Super Eagles head coach, Jose Peseiro, has expressed his team’s struggles during their 2023 AFCON semi-final match against South Africa on Wednesday, February 7.
Throughout the game, Peseiro watched as Bafana Bafana applied pressure on the Super Eagles, with Stanley Nwabali’s confident goalkeeping preventing South Africa from taking the lead.
In the second half, South Africa continued to threaten Nigeria’s defense, and the Super Eagles found it difficult to create scoring opportunities until the 65th minute.
After taking the lead from a penalty in the 67th minute, the Super Eagles gained confidence and began to pose a threat to South Africa’s defense.
However, their spirits were dampened when Victor Osimhen’s goal was disallowed by VAR, and South Africa equalized through a penalty kick.
Coach Peseiro acknowledged the challenges his team faced, stating, “Around 90 minutes, I see that our team suffered, we were shaken, we lost the balance.”
However, during the break before extra time, the team regrouped and entered the additional period with renewed confidence.
Looking ahead to the final of the tournament, Peseiro revealed that Porto left-back, Zaidu Sanusi, may not be available due to fitness issues.
Sanusi was unable to play against South Africa and was replaced by Bright Osayi-Samuel.
Peseiro expressed uncertainty about Sanusi’s recovery, stating, “I don’t know if he can recover, I hope he can recover for the next match, but he’s out now because of injury.”
The Super Eagles will now face the hosts of the 2023 AFCON, Ivory Coast, in the final of the tournament on Sunday, February 11, at 9 p.m.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
