Saudi Arabia’s U20 coach, Marcos Soares, has admitted his side were second best in the first half against Nigeria, Soccernet.ng reports.
Speaking further, the former Oliveira do Bairro center back felt they could have taken something from the game before costly errors condemned them to another defeat at the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup.
The Young Falcons fell 3-2 to the Flying Eagles in a thrilling Group F encounter on Wednesday. Nigeria struck early through Nasiru Salihu and regained the lead with Amos Ochoche’s brilliant strike before captain Daniel Bameyi sealed the win with a stoppage-time penalty.
A rallying effort from the Naija Boyz! #U20WC | #LegendsInTheMaking pic.twitter.com/VeWQvrlxt2
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What Saudi Arabia Coach Said After Flying Eagles defeat
Reflecting on the match, Soares acknowledged that Nigeria started stronger but insisted his team were much improved after the break.
“I think first half Nigeria was better than us. We could [have] controlled the second half. We played better in the second half for sure. We could have scored. We missed a clear goal. The ball hit the post,” Said Soares.
Despite Saudi Arabia’s late push from Talal Haji, individual errors proved costly for Soares' men.
“Against silly mistakes made us lose another game. We need to work again and try to win the last game,” he added.
The defeat leaves Saudi Arabia bottom of Group F without a point from two matches. They must win their final group fixture to stand any chance of advancing to the round of 16.
