Rohr Suspects Super Eagles Players Were Waiting For Extra Time To Finish Off Algeria

Reacting to the Super Eagles 2-1 loss to Algeria in the semifinal of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Gernot Rohr admitted that his players wanted the game to go to extra time because they were fitter than the opponents.

The former Bayern Munich defender acknowledged that the Desert Foxes dominated the first half but the momentum shifted in the second half.

''It was a big fight until the last minute, Algeria had a better first half than us but we came back in the match in the second half and unfortunately we conceded a goal in the last minute,'' Rohr told reporters at the post-match press conference.

''I think the players wanted to go to extra-time, believing that Algeria will be tired and we could win this match in the extra-time. It was a wonderful match, we lost it so we are not happy.''

William Troost-Ekong netted a last-minute winner in the quarterfinal clash against South Africa and the Super Eagles got a taste of their own medicine when Riyad Mahrez scored a stunning free-kick in the 95th minute to secure a win for Algeria.

''Congrats to the winners, they were the better team in the first half, we conceded an unlucky goal but we came back like all the time in this tournament when there was something difficult against us we could react and we did that today, coming back through a penalty, having a better second half but a wonderful free-kick from Mahrez made the difference.

''Last game we won in the last-minute against South Africa, today we lost,'' Rohr said.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel