Nigeria U-23 national team coach Samson Siasia has attributed his side’s defeat to Burkina Faso in the semi-final of the All-Africa Games to lack of firepower and focus in attack and defense respectively.
Nigeria will now contest the bronze medal match with hosts Congo, after suffering a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Burkina Faso on Tuesday.
“I never imagined losing to Burkina Faso, but then my midfielders played so well, my defenders and attackers let me down, can you imagine my attackers not being able to convert about eight chances that came their way?” Siasia said after the defeat.
The coach Siasia-tutored lads, who have now conceded and scored four goals apiece at the championships, will also be participating in the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations in Senegal, where they will face the likes of Mali, Egypt and Algeria, but the ex-international has dully opined that his boys are not ready.
“We are not ready, we have a long way to go if we want to compete,” he said.
“We were so bad that anytime the ball beat the defenders, even my goalkeeper could not stop any of the shots fired at him. Football is a team work where errors are bound to occur, but it’s the ability of fellow team mates to cover for one another that makes a team great, that I didn’t see today.”
He also disclosed his intention to search for new players who will help prosecute the country’s mission to return to the men’s Football Tournament at next year’s Olympic Games having missed out of the previous edition.
He disclosed: “I plan to travel to talk to some players I have already penciled down, then hopefully, the team should be assembling in first week of October to prepare for the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations. Certainly, some of the players I brought to Congo Brazzaville will have to give way.”
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