The president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has praised the efforts of the Super Eagles despite their elimination from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
The three-time champions were shocked 1-0 by Tunisia in their round of 16 clash on Sunday.
However, Pinnick has insisted they are proud of the players and will now turn their focus to the 2022 World Cup play-offs, where they face arch-rivals Ghana.
“We are proud of the efforts of the players. They gave their all and tried very hard to win even when they had numerical disadvantage. It was just not our day.
“I want to thank His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari for his love, support and encouragement to the team while they were in the championship. I also praise the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Sunday Dare for his interest and attention in the progress of the team. Losing at this stage is painful but we take solace in the great spirit with which the team approached its four matches in Cameroon, out of which it won three.
“The focus and attention will now shift to the FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off against Ghana in March. We want to assure Nigerians that we will prepare even harder for those two matches to get the job done,” Pinnick said.
