AFCON Qualifiers: Peseiro seeks ‘revenge’ against Guinea-Bissau

Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro has assured his team will do everything possible to redeem their image in Monday’s second-leg clash against Guinea-Bissau in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series.

Mama Samba Balde’s 29th-minute goal, a brilliant strike straight from the training ground, helped the 118th-ranked team in the world to a famous victory at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja.

Though Peseiro says he is sad and upset with Friday’s 1-0 loss, he expressed ‘satisfaction’ with the performance of his players via a tweet on his official Twitter page on Saturday.

The manager who simply believes the Eagles were unlucky in Friday’s outing admits they will need to convert their scoring chances going forward in order to get the desired results.

“We are sad and upset with this bad result. But we played a good game, very attacking, and created many goal-scoring opportunities that unfortunately we didn’t take. 

“We want to repeat this performance in Guinea, but scoring. We are going with all our commitment and sacrifice to win,” the 62-year-old manager affirmed.

We are sad and upset with this bad result. But we played a good game, very attacking, and created many goalscoring opportunities that unfortunately we didn't take. We want to repeat this performance in Guinea, but scoring. We are going with all our commitment and sacrifice to win pic.twitter.com/qL36h6of8c

— Jose Peseiro (@JosePeseiro) March 25, 2023

Initially hoping for an early qualification for next year’s AFCON tournament in Cote d’Ivoire, the Super Eagles have been slowed down by Friday’s defeat.

Guinea-Bissau are the ones leading the pack in Group A with seven points from three games, while the Super Eagles are behind in second place with six points from the same number of games.

The Super Eagles’ recent performances have left much to be desired, as the team has struggled to find consistency and cohesion on the field. 

The three-time African champions have suffered a series of setbacks in both international friendlies and competitive matches.

The team is presently on a four-match losing streak, the worst in over 40 years.

Before the defeat in the hands of Guinea Bissau, the Eagles had also lost in friendly games against Algeria, Costa Rica and Portugal.