There may have been some distractions off the pitch leading up to the 1994 World Cup Round of 16 clash against Italy, but Emmanuel Amuneke has insisted that the Super Eagles exited the tournament because they failed to manage the encounter against The Azzuri.
Amuneke put Nigeria in front after just 25 minutes and they were just minutes away from becoming the first African team to reach the last-eight of the World Cup, before Roberto Baggio drew Italy level and the Europeans went on to win in extra time.
“Yes, there were some problems before the game, but looking back I believe we lacked the maturity to manage the game tactically and that was why we lost,” Amuneke revealed in a social media interaction.
“We had players from European clubs, but we were naïve, we didn’t have the maturity to keep out a team who have previously won the World Cup.”
Italy will go on to reach the final of the World Cup after they shot past Spain in the quarterfinal.
