'Nigerians & The Coaches Are Not Happy With Us' - Nigeria U17 Strikers Nwachukwu, Olawale On Loss To Joeys

Australia recorded their first victory over Nigeria at the cadet competition in seven attempts, with the Golden Eaglets winning the other six times they had faced the Joeys, though they moved through to the next stage thanks to their first two wins in the tourney.

Speaking to reporters after the game, second half substitute Divine Nwachukwu noted the defeat was a bad one though they are now focused on bouncing back in the second round.

"It's a bad one for us(the loss). We lost 2-1 against Australia, and it is not a good result for us. We've been the defending champions for five times so much is expected from us'', Nwachukwu said.

"Nigerians and the coaches are not happy with us, the players and I hope we bounce back in our next match in the knockout stages. We hope to play well and make our country Nigeria proud, because we believe we can do better than this.

"Today saw the worst part of our game but we believe in the knock out stage we will make Nigeria and our families proud."

Peter Olawale who restored parity for the team in the first half also added,

"I'm not really happy with the result even though I scored, because the goal wasn't enough.

"We were not able to convert most of the chances we created and we hope in our next games, we will be able to do better and progress, so that happiness will return to Nigerians."

Come Tuesday 5th November, Nigeria will meet the third-best losers from Group A, C or D  for their round of sixteen game.