Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro has praised the pitch at the Estadio 24 de Setembro in Guinea-Bissau, rating it above the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
The comments came after Nigeria’s double-header Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Guinea-Bissau. Nigeria lost the first match 1-0 but won the second match 1-0, with Moses Simon scoring a penalty in the 30th minute.
In an interview with the NFF media team after the second match, Peseiro praised his team’s ability to create chances but expressed disappointment at their inability to score more goals. He also singled out the quality of the pitch in Guinea-Bissau, suggesting it was better than the surface in Abuja.
The Super Eagles are now second in Group D of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying round, with six points from four matches. They will face Sierra Leone in their next qualifying match in June. The Africa Cup of Nations tournament is scheduled to take place in Cameroon in January 2022, with the final set for February 6, 2022.
“Our team is much better than Guinea Bissau and we created many chances in the second leg, just like the first. Also, the pitch is better than Abuja.
You know our team play an offensive game, and I think we deserved to beat Guinea in both matches. We could have beaten them like 5-1 in Abuja and maybe 5-0 in the second leg because they didn’t create one opportunity,” Peseiro began.
“I like the quality of our football, the ball possession and the creation of clear opportunities. Our mistake was the finishing and that can improve in the next matches. At this moment, I am happy, not because of the result, but because we played quality football with our quality players.”
He also alluded to the Eagles’ style of play under erstwhile coach Genort Rohr, claiming he wants the team to remain offensive.
“You try to plan an offensive game that the fans want. The last coach left because the people complained of that, so I want to play nice and beautiful football with opportunities. We have the best squad now and I think we can do better with our finishing,” the coach said.
