Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has revealed that a tactical adjustment involving his strikers helped Nigeria recover from two goals down to secure a 3-3 draw against Russia. The Eric Chelle Russia comeback was made possible by these decisive changes.
According to The PUNCH, Chelle explained that the changes allowed his team to exploit spaces in transition during the closing stages of Tuesday’s international friendly.
Nigeria had fallen 3-1 behind before scoring twice to avoid defeat.
Chelle explains comeback strategy
“We found a solution because tactically we changed something about our strikers,” Chelle said.
“At the end of the second half, they did not find a solution, and that is why we scored two goals in transition.”
Nigeria initially took the lead through Kelechi Iheanacho before Russia responded through Lechi Sadulaev, Matvey Kislyak and Aleksey Miranchuk.
Late goals rescue Nigeria
With the Super Eagles trailing by two goals, substitute Peter Edokpolor reduced the deficit in the 78th minute.
Akor Adams then completed the comeback deep into stoppage time after receiving a pass from Abdullahi Umar.
The late equaliser secured a 3-3 draw at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium.
Coach praises players
Chelle acknowledged that Russia controlled important periods of the encounter but praised Nigeria’s improvement after the break.
“The second half of my team was very good. I applauded my players,” he said.
The result followed Nigeria’s 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The friendly gave Chelle an opportunity to assess several new players ahead of future international assignments.
