“All my players have been in great form and I am proud of them all"- Coach Manu Garba

The Nigeria U20 handler has congratulated his young side, saying they learnt a lot from the tournament after their second round exit to Germany

Coach Manu Garba has lauded his team despite their second round exit at the 2015 Fifa U20 World Cup against Germany.

Levin Öztunalı's first half strike was all the European champions needed to silence the Nigerian team who put up a brave showing in the second half of the encounter.

And, despite his disappointment at his side's narrow failure, Garba believes that his wards can be proud of themselves for their efforts.

“I believe that our players learnt a lot from this game and a big lesson in general from the tournament,” Garba told Fifa.com.

“The level at U-20s is far higher than at U-17s and Germany are a very tough and highly tactical team.

Our players lost concentration at the crucial moment and this gave the Germans a chance to score.

“Our goalkeeper played a great game though and may have saved that ball if he had a clear view, but there is nothing we can do now.

“All my players have been in great form and I am proud of them all. There have been so many unexpected results in this tournament, but one can never predict the winner.

“ I give my thanks to New Zealand for showing love for our team, the people here have made us feel at home,” he concluded.

The Fifa U20 World Cup title has eluded Nigeria who have made it to final on two occasions (Saudi Arabia 1989 and Netherlands 2005).