COACH Sunday Oliseh said that losing 1-0 to Guinea in
yesterday’s last group C match of the Africa Nations Championship, was
something he and his team did not envisage.
He regretted the loss coming after the Super Eagles have
chalked up four points from their two previous matches and only needed a draw
against Guinea to advance to the quarter-final.
“We apologise to Nigerians for this loss, we never planned
to exit the tournament this early. The boys gave their best,” said a sober
Oliseh after the game.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation also expressed
regrets over the Super Eagles shock exit.
NFF president, Amaju Pinnick reiterated that the African
Nations Championship is “both developmental and preparatory for bigger challenges,”
and said without mincing words that the Federation would now shift focus to the
qualification race for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
“We apologise to Nigerians for the poor outing of the Super
Eagles in Rwanda, but we toe the line of CAF which states that CHAN is a
developmental and preparatory competition. Of course, as Nigerians, we love to
win always, and we feel bad when we don’t.
“I want us to take the positives from this tournament. A
player like Chisom Chikatara broke onto the global platform and players like
Usman Mohammed, Chima Akas, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Austin Oboroakpo and Ifeanyi
Mathew confirmed their class.
“For me, it is disappointing that we did not progress. But
the NFF will now focus on the 2017 AFCON qualifiers, and start preparations
early for the remaining rounds,” Pinnick said.
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