Nigeria's Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) U-17 coach Austin Eguavoen insists his team were beaten in the final of the 2017 Gauteng Future Champions final on Saturday by Atletico Madrid due to his team's defensive lapses, reports Completesportsnigeria.com. Defending champions Atletico defeated the Nigeria team 2-1 in the final of the tournament.  "In open play Atletico Madrid had a slight edge. We had our strategy to keep them at bay but obviously we have to work at our defensive game because some of our defending today was not just acceptable," Eguavoen who led Nigeria's U-17 side to the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Finland said in his post match interview.  "They allowed Atletico strikers too much space on set pieces. They (Atletico) hit the woodwork twice. There was lack of concentration in our defending."

However the former Super Eagles defender was excited by the chance his team got to showcase their talents. "The competition was awesome. I'm happy these kids got the platform to show what they can do in the future," the for Super Eagles coach added. "We hoped it wouldn't end but unfortunately whatever has a beginning has an end." Alberto Salido and Adrian Luque scored for the champions while Yahaya Nazifi scored Nigeria's goal through a penalty.