National coach Vladimir Petkovic acknowledged Nigeria’s deserving qualification for the semi-finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. During the press conference held after the match, Petkovic confirmed that the Nigerian team “was the best and most deserving of qualification.”
He added: “Congratulations to Nigeria; they were better than us in the first half. We were very distracted, and in the second half, the performance was slightly better.”
The national team coach explained that the performance in the first half was not at the required level, as the players suffered from clear distraction and a lack of harmony, allowing the Nigerian team to control the flow of the game and impose its rhythm. Petkovic added that despite some improvement in the second half, it was not enough to keep up with the opponent or change the result.
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