{"id":880638,"date":"2025-12-26T00:16:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T06:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/26\/chelle-knows-why-he-selected-him-support-grows-for-nigerias-lowest-rated-star-vs-tanzania\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T00:16:25","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T06:16:25","slug":"chelle-knows-why-he-selected-him-support-grows-for-nigerias-lowest-rated-star-vs-tanzania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/26\/chelle-knows-why-he-selected-him-support-grows-for-nigerias-lowest-rated-star-vs-tanzania\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cChelle knows why he selected him\u201d \u2013 Support grows for Nigeria\u2019s lowest-rated star vs Tanzania"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>\n

Nigeria during the Africa Cup of Nations AFCON match between Nigeria and Tanzania. Photo by Segun Ogunfeyitimi Copyright: xShengolpixsxIMAGO<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Former Nigeria international Garba Lawal has come to the defence of Zaidu Sanusi following criticism of the left-back after Super Eagles’ 2-1 win<\/a> over Tanzania at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations<\/a>, Soccernet.ng reports<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Sanusi was Nigeria\u2019s lowest-rated player according to SofaScore<\/a>, scoring 6.2 in a match where Alex Iwobi (8.2) starred with two assists, Semi Ajayi (8.0) scored the opener, and Ademola Lookman<\/a> (7.7) netted the decisive winner.<\/p>\n

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Nigeria Super Eagles and Porto defender Zaidu Sanusi. Copyright: Photo by IMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Nigeria<\/a> took three vital points in Group C, much of the post-match conversation centred on Sanusi\u2019s performance, and whether head coach Eric Chelle<\/a> should replace him.<\/p>\n

Sanusi endured a difficult evening statistically. The 27-year-old lost possession 14 times and struggled to link play effectively down Nigeria\u2019s left flank, with his crossing failing to consistently trouble the Tanzanian defence.<\/p>\n

However, the full-back\u2019s display was not without positives. He completed 83 percent of his passes, won one tackle, made three clearances, registered two recoveries, and won three of seven ground duels across the full 90 minutes.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Nigeria and Porto defender Zaidu Sanusi. Copyright: Photo by IMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite those numbers, criticism on social media was fierce, with many fans calling for Sanusi to be dropped in favour of Olympiakos defender Bruno Onyemaechi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some supporters also blamed the Porto player for Tanzania\u2019s equaliser, a view strongly rejected by Garba Lawal.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Footy Africa<\/a>, the former Super Eagles midfielder questioned the narrative forming around the defender.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Photo Credit: NFF Comms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Get Our Sports News First \u2013 Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Soccer Nigeria: What Lawal said to back Sanusi<\/h2>\n
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\u201cWhy are they criticizing him? Is he the only player on the pitch, or was he solely at fault for the Tanzania equalizer?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand why one player is being singled out for criticism when football is a team sport. They are not the coach\u2014only the coach (Chelle) knows why he selected him. If he\u2019s not good enough, why is he playing for FC Porto? He has been at Porto for almost five seasons, yet Nigerian fans are still complaining.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe coach knows his quality, which is why he continues to use him. He can run, tackle, defend, and contribute in attack\u2014so what more do they want? The boy deserves some respect. He is playing for the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Soccer Chelle\u2019s trust and the Tunisia test ahead<\/h2>\n

Lawal\u2019s defence aligns closely with the thinking of head coach Eric Chelle, who is unlikely to make wholesale changes ahead of Nigeria\u2019s second Group C match against Tunisia on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The Malian tactician is known for sticking with winning teams, and Sanusi\u2019s selection against Tanzania suggests the coach values his physicality, experience, and tactical discipline, even when performances fall short of public expectations.<\/p>\n

Sanusi was Nigeria\u2019s first-choice left-back during the Super Eagles’ brilliant run to the AFCON final last year, starting key matches and providing balance to a side built on transitions and wide attacking outlets. That trust appears unchanged.<\/p>\n

Nigeria now face Tunisia with qualification for the knockout stages at stake. Both sides won their opening fixtures, with Tunisia beating Uganda 3-1 to sit top of Group C on goal difference.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"<!--Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele” src=”https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/app\/uploads\/2024\/12\/DSC_0327-copy-150×150.jpg” height=”80″ width=”80″>\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tImhonlamhen Eronmhonsele\t\t\t\t<\/a>
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\n\t\t\t\tA lifelong fan of Arsenal and the Super Eagles, Imhonlamhen is a football writer and editor at Soccernet.ng, where his journey as a journalist began more than six years ago. Since then, he has helped shape the platform\u2019s editorial voice and guided it toward some of its proudest milestones. <\/p>\n

With a background in Engineering and further training in journalism and digital media, Imhons brings both precision and passion to his storytelling. His love for football runs deep, but he also follows boxing, chess, and athletics with equal curiosity.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Nigeria during the Africa Cup of Nations AFCON match between Nigeria and Tanzania. Photo by Segun Ogunfeyitimi Copyright: xShengolpixsxIMAGO Former Nigeria international Garba Lawal has come to the defence of Zaidu Sanusi following criticism of the left-back after Super Eagles’ 2-1 win over Tanzania at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, Soccernet.ng reports. Sanusi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":880639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[140853,3213,2005],"tags":[140851,16522],"class_list":{"0":"post-880638","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chelle","8":"category-knows","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-chelle","11":"tag-knows"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=880638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/880639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=880638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=880638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=880638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}