Super Eagles head coach Eric Sékou Chelle has attributed Nigeria’s impressive run at the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to the team’s disciplined and highly focused training sessions in Morocco.

Nigeria have enjoyed a flawless campaign so far, winning all their group matches against Tanzania (2–1), Tunisia (3–2) and Uganda (3–1). The Super Eagles maintained their dominant form in the knockout rounds, thrashing Mozambique 4–0 in the Round of 16 before defeating Algeria 2–0 in Saturday’s quarter-final clash in Marrakech.

Chelle explained that his approach has been to treat every match as a final, placing full concentration on winning and progressing one step at a time. While attention has turned to him as head coach, he was quick to stress that the real work is done by the players on the pitch, with his role focused on preparation, guidance and support off it.

“Now everybody is curious about Chelle, but I’m not on the pitch — the players are,” he said. “I try to do my job with my own feelings. I work closely with my players and spend my time with them.”

Goals from Victor Osimhen and Akor Adams in the second half sealed a deserved 2–0 victory over Algeria, setting up a mouth-watering semi-final showdown against hosts Morocco on Wednesday.

Chelle, who recently marked one year in charge of the Super Eagles, has now overseen 16 matches and expressed pride in the team’s steady progress.

“I’m very proud of my players,” he added. “We’ve been working since last January, but usually with just one or two days of training. Here at AFCON, we’ve had more time to work, and with my vision for this team, I’m happy because we are seeing results.”

Meanwhile, the Super Eagles have returned to Fez for recovery sessions and light training ahead of the semi-final clash. The only concern for the coaching staff is Wilfred Ndidi, who will miss the match after picking up two yellow cards and serving a suspension.