Amunike Promises Better Eaglets In Chile

Nigeria coach Emmanuel Amunike says he is disappointed with his team’s loss to South Africa, but the loss will help the team become better.
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The Golden Eaglets, who are the defending world champions, lost 1-0 to South Africa in the first semifinal of the on-going Caf Africa Junior Championship in Niamey, Niger Republic.
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Eric Mayo’s 27th minute goal was all that separated the two sides in a tie that Amunike says could have gone either way.
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“We made mistakes and we were punished but I felt we deserved something from the game,” he told supersport.com
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“Congratulations to South Africa, they played ad good game and wee tactically sound. They defended quite well when they scored.
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“We shouldn’t have conceded that goal, we were unlucky but sometimes you need to ride your luck. Kudos to South Africa,” he added.
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Amunike, who was philosophical in defeat, also told supersport.com that the loss will be a sort of motivation for the boys as they prepare for the World Cup in Chile.
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“We lost to Ivory Coast in the final two years ago but went on to wit he World Cup in the UAE.
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“This loss will serve as a motivation for the boys. Our objective coming here (Niamey) was to qualify for the World Cup which we did.
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“We obviously wanted to contest the final, but unfortunately it was not to be. We have learnt a lot from out experience here. There is a lot of work to be done.”
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Nigeria will contest the third place match on Saturday with whoever loses between Guinea and mali who will play the second semifinal on Thursday at the Stade Seyni Kountche.