Why we lost against Super Eagles: Madagascar coach explains

Madagascar coach Corentin Martins has explained why his team blew a one-goal lead by losing 1-2 to Nigeria’s senior team in their first match of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers, reports OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Madagascar took an early lead but were stopped by the duo of George Ilenikhena and Moses Usor, who sealed the victory for Nigeria with goals in the 45th and 65th minutes respectively.

Explaining the defeat in the post-match conference, the coach attributed the defeat to the quality of the Nigerian team and also said that his team got tired in the second half.

“This defeat is hard for me and my players because we didn’t deserve to lose the way we did. We had the opportunity to go 2-1 up but we didn’t take advantage of it,” he said.

“It is a learning curve for me and my players who are not at the level of Nigerian players, who are used to playing important games because they play for the best teams in the best leagues.

“In the second half our energy level went down and with the quality of the Nigerian team they punished us. We will take the lessons learned and we will be better in the following qualifying games,” he said.