We Have Learnt A Lot At AFCON”

The Mena of Niger left the Orange African Cup of Nations  2013 without achieving their goal of winning their first ever game in an AFCON.

They lost their first game 1-0 against Mali and pull a point out of a 0-0 tie against DR Congo before crashing out 3-0 in their third game against Ghana who merely exploited three defensive errors in the Nigerian defensive line.

“They were not better than us, though we were naïve at the defense. Our defense was ‘heavy’, we have to work harder and our coach [Gernot Rohrcoach] said he was going to rejuvenate the team and I hope that the Nigerien government will put in the necessary funds.” Moussa Maâzou, Niger’s captain, said.

Despite their failure to make the second round in two successive AFCONs, Maâzou, said he is pleased with the teams improvement and that he hopes Coach Gernot Rohrcoach will continue with his plans for the team.

“We have learned a lot of things [in this African Cup of Nations] we have progressed in our style of play. Before we didn’t really play, we played with long balls but now we played ball on the ground which I think is a good thing.”

“The coach has changed a lot of things in the team and I hope that it shall continue in the same vein.” Maâzou said.