Nigeria’s Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro has defended the list of players called up to fly the nation’s flag at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) starting in Cote d’Ivoire later this month, restating his total trust in the abilities of the players to deliver, www.aclsports.com reports.
The Portuguese coach’s final list to the continental showpiece is led by captain Ahmed Musa, his vice William Troost-Ekong, and current African footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen.
Speaking just days after the 25-man Super Eagles squad was released following an initial provisional squad, Peseiro said the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) decided to settle for 25 players as against the maximum 27 allowed by CAF’s regulations.
“This is the 25-man list that I want and I believe they will do their best for us at the tournament. As for the number, the NFF decided to bring 25 players and I agree because more players will be much for the group, the training, and so on. I think is enough but since the first moment NFF decided to bring 25 players,” Super Eagles coach Peseiro said in a video chat with NFF’s media department.
The manager went on to cite working with the squad, performance, and current form as reasons for the final players selected for the AFCON.
“All the players worked with us until now. The second is the performance of the selection. Some showed good performance in the club and not so good performance in our national team and; On the opposite, some players played very well in the national team and did not play very well at the club level. So, I tried to evaluate players who can show for the national team and play for the Super Eagles.
“The last one is the current form. If they are playing well and if they can show the good conditions for us. Another one is individual characteristics. We tried to choose dependable characteristics, some players give more moments, some players give more support, while some can give more during the match in deep moments, other players support the team, while others give more connection. It is a mix of all and we tried to accommodate these characteristics. It was not easy to choose the 25, but I hope they can do well for us,” concluded Peseiro who joined the Eagles in May 2022.
All 25 players will depart from their different bases on Tuesday, 2nd January to fly into Abu Dhabi, capital city of the United Arab Emirates, for a one-week training camp that will last until Tuesday, 9th January. The team will fly back to Lagos on Tuesday 9th January, and then fly into the Ivorian capital, Abidjan on Wednesday, 10th January.
The Super Eagles, led by Portuguese Peseiro, in their quest for a fourth AFCON title, will take on Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, 14th January in their first match of Group A, before the highly-anticipated clash with host nation Cote d’Ivoire (18th January) and a final group game against Guinea Bissau (22nd January).
