It’s been six long years since Nigeria last qualified for the African Nations Championship (CHAN), a tournament designed to showcase the best of home-based talent across the continent.
That drought was ended in dramatic fashion by a resolute and united Super Eagles B side who fought their way past Ghana to book a coveted ticket to the eighth CHAN tournament to be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania
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Leading that charge was Junior Nduka, the hard-nosed but composed captain whose voice, vision, and versatility have become pillars of the squad’s new identity. Now, with CHAN 2025 just weeks away and Nigeria drawn into a fearsome group featuring DR Congo, Senegal, and Sudan, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
This is no ordinary challenge; it’s the proverbial “Group of Death.” But it’s also a chance for redemption, legacy, and history.
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In this exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Nduka speaks about Nigeria’s preparations, the inner workings of a team reborn, and what sets this CHAN-bound squad apart from the ones that faltered in previous editions.
From the fire of qualification to the furnace of CHAN proper, the captain shares his ambitions, assessments, and a clear message to the fans: “Keep your hope alive.”
Excerpts…
PT: The CHAN proper comes with high stakes and intense rivalries. How are you preparing mentally and physically for such a crucial tournament?
Nduka Jnr: Yeah, the tournament comes with high stakes and intense rivalries, and I would say we’ve been preparing physically and mentally with the calibre of coaches we have—some of the best coaches and staff in the world and in the country. I think that will help us go into the tournament with full force and see what will come out of it.
PT: What do you think sets this squad apart from the teams that missed out in previous editions, and how would you describe the bond within the current group?
Nduka Jnr: Yeah, I would say what really sets us apart from the teams that missed out in this tournament is hard work, dedication, perseverance, and most especially and importantly, focus.
Because we were focused all through the qualification period, we didn’t blink at all. I think that was what really helped us because we really persevered before. And I think that was why we got what we wanted.
PT: What are your ambitions for the team heading into the CHAN tournament, and how do you plan to maintain the level of performance that saw you through qualification as captain?
Nduka Jnr: Yeah, my ambition is to start from where we stopped the last time, where we played against Ghana, both legs.
And we plan to maintain the same level with a lot of intensity and hard work.
PT: With Nigeria set to face DR Congo, Senegal, and Sudan in a tough group (Group of Death), what’s your assessment of the challenge ahead and what gives you confidence that this team can rise to the occasion?
Nduka Jnr: My assessment of the challenge ahead of this tournament is that despite it being a tough group, as you’ve said, we will do our best to carry out what we’ve been taught in training all this while.
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We have been preparing and will be going to the tournament with full focus, knowing fully well these are teams you can’t write off. There is no way you can write these teams off because the Senegal national team is doing extremely well. And I also believe that the CHAN team will also be as good as the main team.
But we will see how we can curtail them. I will definitely give them a lot of respect but no fear, because it’s a game of football. We’ll definitely play and see what will come out at the end of 90 minutes.
PT: What’s your message to Nigerian fans who are hoping this home-based squad can restore pride and potentially make history at CHAN 2024?
Nduka Jnr: My message to our Nigerian fans is to keep their hope alive. I know they wrote us off—that we wouldn’t qualify against Ghana—because I guess for the past six years now, we’ve not been doing well in CHAN since 2018.
And according to history, we’ve not been doing well since 2018, and this time around, we came, we saw, we conquered.
This is the same mentality, the same hope I want them to have in us because it’s going to be a different ball game. With the best coaches we have, the staff, and the officials as well, we’ll definitely make Nigerians proud.
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