Nigeria’s Super Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo has said that he and his teammates were unlucky to lose their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations semifinal match to the Desert Foxes of Algeria, and appeals to Nigeria fans for forgiveness.
The Super Eagles’ hopes of winning a fourth continental title was dashed following a 2-1 defeat to the North Africans in the semifinal clash at the Cairo International Stadium on Sunday.
Gernot Rohr’s men were second best for most part of the first half and conceded an own goal after William Troost-Ekong put Riyad Mahrez’s dangerous cross into his own net.
Ighalo restored parity for the Super Eagles from the spot in the 70th minute and with extra time approaching, Riyad Mahrez curled in a superb free kick to put paid to the ambition of the Super Eagles.
“It was a difficult game. We were unlucky on the last minute, and they scored. We didn’t play well in the first half, but second half we improved. I think we deserved more than we got today,” Ighalo said after the game.
“This is football. They got a free-kick and scored. We have to learn from our mistakes and look forward to the third-placed match now.
The Shanghai Shenhua of China striker apologises to Nigeria fans for the unfortunate defeat.
“To our fans, I want to say we are sorry for this defeat. We gave our best, but it was not enough. We conceded a last minute goal. It was a hard result for us,” Ighalo appealed..
“We have to keep working hard. We have another game on Wednesday, the third-place match. We hope to win that.”
Packaged by Lanre Olabisi
