Babalola Oluwatomiwa
Social Member
Former Nigeria player Rabiu Afolabi has described the performance of the Super Eagles at the just concluded as ‘brave’.
Though the African champions lost out in the round of 16, the Salzburg player is of the opinion that Keshi’s men gave a commanding performance and could have moved a step further if not for poor finishing.
"I think they performed bravely by qualifying from the group stage, compared to other African teams, except Algeria, who were all eliminated at the preliminaries,” Afolabi told Punch.
"Every department functioned well except for the poor finishing at the last third of the pitch.
"The first three matches were approached in a good and disciplined manner despite the rows over match bonuses prior to the game against France, which is not unusual.
Hopefully, we can keep the team and build stability in this generation set of players.
He also dismissed insinuations that the Super Eagles defeat to France was triggered by the bonus row between the players and the Nigeria Football Federation.
"This issue has been in existence for a long time, I presume since the Green Eagles days, and it has rolled on to the Super Eagles,” he continued.
"It is a shame that this happens only with African teams, unlike other teams from Europe and Asia.
"But despite that, I didn’t sense any unprofessional attitude by the players in the game (against France). They did well until the last 15 minutes when they gave up,” he concluded.goal
Though the African champions lost out in the round of 16, the Salzburg player is of the opinion that Keshi’s men gave a commanding performance and could have moved a step further if not for poor finishing.
"I think they performed bravely by qualifying from the group stage, compared to other African teams, except Algeria, who were all eliminated at the preliminaries,” Afolabi told Punch.
"Every department functioned well except for the poor finishing at the last third of the pitch.
"The first three matches were approached in a good and disciplined manner despite the rows over match bonuses prior to the game against France, which is not unusual.
Hopefully, we can keep the team and build stability in this generation set of players.
He also dismissed insinuations that the Super Eagles defeat to France was triggered by the bonus row between the players and the Nigeria Football Federation.
"This issue has been in existence for a long time, I presume since the Green Eagles days, and it has rolled on to the Super Eagles,” he continued.
"It is a shame that this happens only with African teams, unlike other teams from Europe and Asia.
"But despite that, I didn’t sense any unprofessional attitude by the players in the game (against France). They did well until the last 15 minutes when they gave up,” he concluded.goal
