His team might have just lost their opening match of the FIFA U20 World Cup 4-2 to one of the favourites Brazil, but Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba was still upbeat after the game insisting that it was two mistakes that eventually swung the game the South Americans’ way.
“It’s a huge disappointment. We carved out the better chances in the first half and we should have led at the break. The first 45 minutes reflected what we’re capable of.
“We simply made two mistakes that cost us dearly in the second period. All in all we played our part in a really great match and I’d like to congratulate Brazil on their victory; they’re a very good team,” said Garba after the six-goal thriller.
Garba’s Brazilian counterpart, Rogerio Micale was magnanimous in victory admiting that they had expected a tough game from the African champions and were not proved wrong.
“We had expected to face a really good side in Nigeria and we weren’t mistaken on that front. We started very well, but then the opposition gradually got on top and prevented us from playing our game.”
Micale then explained what he did to ensure that his side secured the three points: “We shored things up in the middle of the park again in the second half and then looked to exploit the wings, which paid dividends.”
Although the loss ensured that Nigeria’s poor record against the South Americans continued having never beaten them in four previous meetings, Garba’s side, however, did score not only once; but twice – a feat previous Flying Eagles had not been able to achieve!
Garba will now have to rally his troops ahead of their next game against North Korea on Thursday and then their final Group E game against Hungry, who kicked off their campaign with a 5-1 whitewash of the Asians.
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