The lacklustre display of the Super Eagles of Nigeria in their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification match against Rwanda has continued to attract criticism from several corners of the country’s footballing community.

Despite already securing qualification for the AFCON tournament, several fans of the team had hoped the Super Eagles would clinch victory against the Amavubi, particularly considering talks of the fixture serving as a final preparatory match for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

However, to the surprise of many, the Nigerian team, despite taking the lead, fell to two quick-fire goals from Ange Mutsinzi and Innocent Nshuti.

In the wake of the disappointing qualification defeat, captain William Troost-Ekong has pointed out who is to blame for the loss.

Troost-Ekong speaks on the defeat to Rwanda

Speaking after the underwhelming performance, the Nigerian team captain admitted that the Super Eagles’ defense, along with the entire team, fell short of expectations.

As reported by Complete Sports, the 31-year-old also took personal responsibility for the outcome of the match.

“As captain and the last man at the back, I know we should have done better. But set-pieces, like free kicks, can trouble any team, and I think that’s what happened today. So, I take responsibility,” he said.

Troost-Ekong expressed deep disappointment over the defeat, noting that it dashed the team’s hopes of ending the qualifiers on a high and delivering a “thank you” victory to their fans.

“We’re all sad and disappointed. We set out to win this final game to thank our fans for their support and to preserve our unbeaten run while achieving a clean sheet finish,” he explained.

“But none of that came to pass. We’ve accepted the outcome and must move forward,” Troost-Ekong concluded.

Despite the loss to Rwanda, the Super Eagles remain at the top of their group, according to data from FotMob.