Super Eagles Coach Gernot Rohr has admitted that his team lost to a better side in the semi-finals of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt on Sunday.
A Riyad Mahrez’s goal from a free-kick at the edge of the box, with seconds left to play, condemned Nigeria to a 2-1 defeat and steered Algeria to their first AFCON Final match in 29 years.
Rohr told newsmen during a post-match interview that it was a game of two halves, adding however that Algeria were the better side at the end of the day.
“Until the last minute, Algeria had a better first half than us, but we came back a much better team in the second half.
“Unfortunately, we conceded a goal in the last minute. I think the players wanted to go to extra-time believing that perhaps Algeria will get tired and we could win the match in extra time
“It was a wonderful game. We lost it, so we are not happy. Congrats to the winners. They were the better team in the first half.
“We scored an own goal. We were unlucky but we came back like we have always done all the time in this tournament.
“When we found ourselves in a difficult situation, we always reacted and we did that also today coming back through a penalty and playing a better second half.
“But a wonderful free-kick from a football genius made the difference.
“In our last game, we won in the last minute against South Africa and today we lost. That’s football, ” he said.
Nigeria will now take on 2004 champions Tunisia in the third-place match at the Al Salam Stadium on Wednesday, while Algeria take on Senegal in Friday’s final at the Cairo International Stadium.
Source: (NAN)
