Nigeria coach, Imama Amapakabo has said his main aim at the 2019 Wafu Cup of Nations is to build a team for the future.
Imama disclosed this after the Super Eagles were beaten 2-1 vs Togo in their first game at the regional tournament yesterday.
Reacting to the loss, Amapakabo backed his selection of players from the Olympic Eagles as Nigeria prepares to take part in the 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations in Egypt next month.
He said even if the ultimate motive is winning, his aim is to have a team for the future.
His words, “Everybody goes into a competition to win but I think our main objective was to set up a team that is going to do very well in the future.”
“We had an unusual situation in our country and we decided. This is a young team, at least kudos to them. They’ve been able to show at this level what they have the capacity to do.
“We decided to use the U-23 team that is preparing for the Olympics at this tournament. You will find out that most of them are playing at this level for the very first time.”
On the performance from his team vs Togo, “I think we made some bit of mistakes, we made some technical mistakes in the first-half which cost us two goals and I think in the second half, it was a far better showing we came out and created chances,” he added.
“Like I say all the time, it is my responsibility as a coach for me to make the team play and create chances through tactics and also the responsibility of the players to convert those chances.”
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