Super Eagles right-back Ola Aina has explained how he gave away a penalty against Sudan in Saturday’s AFCON 2021 Group D game.
With the Eagles comfortably ahead 3-0 Sudan were awarded a penalty, after Aina was adjudged to have fouled an opponent following consultation with VAR.
The penalty was converted which saw the Eagles lose their clean sheet in the tournament.
Also Read: AFCON 2021: ‘Why Guinea-Bissau Can Beat Nigeria’ —Egypt Coach, Queiroz
And speaking about the spot kick, Aina told NFF TV:”We gave away the clean sheet it’s sad for the team, the defence and and it’s sad for Madu (Okoye) because he’s been keeping clean sheet.
“What happened was that I wasn’t looking at the player obviously I held his shirt a little bit but there’s a little bit of shirt holding in the box. I was just watching the ball I didn’t see when I stepped on his foot but this things happen but luckily we were already 3-0 up. Even when they scored I still thought we were in control of the game so we are lucky for that.
“I understand why they gave it as a penalty but also the ball was no where near me or the guy I don’t understand how it could be a penalty but in that same instance I understand why they gave the penalty because obviously what has been done.”
With the Eagles already through to the round of 16, it is expected interim coach Austin Eguavoen will rest some of his regulars against Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday in their final group game.
But Aina said Nigerians should expect the same determination to win in order to pass a message to the rest of the teams in the competition.
He added:”Nigerians should expect the same determination. We have to go into the game with confidence and believe that we can get another three points and send signals out to the competition.”
22 Comments
We shared the same feeling in this regard because I also knew that wasn’t a penalty. Whatever happened between Aina and they guy was natural and not a foul talkless of penalty from nowhere.
CSN should please give oga Pinnick, Olajire and all the NFF goons close marking on switch updates on Ejaria, Olise and Ademola. This team needs to be power-packed going into the WCQs playoff and Qatar 2022 proper.
With Osimhen, Dennis, Ighalo back after Afcon; added to the hot shots above, World Cup semi final is a possibility. The current team is nice, but no time to rest on our oars. It needs to be rejigged and further strengthened post-Afcon.
Ighalo doesn’t have a winning record, he doesn’t have a winning mentality. He is not needed in this team. OSIHMEN AND Dennis will be just be enough plus Kelechi Iheanacho supporting any of them.
Stop saying things like that about our Ighalo. Chima, live that to Egua to decide. Ighalo is still very relevant until the coach says otherwise.
@Edoman, Ighalo is a pretender; intended for the SE to flop owing to the sack of Rohr. If you know , you know.
Let him stay retired koolle…
The era of Ighalo will come to an expected end, if we succeed in this competition without him. There is absolutely no need for Ighalo if do well in this competition. Aswear
Olise can no longer play for us fyi, I think he has already accepted the French call up or something like that, don’t quote me apart from just to say he can no longer play for us, Eberechi Eze still can, The most crucial player we need to call up is Karim Adeyemi from Saizburg, we need to move faster tahn fast with him because he will be THE difference but like Olise can also play for 3 different countries
Karim adeyemi has played a competitive game for Germany,……Do you think Germany will waste time like us……thank God for him because we would have still been hearing…”we need experience”…”let him wait for his chance”……..We would have Karim and still be begging Ighalo…… Nigerians are funny.
You should have apologized to Nigeria(ans).Am sure you would have done that if it were in your club(some clubs even will sanction you)but here you are just’explaining’.what of if we had not scored many goals,had only a goal or were trailing?That your act was not necessary.why is national duty not always considered a serious business by some Nigerians?.I have watched players from other climes cry and feeling they have let their countries down when such things happened
It wasn’t intentional kindly check replays. These things happen, the ref just gave a bonus penalty.
But an eye opener!
Thank you. I share the same thought. He should have apologized to Nigerians for that unnecessary foul. The foul was absolutely unnecessary and for the guy who said it was not a penalty, it was a clear penalty!
It was a clear penalty. Ola Aina should blamed himself for that. As a professional footballer, you don’t pull a player down like that.
Concentration is key to success and our players should be mindful of their actions. There’s VAR in this tournament. No room for errors. As we are heading to the second round of the competition, our players should be cautiously ready. They will play against the referees and VAR. God bless Nigeri!!!
Very poor and less objective defense.
You also missed some clear goal opportunities and not clarifying on them. No player is perfect but the mentality of “we are in control” and “nothing will go wrong” must stop or at least reduced in the team.
A professional football analyst would watch that game and lament on the disjointedness of the Nigerian team, despite their players personal talents and experience. If they were smart-running and being less selfish, final score in that game could have been about 5:0 for Nigeria
We should be careful of this VAR kind of a thing especially when playing North African team because 99% of people operating VAR are North Africans. See what they did to Guinea-Bissau. They cancelled their goal against Egypt and allowed Egypt to win 1-0. Shame of a continental championship.
Referee has the final say regardless of VAR, referee should take the blame, he allowed VAR to control his judgement.
hmm! Mr be warned,don’t u we are watching? represent us well or quit,so called Yakubu,Igholo and others play nonsenses and said not intentional,but now u can’t take us for granted Any more
Maduka Okoye need to improve.
Uzoho would have stopped that paneity kick. Let’s hope Egua will change the goalkeeper in the next game.
Very laughable
U are taking rubbish, U as experience player said U don’t know that U pres someone ledge, so if we are still looking for a lone goal too, that is ao U will said ? Nonsense
Penalty decisions are not only judged by a player’s intention but what the law of football says. It was a foul. Stepping on a player’s foot (with studs) can hurt on its own.
I said it the other day and Aina is confirming it. He wasn’t looking at the player and he should’ve lifted his foot as soon as he noticed stepping on another ones football.
That’s in the past now. Aina is a solid footballer. Next game!