John Obi Mikel (R) and Victor Moses of Nigeria react after the FIFA World Cup 2018 group D preliminary round soccer match between Nigeria and Argentina in St.Petersburg, Russia, 26 June 2018. Nigeria lost the macth 1-2.
by
Phumzile Ngcatshe
Wednesday Jun 27, 2018. 16:00
After losing 2-1 to Argentina on Tuesday night at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Nigeria slipper John Obi Mikel says they gave their all.
The Super Eagles were trailing by a goal at half time and Victor Moses netted a penalty in the second half as they looked to be cruising to the knockout stages.
However, a late goal from Marcos Rojo handed the South Americans a passage into the Last 16, but the former Chelsea midfielder is happy with their showing.
“It’s what it is. Nothing to say. We conceded two goals, we did everything we could,” he said after the match.
“I think my team did everything we could, we stood our ground.”
On the other hand, legend Jay Jay Okocha said he is proud of the young goalkeeper in Francis Uzoho who had a great game.
However, he was left to rue Odion Ighalo’s miss in the second half, a goal that could have been a winner for Gernot Rohr’s men.
“Uzoho kept us in the game with the saves he made in the second half. We panicked in the first half,” Okocha said on SuperSport TV.
“If you want to be a bit harsh. We were not clear to keep more players in attack. We were limited in terms of experience.
“It was a gift from (Javier) Mascherano but then I thought we started the second half better. We got ourselves in better places.
“It was a fantastic penalty from Moses but I think we should have put them under more pressure.
“It was a glorious chance, the ball sat down well for him. If I was Ighalo I would try to force a save from the goalkeeper. If you don’t hit the target you don’t get your job done.”
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