Argentina coach Diego Maradona blamed his Argentina players too forgiving against Nigeria at their World Cup Group opener as they wasted too many chances.

Though Argentina edged Nigeria 1-0, Maradona said it seemed like his players "couldn't see the goal" and were too forgiving as they squandered numerous scoring opportunities.

"We should not forgive, that's what I told them after the match," Maradona said. "In football, to forgive is to pay."

Maradona spoke high of Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who made spectacular saves against Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain to keep the Africans in the game.

"Today we took a very important step but we have to improve many things to reach the seventh match," Maradona said in reference to the tournament final. "Still, the boys did well."