Head coach of the Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr, has admitted his team lost to Algeria, because their opponents “executed their pressing superbly and found good solutions in the midfield”.
Nigeria failed to qualify for the final of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, after losing to the North Africans on Sunday.
A William Troost-Ekong own goal gave the Desert Foxes the lead, before Odion Ighalo equalized from the spot after the break.
With the game looking to head into extra time, Riyad Mahrez stepped up and smashed a free-kick past Daniel Akpeyi.
Speaking to the media after the match, Rohr said:
“They executed their pressing superbly and found good situations in the midfield. We could not find a solution and we could not locate our wingers.
“My team is still young and they will still improve tactically in the future and they will do it.
“We are sad we lost, the players played for extra time but we lost in the last minute to a good goal.
“They were better in the first half but we conceded an own goal and lost in the last minute. We are sad but congratulations to the winners.”