It is painful for best loser to eliminate best qualifier, says Amaraizu

A football administrator, Ebere Amaraizu, says it is painful that Super Eagles, being the best qualifiers, were edged out by the best loser of the group stage, Tunisia.

Reports state that the Tunisians, in a round of 16 knock-out stage of the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON), defeated the Super Eagles 1 – 0.

This development, which happened on Sunday night in Garoua, Cameroon, sent the Super Eagles packing from the competition.

Amaraizu, who is a director in the Nigeria Nationwide League One (NLO), told Newsmen on Monday in Enugu that millions of Nigerians, especially football lovers, are still in shock over the unexpected development.

He said that although the Super Eagles fought gallantly to recover from the one-goal deficit, the Tunisians had a good tactical play to hold them down.

“As a Nigerian and for other Nigerians, it is painful to think that the national team will crash out of the competition at this stage after a brilliant group-stage qualification.

“As it is always said in football, a game ends in three ways, winning, drawing or losing.

“I believe the individual players and coaches must have learnt one or two new lessons about the game,” he said.

Amaraizu, who is the Manager of Crime Busters FC, Enugu, urged the Super Eagles to come home, take stock, strategise and get ready for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers with Ghana soon.