They came into Nigeria flashing their credential as the third best team in Africa. The team that had never lost a qualifier since the Brazil 2014 World Cup did not believe that ‘lowly’ Nigeria, which did not even qualify for the African Nations Cup, could stand on the same pedestal with the mighty Desert Foxes.
And so to them, the 1-3 bashing they got on Saturday at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, which is also known as the Nest of Champions, defies logic. They still have not come to terms with the reality of defeat.
Reacting to the rude awakening they had in Nigeria, Algeria FA President, Mohamed Raouraoua, said defeat was not what they bargained for, adding that the result has now made qualification for the 2018 World Cup complicated.
Awed by what he saw of the Super Eagles, Raouraoua said, “We lost to a very good, organised team from Nigeria, but we had several chances to score, especially in the great second half.
“In football, you can’t win if you miss at least five clear chances to score. We lost the match we should not have lost because of this.”
To Algerian Captain, Carl Medjani, the defeat does not mean Nigeria has a better team, even though he acknowledges that the Russia 2018 World Cup qualification could be beyond them.
“We’re disappointed to lose but we’re not giving up just yet. But it is not a good situation for us because we got only one point from our first two games, but we still have enough games left to catch up.
“We play Zambia next and we can start recovering with that game.”
Coach Georges Leekens attributes Algeria’s loss to the destabilizing effects of Kelechi Iheanacho’s runs, which paved the way for Victor Moses to wreak havoc on his team.
He said, “Iheanacho was full of running and my defenders couldn’t handle him. The space he created by dragging them was what allowed Victor Moses the chance to score twice.
“We knew the threat of Nigeria going forward, so we should have defended better especially in our box. We have seen our mistakes and we will hopefully correct them before our next game.”
Saturday’s win means Nigeria will qualify for the World Cup with two more victories out of the four remaining games against Cameroun (home and away), Zambia (home) and Algeria (away). That would give the Super Eagles an unassailable 12 points.
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