Atlanta ‘96 Olympic Games silver medallists Austin Okocha and Joseph Dosu   have praised the Super Eagles despite their 3-2 defeat by powerhouse Argentina in their Brazil   2014 World Cup last Group F game in Porto Alegre on Wednesday.

Sporting Lisbon defender Marcos Rojo scored the winner for Argentina after Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi and CSKA Moscow’s Ahmed Musa both scored braces in the game.

However, African champions Nigeria sealed their place in the round of 16 after Bosnia beat Iran 3-1 in the other group game in Salvador.

The Super Eagles reached the second round in their debut in the football’s showpiece in the United States in 1994 and returned four years later to exit the championship at the same stage at France ’98.

They failed to progress beyond the group stages at the Korea/Japan and South Africa World Cups, and Okocha and Dosu hailed the team’s qualification for Brazil 2014 second round, insisting they deserved to go through, despite the defeat to Argentina.

“The team deserve a standing ovation from me,” Tunisia ’94 Africa Cup of Nations winner Okocha, who criticised Stephen Keshi’s tactics in the goalless draw against Iran, said on SuperSport after the encounter.

“There’s a lot of improvement in the team and credit should go to Keshi and the players for their professionalism.”

“They (Eagles) deserve to go far in the tournament.”

Former Nigeria goalkeeper Dosu concurred with Okocha’s assessment, adding that the “performance was marvellous”.

“I’m very happy with the team’s performance against Argentina today and I’m satisfied with the result,” the former Julius Berger custodian told our correspondent on the telephone after the encounter.

“I’m impressed with the team’s fighting spirit. They never gave up. It was a marvelous performance.”