The Chairman of the FCT Football Association, Alhaji Adam Mouktar Mohammed, has queried the performance of the Flying Eagles in the 0-1 quarter-final loss to South Korea at the ongoing 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina.
The national U-20 team of Nigeria was gunning for a first semi-final berth since 2005 which was the last time the Flying Eagles went all the way to the finals before losing 0-2 to Lionel Messi inspired Argentina.
However, even as they dominated proceedings from the start to the end of the match, the Ladan Bosso tutored side couldn’t take their chances and were punished by the Koreans when Sun Choi scored in the fifth minute of extra-time to send the seven-time African champions crashing.
As Nigerian football stakeholders continue to react to the recent failure of the team, Mohammed who is also a member of the NFF Task Force for age-grade national teams said he was sad over the loss because the country has lost a generation of players.
According to him, anytime such football disasters happen, most members of such squads go into oblivion and are never seen again.
“This is a huge setback. We are wondering what happened to the team we saw against Argentina. Why I get worried when we lose like this is because a generation of our players get lost and don’t get to be seen again,” he said.
Pained by the loss, Mohammed expressed the need for a quick return to the drawing board just as he called for resetting of the country’s football architecture.
He said “We need to go back to the drawing board. Definitely our entire football architecture is faulty and needs a reset. We have lost out at all levels in all competitions male and female and this is worrisome.
“Don’t get me wrong, I am not being critical. Naturally football is a game you either win or lose but when it’s continuous and we brush aside and give excuses with no post assessment and explanation then we are not being fair to the fans and nation,” he submitted.
