2023 Afcon Qualifiers: Nigeria Were Better Than Sierra Leone, Deserved Huge Margin Win – Peseiro 

The 62-year-old tactician praised the Super Eagles’ display and defends his selection after downing the Leone Stars in Group A opener

Nigeria coach Jose Peseiro has expressed his satisfaction with how the Super Eagles rallied from a goal down to beat Sierra Leone 2-1 in their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations group opener on Thursday.

The Super Eagles found themselves trailing with only 11 minutes played at Abuja National Stadium when Jonathan Morsay put the Leone Stars ahead but Alex Iwobi put them level in the 16th minute before Victor Osimhen, scored what turned out to be the winner in the 41st minute.

The outcome of the fixture handed Peseiro his first victory in charge of the Super Eagles from three matches since he joined the side to replace German Gernot Rohr. The first two matches for the Portuguese tactician came in the recent Fifa international break when they lost 2-1 against Mexico and 1-0 against Ecuador in friendly matches in the USA.

The 62-year-old Peseiro believes his side were much better from the onset adding their opponents only created some good moments in the game in the closing stages.

“We are better than Sierra Leone in this game, we deserve to win,” Peseiro told reporters after the game as quoted by Musa. “We changed the setup in the second half, I think it was only the last 10 minutes our opponent had some good moments.

“We created a lot of scoring chances, we could have won with a bigger margin, but the team needs more time and we must work.”

Peseiro also defended his decision to start two natural midfielders in Iwobi and Joe Aribo, insisting he picks his starting XI according to the game plan.

“I can play any player, I make the final decision. If I ask you, to give me your XI, it will be different from others,” Peseiro continued. “I believe in my players, it’s my responsibility to select the players according to our plans.”

The victory saw the Super Eagles stay second in Group A with three points, the same as leaders Guinea-Bissau, who hammered Sao Tome Principe 5-1 in another fixture at Stade Adrar also on Thursday.

Nigeria will travel to face Sao Tome in their matchday two fixture at Stade Adrar on June 13.