Ivory Coast stricker Lacina Traore, who played few minutes during the Elephants' quarterfinal clash with Nigeria on Sunday, said his side didn't lose because they underestimated the Super Eagles but rather because the Nigerians were superior.
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The all-West African cracker ended 2-1 in favour of the Super Eagles, who are now through to the semifinals of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
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'' We made serious preparation because we knew playing Nigeria would be tough but once on the pitch Mikel Obi and his mates quickly seized the midfield, cutting off the link to our front men. This happened for much of the first half, which hindered us from getting a foothold as soon as possible in the meeting '', Traore said.
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'' Drogba and Toure are great players. They did their best but the problem was that Nigeria were too much. They overwhelmed us, not just the two players alone. I can understand their (fans) anger but they have to blame the whole team and not just Drogba and Toure ''.
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Traore also gave kudos to Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi for his 'creative and pragmatic' solution for the quaterfinals.