Head coach of the Zambia national team, Wedson Nyirenda, has claimed that the referee gave decisions in favour of Nigeria, during their 1-0 loss in a 2018 World Cup qualifier on Saturday.
The Chipolopolo defeat in Uyo, ended their slim hopes of qualifying for next year’s tournament in Russia.
However, Nyirenda feels the outcome could have been different if the referee did not incorrectly rule offside when they scored in the first half of the match.
Nigeria went on to win the game thanks to a second-half goal from substitute Alex Iwobi.
“There was a lot of decisions which went the way of the home team (Nigeria), the goal we scored was not offside. I cannot talk about it, the game is over, playing away against the great stars of the World football like Mikel Obi and Victor Moses, it is another motivation to the players to do well,” he said.
However, Nyirenda insisted he is proud of his team.
“We want to congratulate the people of Nigeria for qualifying for the World Cup. It was not an easy game, just like the first one.
“I think the game was a game of wits, like the first one because the difference was just a goal.
“We played the game dominating Nigeria, but with their experience, they got the needed goal from the half chance they created.
“We had so many injuries in the team, but in spite of that, we accounted for a good game and played very well. This is the best game in the qualifying series.
“Our objective has been to rebuild the team in a very short period of time. We had the nucleus of the team in short time. Very disciplined and hardworking after one year,” Nyirenda toldCompletesportsnigeria.com.
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