Nigeria’s Super Eagles’ loss to Sudan national team, the Falcons on Saturday, in a qualifier for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has unsettled the sports minister, Tammy Danagogo, saying that he is yet to recover from the shock which the defeat brought to him and Nigeria. The Falcons beat the Eagle 1-0 in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.
The result of the match placed the Eagles at the bottom of its group, with South Africa leading the group with seven points, Congo; six points, while Sudan; three points.
Danagogo told newsmen on Monday that he was pained that Nigeria lost to Sudan for the first time since 1967, adding: “I am trying to overcome that loss; it was a shocking defeat and indeed I was really pained, Nigeria was pained too.
“But as sportsmen, we know that when you go into the field it’s either you win or you lose, so it has happened. We are trying to see how we can move forward from there.
The minister, however, expressed optimism that the Eagles would turn the table around, going by the criticisms the team faced after the loss.
He wondered why the country which is AFCON defending champions, should be struggling to qualify from a group which had teams that were made up of local players. [myad]
