German U-20 captain says Flying Eagles were tough

Nigerian born-Germany U-20 captain,  Kevin Akpoguma has admitted that his side were simply lucky to have defeated the Flying Eagles on Thursday morning in the FIFA World Cup round of 16 in New Zealand.

The German side ousted the coach Manu Garba-led team with a 1-0 victory in Christchurch, and the German machine will now face Mali in the last eight of the competition.

Akpoguma further explained that his side's quarter final game against Mali would not be as tough as the Nigerian game, adding that their victory against the African champions gives him confidence that they can go ahead to win the championship.

"I think in the first half we were the better team, but in the second half Nigeria came at us, they were stronger. They had the power to go another 90 minutes.

"We were a bit lucky in the last 10 minutes, but in the end Germany won. If we had taken our chances in the first half, it would have been easier for us. We defended well and won the game."

"Today’s game will be tougher than what we will come up against on Sunday. Mali play good football, but I think Nigeria are much better than Mali. It will easier for us against Mali than against playing Nigeria."

"Yes, my mindset before the match (vs Nigeria) was that the team who win this game, will go very far. We now have teams like Uzbekistan through to the quarterfinals, so now we have a very good chance to reach the final." African football