Coach Aliyu Zubairu has described the Flying Eagles as “unlucky” against Norway and that they will now gun for a win against Saudi Arabia in their second group game of the U20 World Cup Thursday.
Both the Flying Eagles and Saudi Arabia stumbled at their first hurdles in Chile – Nigeria fell 1-0 to Norway, while the Saudis also bowed 1-0 to Colombia.
Coach Aliyu Zubairu rued his team’s failure to convert their dominance into goals against Norway Monday night in Talca.
“The boys played their hearts out. They did everything humanly possible to make sure we won the match,” Zubairu said after the encounter. “Even from the start, we created chances, but unfortunately our efforts kept hitting the bar. It just felt like we weren’t lucky.”
He added: “Possession doesn’t win matches. If just one of our attempts had gone in, it would have changed the situation. But that is the way the game comes, and we have to take it as it is.
“We are going to think about the next match. We just have to pick up the three points.”
Colombia and Norway lead the group standings with three points, while both Nigeria and Saudi Arabia are without points.
The top two teams will advance to the knockout rounds of the tournament along with four third-best losers.
