Congo coach Marie Joseph Madienguela says his team did their best in Friday’s thrilling TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON quarter-finals defeat to Tunisia.
The Red Devils twice gave away the lead against the spirited Young Carthage Eagles of Tunisia to force the match to post match penalties
“We did our best but we didn’t succeed,” the experienced Madienguela said at the post match press conference.
“The players are still young and they were affected by the great pressure on them.
“I think we prepared very well on the technical level but we suffered from some shortcomings on the mental side of it.”
The Congolese boss was quick to praise the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology in the latter stages of the TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2023.
“The VAR technology is not bad but on the contrary it has become a very important element in the game,” he said.
“I did not have any issues with its decisions today as it was correctly used by the referee.”
Source: Confederation of African Football