Chelle speaks on Osimhen–Lookman spat, says incident will be handled internally

Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has played down the on-field confrontation between Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman during Nigeria’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 clash against Mozambique, insisting the matter will be dealt with privately within the team.

Nigeria cruised to a 4-0 victory over the Mambas, with Osimhen scoring twice, while Lookman and Akor Adams added one goal each. However, in the 64th minute, with the Super Eagles already 3-0 up, Osimhen was seen visibly confronting Lookman inside the opposition’s box.

The incident appeared to stem from a missed passing opportunity, with Osimhen believing Lookman should have squared the ball to him in a better scoring position. Shortly after the exchange, Osimhen asked to be substituted and was replaced by Moses Simon.

Addressing the issue during his post-match press conference, Chelle made it clear that he would not discuss internal matters publicly.

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“This is a question about my management, and what happened on the pitch will stay in the group,” Chelle said. “I don’t need to tell anyone what happened. Everything that happened in the group stays in the group, so we will see after that and we will talk.”

Reflecting on the emphatic win over Mozambique, the Malian tactician expressed satisfaction with the result but cautioned against complacency.

“I’m happy about this game, winning by four goals, but in reality we didn’t do anything special—we just won one game,” he added. “If we want to be ambitious, we need to continue to improve and keep this quality on the pitch.

“My job now is to keep the players very focused on their training sessions and behaviour.”

Nigeria will now turn their attention to the quarter-finals as they continue their quest for a fourth AFCON title.

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