Technical Director of Messiah Football Club of Lagos Anthony Ushurhe has given cogent reasons why Super Eagles crashed out in the round of 16 of Africa Cup Nations taking place in Cameroon.
The three-time Africa champions lost 0-1 to Tunisia in the Round of 16. With this defeat, Nigeria was out of Africa’s biggest soccer biannual tournament on the continent.
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While reacting to the Eagles’ defeat Ushurhe a US-based coach, Anthony Ushurhe said the Nigeria football national team lost their match as a result of overconfidence and hard luck. He explained that Nigerian players thought it would be easy to win their opponents despite the fact that they qualified as the best loser in their group.
He further said having won all their matches in the group stage, and commendation received from the soccer fans and Nigerian government, the Eagles failed to raise the bar when they confronted the determined Tunisian side when both sides in the round of 16.
“It was a good match, unfortunately, we lost due to overconfidence on the part of players. We had the chance to bury the game in the first half but the players failed to convert their chances and also played to the gallery. By the time they woke up from their slumber, Tunisia had scored the winning goal and sealed it.
“Despite the fact that our players were too confident, they were unlucky too in the front of goal. They created so many scoring chances but none of them was converted. It was a sad night for soccer-loving Nigerians all over the world because the players gave their best but their best was not enough to take them to the next stage of the tournament,” Anthony Ushurhe concluded.
