Mama Balde scored the only goal as Guinea-Bissau stunned Nigeria 1-0 in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixture on Friday.
The three-time African champions succumbed to their fourth straight loss after defeats to Portugal, Costa Rica and Algeria in international friendlies late last year.
It was an uninspiring first 45 minutes from the hosts and the highlight before the break was Balde connecting o a long through pass from Opa Sangante in the 29th minute and calmly putting the ball beneath a helpless Francis Uzoho for Guinea-Bissau’s winning goal.
Peseiro was clearly unhappy with his attackers and he made double substitutions at half-time, with Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman replacing Moses Simon and Paul Onuachu got the nod to replace struggling Iheanacho.
In the 52nd minute, goalscorer Balde was lucky to escape a red card after a dangerous challenge on defender Kelvin Akpoguma’s head.
Akpoguma left the pitch with bandages around his head, while Balde only got a yellow card – the second booking in the encounter after Jefferson Encada’s initial warning.
Stand-in captain Ndidi failed to dominate the middle of the park and he was replaced by Frank Onyeka.
For the first time ever, the Super Eagles had three captains in a game with Ndidi wearing the armband from the start then Simon claimed it after the Leicester City star went off, with three minutes left to play for, Ahmed Musa was drafted in place of Chukwueze and he got his armband as the team’s captain.
Second-half substitute Onuachu came close to finding the back of the net with his header in the 79th minute but his effort narrowly went off target.
Following the disappointing result in front of a sparsely-filled MKO Abiola National Stadium, Jose Peseiro’s men will turn their attention to the return fixture of the AFCON 2023 qualifiers in Bissau on Monday.
Guinea-Bissau now lead Group A with seven points after three points while Nigeria trail in second place with a point and Sierra Leone and Sao Tome & Principe sit in third and fourth spots respectively.
