Ugandan national team head coach Paul Put said on Tuesday that the Super Eagles have the team to reach the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

The Belgian manager disclosed this during the post-match press conference following Nigeria’s 3-1 victory over Uganda at the Fes Stadium in their last Group C match, which ended the Cranes’ campaign at the AFCON early.

“I cannot speak for your coach, but of course, in 2013, you (Nigeria) had a very good team, but I think today, you also have a very good team. The way the team is playing in the system is comparable to 2013,” Put said.

The 69-year-old, who was in charge of Burkina Faso when Nigeria beat them in the 2013 AFCON final in South Africa, added, “I think they have a very good chance to be close to the final.”

Commenting on the heavy defeat at the hands of the Eagles, the former Kenya head coach noted that Uganda should have defeated Tanzania in their second group stage match to secure a round of 16 spot, rather than the unsuccessful late bid against Nigeria on Tuesday.

“I think we should have played for qualification against Nigeria. We had the opportunity against Tanzania to qualify the team in that game, so we would have had this problem,” Put stated.

Paul Onuachu opened the scoring for Nigeria in the 28th minute of the encounter against 10-man Uganda before Raphael Onyedika scored twice in the second half to further extend Nigeria’s lead.

Rogers Mato pulled one back for Uganda in the 75th minute courtesy of a well-timed assist from Allan Okello.

Put added, “We were under pressure today. It was very hard because Nigeria is a difficult team, so I think we lost the qualification against Tanzania.”