Afcon 2019: No shame for Super Eagles to lose to Madagascar - Rohr

BetOdds Africa Cup of Nations Nigeria Madagascar Madagascar v Nigeria African All Stars

Nigeria could not stop Nicolas Dupuisâ€™ men and suffered a humiliating loss in their final group outing at the Alexandria Stadium

Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr admittedÂ his players were not good enough after their disappointing 2-0 defeat against Madagascar at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) on Sunday.

The defeat ended the Super EaglesÂ unbeaten run of nineÂ games in the biennial showpiece since 2010.Â As a result, Nigeria finish Group B as runners-up.

Lalaina Nomenjanahary broke the deadlock in the 13th minute after benefitting from a defensive error from Leon Balogun.

The three-time African champions found it difficult to score an equaliser and Carolus Andriamahitsinoro doubled the lead for Madagascar with his deflected free-kick in the 53rd minute.

In his assessment of the teamâ€™s display, Rohr said his players were â€˜relaxedâ€™ but was not surprised by the result.

â€œWe lost to a good team because Madagascar was the first to qualify for the tournament and there is no shame in losing to such a team,â€ Rohr said after the game.

â€œMadagascar was the better team today. We started with giving them a gift and after, we could not find a solution. We made five changes because we wanted to give a rest to some players and also preserve those with cards.

â€œSometimes it happens when you are already qualified; the players are relaxed and playing easy.â€

2019-06-30 23:00:05

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