Argentina head coach, Javier Mascherano couldn’t fault the effort of his players despite their defeat to Nigeria on Wednesday night.
The hosts were eliminated from the competition after succumbing to a 2-0 defeat against the Flying Eagles.
The Young Albiceleste were heavily tipped to make it to the quarter-finals after emerging from the group stage unbeaten.
The South Americans were however overrun by the determined Flying Eagles side who displayed a resilient performance throughout the game.
“We played the game we had to play and it couldn’t happen,” Mascherano was quoted by the Argentine official football website.
” Football is like that, sometimes it gives you and sometimes it takes away. Today we have to congratulate Nigeria.
“The team tried anyway, we have nothing to blame because the boys left everything.”
Nigeria will face the winners of the Round of 16 fixture between Ecuador and Korea Republic in the last eight on Sunday.
