Flying Eagles coach Paul Aigbogun has explained why Tom Dele-Bashiru was substituted in the 31st minute of his side's 2-0 loss to United States in a FIFA U20 World Cup clash on Monday evening.
It was a move that shocked everyone and there had been speculation that the Manchester City midfielder suffered an injury, but Aigbogun has cleared the air by revealing it was a tactical decision.
''We started Tom in an advanced midfield role almost like a second striker so we could stop the US from building up the games from the back,'' Aigbogun told reporters post-match.
''However, they were much better and managed to bypass him and our early press a lot to get through.''
Asked if it was the reason for Dele-Bashiru's replacement, Aigbogun replied : ''Not at all. He was not doing anything particularly poor, we just wanted to combat the way our opponents were playing in a different manner.''
The Flying Eagles will advance to the last sixteen in the event of a win against Ukraine in their final Group D match on Thursday, May 30.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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