Algeria head coach Vladimir Petković believes Nigeria were the better side and deserved to win after his side lost their quarterfinal clash 2-0 on Saturday, SportPremi reports.
The Desert Warriors had won all of their four matches so far at the ongoing African Cup of Nations tournament in Morocco, but lost for a first time against Nigeria in their last eight encounter.
They had defeated their West African opponents 2-1 in their last AFCON meeting in 2019, but it was a completely different affair this time around.
The Super Eagles produced a dominant performance in a one-sided affair and tamed the Algerian attack, limiting them to no effort on target in the clash.
The North Africans had scored eight times in their four previous matches, including seven during the group stages, but hardly got a sniff at goal against a well-marshaled Nigerian defence.
Victor Osimhen opened the scoring in the second half with a stunning header at goal, getting on the end of a brilliant cross from Bruno Onyemaechi to score past Luca Zidane, who had not conceded a goal before the encounter.
One became two 10 minutes later as Akor Adams rounded Zidane, before squaring into an empty post to spark jubilant scenes among the Nigerian supporters.
The match ended 2-0 in favour of Nigeria, who advance to the semifinal to face Morocco, while Algeria crash out and fall short in their bid to win the title.
Vladimir Petković reacts to Algeria’s defeat to Nigeria
Speaking after the defeat, the Algerian coach expressed disappointment at his team’s performance and believes Nigeria were the better team in the encounter.
“Do I have to tell the truth or should I be political [about the match]? Nigeria deserved to win this match. They were better than us. It was difficult to get into this match… We were hit left and right”, Petković admitted.
“I congratulate the Nigerian team, who deserved to win the match. The opponent played better than us. We couldn’t get into the game properly; we had to stay focused.
I don’t want to go into too many details, but Nigeria was better than us. We were missing a lot of things. We wanted to control the game, but the opponent was strong and prevented us from doing so. The Nigerian team showed the individual skills they possess, and physically we were behind. We tried to come back in the second half, but we couldn’t reach the level we wanted in attack”, he continued.
“Our players are disappointed and devastated after the match. They performed well in this tournament. Now the competition is over, and another tournament is coming. We must keep our heads high after this exit.”
Algeria crash out of the 2025 African Cup of Nations, while Nigeria move on to the next round to face host nations Morocco in the last four.
