Eric Chelle: Tuesday’s Zanzibar ground holds a painful CHAN memory

Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle takes Nigeria to the Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar on Tuesday, the ground where his home-based CHAN side lost 4-0 to Sudan in August 2025, a defeat that ended their tournament after two games.

Nigeria meet Tanzania there in the return leg of their AFCON 2027 qualifier, four days after a 3-1 win in Uyo, with kick-off at 14:00 WAT.

That result lifted the Super Eagles to six points from three Group L games, one behind leaders Guinea-Bissau. Tanzania are already through as co-hosts, so only one qualifying place is open, as our look at Tuesday's double bill sets out.

The night Sudan ran riot at the Amaan

Chelle was in charge of the CHAN Eagles at the 2024 African Nations Championship, staged in August 2025, when Nigeria met Sudan in Zanzibar on 12 August in their second Group D game.

Anthony Ijoma had a 22nd-minute goal ruled out for offside after a VAR review. Three minutes later Leonard Ngenge turned the ball into his own net, and Ngenge then handled a cross to concede a penalty, which Walieldin Khidir converted just before half-time.

Sudan scored twice more after the break, in the 55th and 62nd minutes. Chelle had already made three changes at the interval, sending on Jabbar Malik, Stephen Manyo and Vincent Temitope, but nothing turned the game, as Soccernet reported that night.

Coming after a 1-0 defeat by Senegal in the opener, the result left Nigeria without a point and out of the race for the quarter-finals, with only a dead rubber against Congo to come.

A different team for a different job

Tuesday's side is built on Chelle's first-choice internationals. In Uyo, Ademola Lookman set up Alhassan Yusuf's second-minute opener, and captain Wilfred Ndidi supplied the pass for the first of substitute Tolu Arokodare's two goals.

Lookman is the main doubt for Zanzibar. The Atlético Madrid forward went off late in the first half with a knee problem, and Chelle explained the change in comments reported by Legit.ng, which credited AllNigeriaSoccer.

“When he tried to score the goal with his left foot, his knee started to feel bad.”

Calvin Bassey and Benjamin Fredrick, who both suffered cramp in Uyo, have recovered, according to the same report. The coach's wider message was about the result still to come, as he played down the Uyo win and pointed to the second leg.

Analysis: The Amaan memory matters less than the Uyo warning

A 4-0 defeat at the same ground makes a neat storyline, but it says little about Tuesday. The CHAN squad was a home-based group assembled for one tournament; the side that plays Tanzania is the senior team that has just scored three times against them.

The numbers from this campaign are the better guide. Nigeria have conceded in all three qualifiers, five goals in total, and on Friday they let Tanzania back level after scoring inside two minutes.

That is the lesson Chelle will want carried to Zanzibar. If the Super Eagles protect a lead better than they did in Uyo, the game should turn on the gap in quality between the sides, not on a CHAN night 15 months ago. A win would take Nigeria to nine points before Guinea-Bissau kick off against Madagascar.

Chelle returns to the Amaan touchline at 14:00 WAT on Tuesday, this time with the only open place in Group L in view.