U20 World Cup: Nigeria coach Aliyu Zubairu shoulders responsibility for heavy defeat against Argentina

Head coach of the Nigeria U20 team, Aliyu Zubairu, has shouldered full responsibility following his outfit embarrassing defeat against Argentina.

The Flying Eagles were crashed out of the tournament after falling short to the South American giants in the last 16 clash on Wednesday. The crucial clash held at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos ended 4-0 in favor of Argentina.

The defeat dashed the West African powerhouse’s hopes of reaching the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015, and extended their poor record against South American team, having lost 11 out of 14 meetings.

Nigeria progressed to the last 16 of the tournament as one of the best third-place teams, but were unable to secure a place in the quarterfinals.

Speaking after the game, Zubairu expressed disappointment over his players’ attitude and failure to maintain composure after conceding early.

“The early goal is part of what destabilizes us. We conceded a goal at a very early stage of the game. Even the second goal came not too far from the first goal,” Zubairu said.

“I think that was what destabilized the whole of our approach but all the same I believe the boys did not display positive character.”

“Not really, what I think happened in the match is that the level of our fight anytime we don’t have the ball is not enough,” he added. “That was what was giving the Argentines the opportunity and they saw a lot of space to operate. So anytime we lose the ball, we are not fighting back quickly.”

Despite the disappointing exit, Zubairu refused to blame his players. “That’s football, sometimes it is like that. I take the blame. I take the responsibilities, not the boys,” he said.

Argentina’s victory set up a quarterfinal clash with Mexico who defeated hosts Chile 4–1 on Friday.