The Algerian coach, Djamel Belmadi has explained what he did to stop the Super Eagles from advancing to the final of the 32nd Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Belmadi said having watched the Super Eagles’ previous matches, he was able to pin-point the strengths and weaknesses of the Nigerian team and he got them right.
According to him, he noticed that the Super Eagles strength in the attack was the wings and perfected a counter offensive strategy to stop Nigeria from launching attack from the wings.
He said: “We had to make a plan for Nigeria. We know that they use Musa and Chukwueze directly with a lot of pace. We tried to close those spaces. I also know that their defenders are very good, but not very fast. If you run at them, they struggle.
“The guys made an amazing first half. We deserved to score more. In the second half, we had a difficult moment for around 15 minutes, where we were under pressure. After the penalty, players showed great attitude and mental strength and coming back until the end, fighting.”