Everton star Alex Iwobi has admitted that the Super Eagles' 2-1 losses to Argentina and Algeria at the 2018 World Cup and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations respectively were a bitter pill to swallow.

Against Argentina, Nigeria were on the brink of qualifying for the second round of the World Cup with four minutes remaining, only for Manchester United's Marcos Rojo to volley home the winner.

And against eventual champions Algeria at last year's AFCON semifinal, the Super Eagles were close to taking the game to extra-time but Riyad Mahrez curled in a spectacular free-kick with almost the last kick of the game.

Iwobi made a late cameo against the South Americans and played the entirety of the game in the defeat to the North Africans.

Speaking on Instagram Live, Iwobi stated : "Both of them were serious heartbreaks, to describe that feeling is painful. The Argentina one, it was hurtful because I saw how much efforts we put in, how much we've been training so hard, the qualifiers we've done our best. It was Rojo that was able to get the goal.

"It's nice to play but when you don't play you still support the team as equally as if you're playing, that one hurt.

"I remember all of us were head down in the changing room.:

The former Arsenal star continued : "The Algeria one where I participated, last free-kick of the game, that one was really painful because we did all our best.

"You cannot blame anyone, at the end of the day we win as a team we lose as our team. We have to congratulate Mahrez because the free-kick caught everyone off guard, it caught everyone by surprise.

"Both experiences were very tough for the team but we move on and go again, that's the mentality we have. We can't dwell on our past, we have to put things right in the future".

Iwobi picked up his 40th Nigeria cap in their 4-2 rout of Lesotho in a 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on November 17, 2019.

Igho Kingsley