Eric Chelle revealed that the Super Eagles B players were driven by the thought of returning home without a point, which inspired them to give their all against Congo.
Second-half strikes from Anas Yusuf and Sikiru Alimi, who also set up the first goal,.secured a 2-0 victory for Nigeria in their final group encounter at the Africa Nations Championship.
Although the Super Eagles B had already been eliminated following defeats to Senegal and Sudan, Congo needed a win to keep their quarter-final hopes alive.
At the conclusion of the group stage, Sudan topped the group with five points, followed by Senegal, also on five points. Nigeria finished third with three points, while Congo ended last with two points.
In his post-match press briefing, Chelle said, “We deserve to win this game because we had possession and we tried to play and during the first half we missed the last technical skill, the last pass or the last through ball.
“The players gave an answer, they did not want to return to Nigeria without any point but they need to improve. when you play in tournaments you need to have some experience.”
Reflecting on the earlier defeats to Senegal and Sudan, the Malian added, “Senegal have great experience, they scored against us with our first mistake and against Sudan the pressure was so big.”