Head Coach Samson Siasia has charged his under-23 national male football team to show character and resilience when they take on their Tunisian counterparts in their second international friendly match.
The Dream Team VI will face the North Africans in Tunis on Wednesday, after losing 3-5 in their first meeting on Saturday.
“I don’t want to blame the players too much for the loss to the Tunisians in the first match on Saturday.
“Without appearing to be making excuses for them, we arrived in Tunis on Friday afternoon and immediately went to training but the weather did not help matters.
“Most of them were traveling outside the country for the first time and you can’t wish that away,’’ Siasia said in a statement by the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) in Abuja on Sunday.
The coach was quoted as saying the weather was a critical issue, even though he and his colleagues were trying to make amends.
“Weather was really a factor. However, in the first match, my assistants and I noticed a number of areas we need to improve on seriously before we can say we have a team,” he said.
The Dream Team VI lost 3-5 to the Olympic Eagles of Tunisia at the El Menzah Stadium in Tunis, with the Nigerian goals from Etim Emmanuel and Junior Ajayi.
Ajayi scored two of the goals in a game the team created a hatful of chances in the second half, after the first half had ended 3-3.
They were however undone by poor finishing.
“We thank the NFA for organising these matches because they will really help us prepare for the qualifiers against Gabon, and other matches in the race to the All-African games and the 2016 Olympics.
“We will try a number of other players in the second match and see how things work out,” the statement further quoted Siasia as saying after Sunday’s training session at the November 7 Stadium in Rades, outside Tunis.
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