Nigeria U20 Coach Aigbogun Reveals Exact Reason Why Dele-Bashiru Was Substituted Vs USA

Published: May 28, 2019

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