TheCable

Samson Siasia says his team’s performance at the Africa U-23 championship in Senegal may cost Nigeria a ticket to the Rio 2016 Olympics.

As was the case in the first match against Mali, the Dream Tea m put up a poor performance in the second half of the game against Egypt, which saw them give up a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Siasia said: “If it continues, I don’t think we will go to the Olympics.

“I think we get tired in the second halves of games. And that’s what it’s not supposed to be. If you are tired, you make a lot of mistakes.

“You don’t concentrate anymore when you are tired and we need to fix it. Two games against Mali and Egypt, the same thing. We almost lost the first game against Mali. We need to see how we can fix that problem because if it continues like this it’s not going to be funny.”

The coach also said that his team must improve against Algeria on Saturday.

“We have four points so it’s going to be a difficult game,” he said. “We have to be very careful. We win or we try to get the draw against the Algerians, then Nigeria and Algeria can go to the next round.”

Siasia admitted that the North African opponents in the (Algeria and Egypt) are very good sides.

“Very good sides; the Algerian and Egyptian teams,” he said.

Nigeria will play against Algeria on Saturday and attempt to get a win or a draw to qualify for the semifinals.