The Reason coach Chelle brought on Chukwueze for penalties against Morocco

Nigeria's dream of winning AFCON came to a heartbreaking end on Wednesday against Morocco. After 120 minutes of back-and-forth action with no goals, the match went to penalties. Morocco held their nerve and converted four shots, while Nigeria missed two, including one from Samuel Chukwueze, who'd only just been brought onto the field for the shootout.

The move that got everyone talking

Here's where things got spicy: Chukwueze, who plays for Fulham in the Premier League wasn't on the pitch during regular play. Coach Eric Chelle subbed him in specifically for the penalty shootout. He was brought in just before the end of the extra time. When Chukwueze stepped up to take his shot and missed, Nigerian fans erupted online. The penalty was so poor. Everyone wanted to know: why bring in a player just for this moment? Why take that risk? Why him?

The backlash was real, and Chelle knew he had some explaining to do.

Not a guess work

At the post-match press conference, Chelle didn't shy away from the criticism. Instead, he came prepared with an answer: data. He explained that Chukwueze wasn't a random pick, the team had spent time in training working specifically on penalties, and when they crunched the numbers, Chukwueze came out as one of their best penalty takers in practice.

"I put Chukwueze for the penalty session because we did work in all training sessions for the penalties," Chelle said. "With the statistics, the guys who kicked penalties were the best during the warm-ups; that is why we have these guys on the pitch."

So in short, it wasn't a guess work from the coach but it didn't work out in the end.

Another penalty heartbreak

If this feels like deja vu for Nigerian football fans, that's because it kind of is. Just a couple months back in November, Nigeria got knocked out of World Cup qualification the same way, losing 4-3 on penalties to DR Congo. Penalties have become the bane of the Super Eagles' existence lately.

But Chelle insisted his decisions were made with the team's best interests in mind, based on solid preparation rather than just hoping for the best. Sometimes a well-thought-out plan just doesn't pan out, and that's the harsh reality of football.