Paul Erewuba
Nigeria defeated Togo 2-0 in the second-leg of the 2020 African Nations Championship against Togo, played at the Agege Stadium, Lagos, but failed to qualify for the tournament finals, losing 3-4 on aggregate.
Sikiru Alimi scored either half of the game; in the 9th and 62nd minutes, but his efforts weren’t enough to see Nigeria through.
Imama Amapakabo’s side fell 4-1 in the first-leg at the Stade de Kégué in Lomé, last Month.
It is the first time the Eagles have failed to qualify for the CHAN since 2014, and the third time in the competition’s history that Nigeria will not participate.
The team previously missed out of the first ever edition in 2009 and fell short in 2011 as well.
Meanwhile, head coach Imama Amapakabo said his team showed improvements after two poor outings against Togo in recent weeks, but also admits they could have done better on Saturday to get the result.
‘The players were able to interpret our tactics this time. Before the game I explained to them that they had to be calm and not be in a hurry, but today the players were in a hurry,’ Amapakabo explained.
‘We only just started to get our match fitness, unfortunately, the result hasn’t gone our way. We gave it our all but it wasn’t good enough.