Super Eagles head coach, Finidi George claimed his side paid for their poor defending and loss of concentration against Benin Republic.
Nigeria lost the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier 2-1 and now face the prospect of missing out on a place at the mundial.
Poor clearance by Calvin Bassey led to Benin Republic’s equalising goal scored by Jordel Dossou.
The Super Eagles also failed to clear their lines following a corner kick allowing Steve Mounie to score the winning goal just before the break.
“We scored a good goal and after that we lost concentration, they got their equaliser and then they got their momentum,” Finidi said during his interaction with media after the game.
“We didn’t defend well the long kick from the goalkeeper and they got their first goal.
“We had control of the game, but we didn’t defend well.
“If you don’t take your chances and don’t defend well in a World Cup qualifier, you pay for it.
“First half was good but for the goals (we conceded), while in the second half we pushed and defended well.”
The Super Eagles will resume the World Cup qualifiers in March 2025 with a trip to Rwanda before a home game against bottom team Zimbabwe.
Olaitan Ibrahim