Super Eagles recovered from an early scare to beat Madagascar 2-1 in Uyo, but Barea coach Corentin Martins believes two factors ultimately swung the opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in the Super Eagles’ favour, Footynaija reports.
Coach Martins believes the Super Eagles could pull off the win because of his players’ fading energy after the interval and Nigeria’s superior experience at the highest level.
Madagascar stunned the home crowd at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium when Ehsan Kari put the visitors ahead in the 16th minute.
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Nigeria eventually restored parity in first-half stoppage time through George Ilenikhena, who marked his senior international debut with a goal.
Moses Usor then completed the comeback in the second half, with the two debutants providing the goals that gave Eric Chelle’s side three points from their opening Group L fixture.
Martins admitted the defeat was particularly painful after Madagascar had created an opportunity to regain the lead.
“This defeat is hard to take for me and my players because we didn’t deserve to lose in the manner that we did. We had a chance of going 2-1 up but didn’t take it,” he said.
The French coach pointed to the difference in experience between the two squads as a decisive factor, noting that Nigeria’s players regularly operate in some of the world’s strongest competitions.
“It’s a learning curve for me and my players who are not at the level of the Nigerian players, who are used to playing big games because they play for top teams in top leagues.
“In the second half, our energy level dropped and with the quality of the Nigerian team they punished us. We will take the lessons learnt and be better in our subsequent games in the qualifiers,” he said.
The result gives Nigeria three points ahead of Tuesday’s trip to face Guinea-Bissau, while Madagascar will host Tanzania in their next Group L fixture. Tanzania are already guaranteed a place at AFCON 2027 as co-hosts, leaving Nigeria, Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau competing for the qualifying place available to the group’s highest-ranked non-host.
