Nigeria national team manager Jose Peseiro has stated he wants the Super Eagles to claim back their top spot in Group A of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers when they tackle Guinea-Bissau on Monday.
The Djurtus earned a 1-0 win over the West African giants in Abuja on Friday which sent them top of the group.
Nigeria needs to win in Bissau in Monday’s return leg to move back on top and Peseiro stressed his players have it firmly at the back of their minds.
“We respect all the teams, we want to beat Guinea-Bissau of course,” the Portuguese tactician said at the pre-game press conference. “Our responsibility is to come here to defend our country, defend our flag, we’ve come here to beat Guinea-Bissau.
“Nigeria cannot play any game in Africa without having it in mind this situation, we want to beat them.
“Now Guinea-Bissau is in the first position, we want to go top if we score ten percent of the chances.”
We’re off to Guinea Bissau! #SoarSuperEagles #GNBNGA #AFCON2023Q pic.twitter.com/HyQVcMqbbh
— ???????? Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) March 26, 2023
Flashing back to Friday’s defeat, Peseiro believes his team played well and were let me down by the poor state of the Moshood Abiola Stadium pitch as well as officiating.
“First of all, I try fielding a team with offensive abilities. Everybody complained before about the attack. We beat Sao Tome 10-0, a record,” Peseiro continued.
“We played better against Guinea-Bissau than Sierra Leone at home. We created more opportunities but were unlucky. Our players have quality but should finish better.
“The pitch didn’t help us. You can watch the video how many times we tried to shoot, like Samuel. I don’t expose my players. For them they have to be concentrated and focused for finishing and killer instincts.
“There was a clear penalty and red card for the player that fouled Akpoguma. No one speaks about that, only speak about our performance.
“Five minutes of stoppage time added despite Akpoguma being treated on the pitch for four minutes. We have quality enough to beat Guinea-Bissau, even on Friday without the penalty and red card.”
Sunday’s earlier match saw Sierra Leone claim a 2-0 win over Sao Tome and Principe to move within a point of the Super Eagles in Group A.
