Former
Nigerian captain Austin Okocha has attributed the Super Eagles’ early exit at
the 2018 World Cup to inexperience.
The
Eagles lost to Argentina 2-1 in their last group match on Tuesday to exit the tournament.
A
lack-lustre Argentina team advanced to the knockout stages after Lionel Messi
and Marcos Rojo scored either side of a Victor Moses’ converted spot kick.
It
was the fifth time the Nigeria team was losing to Argentina at the World Cup.
Okocha,
who was a guest analyst on Supersport during the game, said the Eagles panicked
in the first half and came back in the second half of the match but failed to
convert their chances before the Argentines scored the winner.
The
former Bolton Wanderers’ captain said, “(Francis) Uzoho kept us in the game
with the saves he made in the second half. We panicked in the first half but
the players fought back in the second.
“It
was going to be tough for us and it lived up to that and it went to the last
three minutes, but I think we have to look at the bigger picture. For most of
these players it was the first time.
“The
penalty was a gift from Mascherano but then I thought we started the second
half better. We got ourselves in better places. It was a fantastic penalty from
Moses but I think we should have put Argentina under more pressure.
“There
was a foul on (Kelechi) Iheanacho in the first half but it was not awarded
because nobody appealed to the referee. They didn’t put the referee under
pressure. The defender raised his foot too high to clear the ball and hit
Iheanacho on the head. For the second one, it was unfortunate that the referee
didn’t award it despite consulting the VAR and Rojo got away with that one.”
Odion
Ighalo failed to convert some chances in the match and the ChangchungYatai
striker extended his goal drought to eight games for the Eagles. The
29-year-old has scored just four goals in 21 games for the Eagles.
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