbacks free. And so the pressure is on us; you have to protect the winger, so my choice was the best choice at this moment," Chelle told reporters at the pre-match press conference. 

"Sometimes you make good choices because the players come onto the pitch, score, or make an assist. Sometimes the player enters the pitch but, for a lot of reasons, he doesn’t score or assist. 

"After that, everybody says the coach was not good, the choice was not good, but this is football. We can talk about the bad and the good things too."

Chelle highlighted the positive side of Nigeria's performance against Tunisia, pointing out that the team won 3-2 and scored five goals since the start of the Africa Cup of Nations. 

"If we had won 3-0, maybe, for sure we missed something, but the reality is we won, we have five goals. Like you said we want a clean sheet, but for me I see the goal we can score.

"In the last four competitive games, we scored between 10 and 12 goals. It is very good. For sure, we want to win, and I have to look for the best way for my team. "

Nigeria head into Tuesday’s match against Uganda leading the attacking charts with five goals, 12 shots on target and an average possession of 61 per cent, the highest recorded so far

Ifeanyi Emmanuel