Eagles gaffer, Austin Eguavoen has advised his lads to put the disappointment of AFCON exit behind them and focus on World Cup qualifier
By Kehinde Okeowo
Super Eagles gaffer, Austin Eguavoen has blamed the defeat of Super Eagles by their Tunisian counterpart on poor officiating by the referees.
He asserted this after the match, while also stressing that his team did not deserve to lose the round of 16 encounter against Tunisia.
Nigeria were eliminated from AFCON after a 0-1 loss to Tunisia, who will now clash with the Stallions of Burkina Faso in the quarter-final at Stade Roumde Adjia in Garoua.
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Eguavoen, while speaking with pressmen after the encounter attributed his sides’ exit
from the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon to poor officiating by the referees.
He also said his lads attempted a comeback but the red card issued to Alex Iwobi did not help their course.
He said, “We tried to come back after the Tunisia goal, and we chased the game. But then we got a red card.
“It was clear that the officiating wasn’t fair,”
The 56-year-old coach went on to say it was a difficult task to win a match against a tactical side like Tunisia when officiating was unfair.
He also said he told his players to put the loss behind them and focused on qualifying for the World Cup in March, adding that the red card was not reasonable.
“I have told the players to pick up and ensure they qualify Nigeria for the World Cup.
“I won’t criticise the referee because they are masters of the game, but Alex Iwobi’s red card wasn’t fair. The foul wasn’t an intentional one,” Eguavoen said.
Nigeria who are scheduled to face their West African neighbour, Ghana after their exit will now look forward to the final qualifying game for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.