Coach of the Under 23 team, Samson Siasia, claimed fatigue was responsible for his side’s loss to South Korea in the opening game of the 4-Nation Suwon Invitational Tournament in the Asian country.
Nigeria’s Under 23 team lost 1-0 to the Korean side in their first game at the Suwon World Cup Stadium through Choi Kyubaek’s goal four minutes from time.
Speaking at the post-match conference, the Nigerian coach said his players suffered jet lag due to the long flight from Abuja to South Korea.
He, however, remarked that it was not enough excuse for his team to lose the match, saying they could have at least got a point.
“The flight didn’t help matters, but then that is not an excuse for us not getting at least a point from this game.
“The goal scored by the Koreans was made possible because my players were adopting offside tactics; I don’t know where they got that idea from as we have never kept offside in all our trainings and games,” Siasia said.
Speaking further at the press conference, the Nigerian tactician said, “I am happy the NFF did everything to make us come for this competition as it has exposed the boys to see things from a bigger perspective, even though I wanted us to win this game to boost our confidence. The boys now know that they have to sit up in the other games.”
