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…I am proud of my players – Masajedi
Nigeria’s hopes of qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics were ended by Morocco at the 2026 African Men’s Volleyball Nations Championship in Tunisia.
The West African team lost to the North Africans 3-2 in a thrilling quarter-final match on Monday, September 21.
Nigeria won the first set 25-20 before Morocco responded strongly to take the second and third sets 25-15 and 25-20 respectively.
The Nigerian team forced a deciding set after winning the fourth set 26-24, but Morocco kept their cool to win the fifth set 15-12 and book their place in the semi-finals.
Nigeria will now face Rwanda in the 5th-9th qualifying match on Wednesday, September 23.
Following the defeat, Nigeria men’s team coach Ryan Masajedi praised his players for their fighting spirit during the quarter-final match.
The Japanese coach recognized the impact of the substitute in the fourth set.
Masajedi said: “We did our best and I am proud of the players. The bench made the difference in the fourth set when we thought it was all over.
“To be honest, we already understand what our weaknesses and strengths are.
“We will watch the game after this tournament and see what went wrong.
“The focus is on the next game and the players will be ready.”
