Jose Peseiro Insists Super Eagles Are In Tough 2023 AFCON Group

The head coach of the Super Eagles, Jose Peseiro, has noted that he and his team are in a difficult group in the 2023 AFCON which will commence in Ivory Coast on January 13.

Recall that Jose Peseiro and his boys are in Group A, which comprises the host country, Ivory Coast, alongside Equatoria Guinea, and Guinea Bissau.

Ahead of the tournament, the Portuguese tactician highlighted why the group is a tough one for his team and stressed that his team would need to be focused on every game in the group.

“The Eagles’ group is not easy because hosts Ivory Coast is one of the favourites for the tournament due to their good squad and that they are playing at home,” Jose Peseiro told Nigeria Football Federation TV.

“Equatorial Guinea did better than Nigeria at the last AFCON, they got to the quarter-finals and Guinea-Bissau beat us at home in the qualifiers so it’s going to be a tough tournament, a tough job for us because we need to put in focus every time, every minute and every second in the match.”

On why he decided to invite Chippa United of South Africa goalkeeper Stanley Nwabili who has never played for the Super Eagles, instead of Israel-based Adebayo Adeleye, Jose Peseiro said: “I received information about him and I tried to observe him in the video but I then requested that I go to South Africa to speak with him, his coach (at Chippa United), spoke with other people.

“I watched his training and I watched their match and after evaluating him for the four or five days we were there we decided to put him on the list because we believe in him.

“He showed good qualities, good performance and now I have to wait and hope he shows the same capacity and qualities in the Super Eagles because it is different when you play in the national team and club.“

The Eagles will start a one-week training camp on Tuesday, January 2, and run it until January 9.

The team is scheduled to depart for Lagos on January 9 and arrive in the capital city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on January 10.

Jose Peseiro and his boys will take on Equatorial Guinea in their opening Group A game on January 14. On January 18, they will take on Ivory Coast. And then end their group stage campaign on January 22 against Guinea Bissau.