Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has said they were edged out of CHAN by Ghana as a result of anxiety on the part of the players.
Debutants Nigeria lost the CHAN semi-final to Ghana after a penalty shootout when there were no goals in normal and extra time.
“There was so much anxiety because the players wanted to do so much,” lamented Stephen Keshi.
“We wish to thank Nigerians for their prayers and support for this team.”
Substitute Joshua Obaje told MTNFootball.com they were unlucky not to go through to the final against Libya this weekend.
"We were just unlucky not to beat Ghana. We didn't deserve to lose the game, we put in our best, did all but we couldn't score and lost through penalties," Obaje said.
“All the same, we hope to improve for our next game.”
However, Nigeria may be missing several players for their next game after they suffered serious injuries against the very physical Black Stars.
Rabiu Ali, Solomon Kwambe and Kunle Odunlami are all on the treatment table.
Meanwhile, a $100,000 bonus promised them by the sports ministry if they defeated Ghana will still be paid to them.
Sports minister Bolaji Abdullahi confirmed the payment, saying Nigerians should continue to support the team.
Nigeria will now play the third-placed match against Zimbabwe on Saturday in Cape Town. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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You put in your best but your best was not enough.The team lacks finishing, delay passess, goal targets. Keshi, pls. work harder because this is the century of using your brain.
ReplyDeleteA daft comment. I'm almost certain you the one living in the century where people don't use their brain.
DeleteNo body is blaming you chief afterall you are still the best,thank you for a job well done.
ReplyDeleteIf going by what i saw which was d only match i watched when nigeria played against ghana was anything to go by,i really didn't see any quality in d team.they played just like a team without any coaching/technical know how.i said it b4 d championship started that Keshi is only good @ assembling established/proven europe based players but lacks d foresight,technical knowhow n development of ordinary footballers to become good tacticians
ReplyDeleteWell done team and nice job from Keshi. The team did her best if not for some lack finishing prowess. My take on this is that Keshi should try and reproduce players like, the late Rashidi(he was a goal fetters),Daniel Omokachi,Okocha,Kanu etcetera.
ReplyDeleteGood outing team and good coordination you displayed Keshi, and I'm believing that your next competition will be better.