Super Eagles head coach, Jose Peseiro has said his team must avoid the same mistakes which led to their defeat against the Djurtus of Guinea-Bissau last Friday.
The three-time African champions fell to a shocking 1-0 defeat to the Djurtus in front of a passionate home crowd at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja.
Nigeria dominated possession in the game but were let down by their poor finish in front of goal.
The coach stated that his team must be clinical this time around.
“I gave my opinion after the first match. I watched the video again yesterday and our team missed a lot of chances. The strikers missed a lot of chances,” Peseiro said during his interaction with the media.
” The performance was not bad but we need to score goals. That’s the most important thing. It is not normal when a team like us missed too many chances like we did on Friday.
*We moved the ball well, played offensively too, and shoot the ball well. I think it is better you create opportunities than not.
“I want my team to do the same but avoid mistakes. We made too many mistakes in the first game. We must avoid doing the same in the second game.
“It’s important for us to be clinical in front of goal, to finish well when we have the chances.”
Peseiro also emphasized the need for his team to respect their opponent and also claimed his team’s main objective is to win the game.
“We need to respect all the teams. We have to beat Guinea-Bissau, Our responsibility is to defend our country, our flag, We have to beat Guinea-Bissau,” he added.
“We are one of the best teams in Africa. Guinea-Bissau are at the moment in first position but we want to beat them and regain our position
“If we are able to convert our chances, it will be a different match. ”
Most read: AFCON Qualifiers: Super Eagles to play Guinea Bissau in Morocco
The former Venezuela and Saudi Arabia coach once again defended his players despite the defeat in the first game.
“Our team did well in attack. For us to beat Sao Tome and Principe 10-0 is a prove of that,” Peseiro stated.
“We beat Sierra Leone. We could have defeated Guinea-Bissau but for luck that was against us. The pitch was fine, we shoot so many times but the ball refused to go in.
“I’m not defending my players. They did well even though they need to show more concentration and finish well too.”
Peseiro also reflected on the officiating from the first leg.
The referee also denied us two penalties,” Peseiro said.
“The guy who injured Akpoguma also deserved a red card. No one spoke about that. The referee added four minutes of additional time when Akpoguma spent around five minutes on the pitch when he was injured.
“I know we have enough quality to beat them. If we score 10 percent of the chances we created we will win the game.
“I have spoken with my players and will do more today. You cannot create chances without putting the ball into the net
“We need to play same way but it is important that we convert our chances.”
Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe
