Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez insists Nigeria were the better team following defeat in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Desert Foxes has been booted out of the continental showpiece, being held in Morocco after falling short to Nigeria in the highly competitive clash on Saturday.
Nigeria inflicted a 2-0 victory over Algeria, earning them a place in the semifinals of the tournament. Goals from Galatasaray star Victor Osimhen and Akor Adams were enough for the Super Eagles to qualify at the expense of their North African counterparts.
The West African giants has now set up a tie against host nation, Morocco in the semifinals, scheduled for Wednesday.
At the post-match conference, Mahrez botched to blame the referee for the defeat, insisting Nigeria were the better team.
“I think the refereeing was not excellent, but it is not the reason for our loss against Nigeria. Everyone saw what happened; he was showing us yellow cards easily, unlike what he did with them.”
“This is football, and matches are decided by small details, and the Nigerian team succeeded in that.”
“The Nigerian team was better than us, perhaps because they have a great generation at the moment, and perhaps we lacked balance. Now we have to continue working to develop forward.”
“We hoped to reach the semi-finals and we did everything we could, but this was the result in the end”
