The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Amaju Pinnick, has praised the Super Eagles following their friendly defeats to Mexico and Ecuador.
Pinnick claimed that the NFF’s management succeeded in restoring the Super Eagles’ spirit following their failure to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup despite losses to Ecuador and Mexico.
The Super Eagles were defeated 1-0 by Ecuador in the early hours of Friday, putting an end to their disappointing tour of the United States.
Last weekend, Jose Peseiro’s team also lost 2-1 to Mexico in their first friendly.
“I am happy and I can tell you that we fulfilled our objectives of restoring the spirit of the Super Eagles following the failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup,” Pinnick was quoted as saying by Arise News.
“We lost both games against Mexico and Ecuador narrowly, but we were up for it and never finished on the back foot. The boys gave a good account of themselves in both games.
“Given the number of first-team players that were not available, we have to praise the boys who showed up here and gave their all. They have given us confidence going into the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.”
The Super Eagles will now face Sierra Leone’s Leone Stars in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on June 9.