Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle has opened up for the first time on one of the major talking points of the recent 2025 AFCON – the on-the-pitch spat between Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman during a Round of 16 clash against Mozambique.
“On the pitch, there was a discussion with Lookman. Victor told him, ‘We need to stop playing in front of goal.’ Things got a little heated, a minor altercation, but that’s part of locker room life,” Eric Chelle told After Foot RMC
“At the end of the match, he went home upset; he needed time to calm down. And once he did, he became the Victor we know again.
“There was never any question of him not playing against Algeria (AFCON quarterfinal), never.
“What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room. I didn’t even need to intervene. We went back to the hotel, they talked it over, and that was it.
He continued: “In front of goal, those two guys are top-level.
“Even better, this tension would almost make sense when you’re talking about two strikers obsessed with scoring.
“In front of goal, those two guys are top-level. Victor is a machine. If he doesn’t do his specific striker drills, if he doesn’t score in training, it drives him crazy. He wants to win everything. For him, it’s not a funfair. Lookman is the same, but calmer.
“Frankly, I’ve seen strikers, but to strike the ball like they do, right foot, left foot… that’s a very, very high level.”
