Nigeria lost to a better team on the day they were outclassed 2-0 by South Africa in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, but a player has also blamed the match balls, partly as a factor for the loss.
An unnamed player per Osas Mahawi [owngoal Nigeria] said they spent two weeks training and playing games with balls different from the ones that were used against South Africa.
Mahawi wrote that the balls used were brought by the South Africans as Nigeria according to unconfirmed reports failed to raise money to clear the CAF match balls sent to them since January.
” We didn’t turn up and we lost. But to a large extent the ball didn’t help us. I’m not making excuses we are sorry that we lost and we are to be blame for it, but how about learning how to use a new ball on matchday? We had to,” he said.
Etebo and Vilane challenge for the ball during the 2019 Afcon qualifier between Nigeria and South Africa | Getty Images
“All through our time in France we trained with the balls we used in Nigeria but on matchday we played with a different ball.
“It’s clear to see that we are not used to the ball from the way we were hitting the ball. We gathered NFF failed to clear the balls sent to them that’s why we were not able to train with it. It’s sad to say the least.”
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