Nigeria’s forward Odion Jude Ighalo reacts following his teams loss during the Russia 2018 World Cup Group D football match between Nigeria and Argentina at the Saint Petersburg Stadium in Saint Petersburg on June 26, 2018. / AFP PHOTO

Sports Minister Solomon Dalung,  has pinned Nigeria’s exit at the Russia 2018 tournament on coach Gernot Rohr’s selection and tactics.

The Super Eagles failed to ward off an Argentina onslaught in their last group D game in a game they were in frame to win or at least draw to secure their passage to the round of 16.

According to Barrister Dalung, the loss was painful to Nigerians who felt it was a game that should have been easily won with everything going for the team until the  dying moments of the match.

“I wish to apologize for disappointing Nigerian by  our early exit from the  World Cup, leaving many football loving fans devastated. We know the passion and football followership of  Nigerians but it is unfortunate that we couldn’t make it even to the next round.

“The players did their best in this game but the technical glitches cost us a second round ticket.  How we couldn’t hold the ball for the last 5mins is still a shock to us”.

“It is time to go back to the technical committee and technical department for future assignments. The Super Eagles technical crew cannot work independent of the Nigeria Football Federation’s technical committee and department.”

The Minister advised that attention must now be turned to the Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers as he urged the NFF to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the team qualifies for the tournament.

“We just need to analyze what went wrong, take the positives, learn the vital lessons for future purposes and then move on.”