The coach of Algeria’s national team, Vladimir Petkovic, has acknowledged that Nigeria’s Super Eagles deserved their victory over his squad during Saturday’s quarter-finals clash at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Sports247 reports that, while admitting that the 2-0 loss was painful for him, The Fennecs’ tactician noted that the Nigerians were physically, tactically and psychologically better than his team.
Read Also: AFCON 2025: Super Eagles Have Most Reliable Attacking Force – Alberto Vincenzo | Sports247 Nigeria
He further pointed at the manner in which the Super Eagles controlled the game’s tempo from beginning to end and admitted that they did not allow his players to execute their game plan for the historic game in Marrakech.
“It was difficult to get into this match. We were hit left and right, and Nigeria imposed themselves on us from the start. Nigeria deserved to win this match. They were better than us,” Petkovic recounted.
The Croatian tactician then mentioned several external factors that worked against his team on Saturday, among which he alleged bias by the referee as well as fatigue from extra time with DR Congo a day after Nigeria beat Mozambique 4-0.
Petkovic added, “We were missing several things. They didn’t let us dribble. There were also referee decisions that weren’t easy, but our opponent was particularly strong and showed their qualities. Physically, we were tired because of the last match, which was tense.”
