Madagascar head coach Corentin Martins has candidly explained why his side threw away an early lead to suffer a 2–1 defeat against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in their opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
Despite stunning the home crowd by breaking the deadlock early, the Barea were ultimately undone by clinical goals from debutant George Ilenikhena in the 45th minute and substitute Moses Usor in the 65th minute.
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Speaking at the post-match press conference, Martins admitted the result was a bitter pill to swallow.
“This defeat is hard to take for me and my players because we didn’t deserve to lose in the manner that we did. We had a chance of going 2-1 up but didn’t take it.”
The French tactician pointed to a distinct gap in match sharpness and elite experience, noting that Nigeria’s squad depth and regular exposure to high-level European competition proved decisive.
“It’s a learning curve for me and my players who are not at the level of the Nigerian players, who are used to playing big games because they play for top teams in top leagues.”
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Martins added that fatigue played a major role in their second-half collapse.
“In the second half, our energy level dropped and with the quality of the Nigerian team they punished us. We will take the lessons learnt and be better in our subsequent games in the qualifiers.”
Despite the disappointment, Madagascar aims to use the performance as a building block for the rest of their qualifying campaign.
