Super Eagles coach, Eric Chelle has blamed his team’s defeat by hosts Morocco in the AFCON semi-final tie on Wednesday night on lack of movement.
Atlas Lions of Morocco defeated the Super Eagles 4-2 on penalties following a goalless draw in the regulation and extra time.
In a post-match interview, Chelle admitted: “We played this match with high pressing, because if you don’t press, you leave spaces and the situation becomes very complicated.
“From a technical point of view, the Super Eagles weren’t at the same level as we displayed in our other matches.
“I don’t want to say the reason was fatigue, but the truth is that we lacked movement and power.”
Super Eagles lost 4–2 in a penalty shootout to Morocco after a tense 0–0 draw at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
The semi-final was an evenly contested affair over 120 minutes, with Morocco dominating much of the attacking play, registering 16 shots to Nigeria’s 2.
Both sides created chances, but Nigeria’s Stanley Nwabali and Morocco’s Yassine Bounou kept their teams in the game with key saves.
