TheCable

Super Sand Eagles captain Olawale Isiaka has blamed fatigue and poor preparation for his team’s thumping by Italy in the ongoing Beach Soccer World Cup in Bahamas.

The Nigerian team was trounced 12-6 by Italy early hours of Friday morning.

Shortly after the game, Olawale told TheCable that “lack of preparation caused us the game against Italy today”.

“Four of our players joined the rest of us that came in on Saturday yesterday and three others today.

“They were tired from the long trip to Nassau. It was not easy for us but I really give kudos to them for they tried.”

The skipper said he is optimistic that Nigeria will defeat Mexico in its next game on Saturday to remain in contention for qualification into the next round of the competition.

“But I want Nigerians not to write us off yet. We promise to do better against Mexico on Saturday,” he said.

Abu Azeez, who scored a hat-trick in the loss, noted that the team lost concentration at a crucial time in addition to the fatigue.

“Fatigue played a very big role in our loss to Italy today,” Abu said.

“Secondly, we lost concentration towards the end of the second period as a result of fitness and acclimatisation.”

The Super Sand Eagles’ will play Iran after squaring up with Mexico.