Super Eagles head coach, Jose Peseiro, has assured Nigerians that his team will fight to win the 2023 African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
Nigeria will face hosts Cote d’Ivoire in Group A including Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea.
Peseiro who announced his 25-man squad for the tournament which will kick off on January 13 to February 11, admitted that the Eagles are in a tough group as they are drawn against Ivory Coast.
“The Eagles’ group is not easy because hosts Ivory Coast is one of the favourites for the tournament due to their good squad and that they are playing at home,” the Portuguese coach told Nigeria Football Federation TV.
“Equatorial Guinea did better than Nigeria at the last AFCON, they got to the quarter-finals and Guinea-Bissau beat us at home in the qualifiers so it’s going to be a tough tournament, a tough job for us because we need to put in focus every time, every minute and every second in the match.”
The coach also disclosed that the Nigerian Football Federation decided to take just a 25-man squad to the tournament as against the initially reported 27 players.
“The NFF decided that we announce a squad of 25 for the tournament and I agreed because we have to manage the squad training,” Peseiro continued.
“We first came up with the 41 players then the players who made the final list have been with us and they have shown good performance.
“There are players who showed good performance in their clubs but didn’t do well in the national team. Also, there are players who do well for the national team and didn’t do well in their clubs.
“We looked at current form, if they are playing well and showed good condition.
Speaking on why Chippa United goalkeeper Stanley Nwabili was named in the squad despite not been with the team since he took charge, he said: “I received information about him and I tried to observe him in the video but I then requested that I go to South Africa to speak with him, his coach (at Chippa United), spoke with other people,” he said.
“I watched his trainings and I watched their match and after evaluating him for the four or five days we were there we decided to put him on the list because we believe in him.
“He showed good qualities, good performance and now I have to wait and hope he shows the same capacity and qualities in the Super Eagles because it is different when you play in the national team and club.“
The former Real Madrid assistant coach spoke about the Eagles training camp in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates where they are expected to play Burkina Faso and Cape Verde in pre-tournament friendlies.
“We will be in Abu Dhabi for six days where we will be involved in our preparation, organisation, and ideas. At the same time, we want to improve our speed, and introduce different dynamics because this is a specific tournament which needs maximum focus.”
The Eagles will start the tournament with the first match against Equatorial Guinea on January 1, before further clashes with host nation Ivory Coast and Guinea Bissau.
