“If we win, nobody would question it” – Chelle defends lookman out of position

The Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle, has defended his decision to play Auseo Lookman in an unknown role during Nigeria’s 1-1 draw against Zimbabwe.

Lookman, who has prospered as an extreme for Atalanta, fought to impose himself after being deployed in a central role behind Victor Osimhen in Chelle 4-4-2 configuration.

While Winger played a key role in Nigeria’s 2-0 victory over Rwanda, it was difficult for him to have an impact against the Warriors.

Although Osimhen’s late goal gave Nigeria the advantage, Zimbabwe capitalized a defensive period in the detention time to snatch a point, leaving the frustrated super eagles.

Chelle’s tactical approach saw three players deployed outside their natural positions.

The right side Ola Aina was used on the left side, Lookman interpreted centrally as a support striker, and Samuel Chukwueze positioned himself in an advanced paper in the midfield.

Lookman, the best African African player, found himself overwhelmed by the physicality of Zimbabwe, with limited space to maneuver.

Speaking after the game, Chelle explained that its configuration was intentional, with the aim of exploiting spaces between lines.

“I said I want to play in Diamond because I like to find the player (lookman) between the lines, among the player in the 10th position,” Chelle said at the conference after the game.

Despite Lookman’s struggles, Chelle insisted that the system was effective, especially in the first half.

“If you see the first half, we could have scored a goal, so this is a very good system. Chukwueze played inside, but if you see in the first half, sometimes I was on the side.”

He also praised the adaptability of Aina and Bright Osayi-Samuel, which had to adapt to different roles.

“For Ola Aina and Bright, Ola sometimes played on the left side. I think he played a very good game and also brilliant.”

However, with the Super Eagles now under pressure in their World Cup classification campaign, Chelle admitted that the result was disappointing.

“Maybe now we say that the choice was not good, but if we won, we say that the choice was good.”