The Super Eagles had beaten Madagascar in their opening AFCON 2027 qualifier before travelling to the Estadio 24 de Setembro. Franculino Dju, Mama Baldé and Álvaro Djaló scored for the hosts in a historic loss that increased the pressure on coach Eric Chelle.
“It’s not a game we should lose, and we have to take responsibility for that,” Adams told Super Eagles media. “We have taken responsibility for it. It’s a game we prepared very well for. We knew how important it was to us in the qualification phase. Looking back, we are already making corrections to what happened in the game. In football, we were on the bad side on that day as a group and as a team. We know our possibilities and how good we can be when we are at our best.”
He criticised the pitch but refused to use it as an excuse. “I think a good pitch should be the bare minimum for African football. We all know this. I’m not making any excuses. We are professionals, and we should know that there are a lot of things that come with the game. The weather, the referee, whatever the circumstances, we should be able to find our way. But a good pitch should be the bare minimum for how big African football is, and that was not the case on that day.”
Nigeria’s next qualifier is at home to co-hosts Tanzania on 11 November. Three points in Bissau are gone. Adams’s message is that the group have already begun the repair work before that night.