Nigeria Vs Ivory Coast: Why I Didn’t Change Super Eagles’ Formation – Peseiro Opens Up

Super Eagles’ head coach, Jose Peseiro, has explained why he did not change his tactics during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final against Ivory Coast.

Naija News reports that the Elephants of the Ivory Coast defeated the Super Eagles of Nigeria to win the 2023 AFCON in regulation time.

During the AFCON final match between Nigeria and Ivory Coast, Nigeria scored first in the first half with a goal from William Troost-Ekong’s header.

However, Ivory Coast equalized in the second half with a header from Franck Kessie.

The match remained tied until just a few minutes before the end, when Sebastien Haller scored a goal by flicking the ball past Nigeria’s goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, leading to a victory for the host.

After the match, Peseiro faced questions regarding the team’s strategy of defending and absorbing pressure after gaining a one-goal lead.

He replied: “When you have a system that you have been using, and it has been working, you really don’t want to change it.

“It is true that I kept to this strategy until we were 2-1 down, and then I decided to change it.

“We conceded goals from some defensive errors, and they had a drop in level against the Ivorians.”

Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) consoled Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali on Sunday night after Nigeria’s 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final. 

Despite his impressive performance during the tournament, Nwabali was unable to lead Jose Peseiro’s team to victory against Ivory Coast.