“My Players Are Sad”: Peseiro Opens Up on Mood in Super Eagles Camp After Draw

• Nigeria’s draw with Equatorial Guinea left a sour taste
• The Super Eagles players are sad after their Group A draw
• Nigeria will tackle Ivory Coast in their Group A game

The Super Eagles are not feeling delighted with their opening AFCON 2023 result after they were held to an uneventful 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea.

Victor Osimhen rescued a point for the three-time African champions, cancelling out Ivan Salvador’s opener for the Nzalang Nacional against the run of play.

According to Complete Sports, Nigeria coach Jose Peseiro had disclosed his players were disappointed with the result after being tagged as favourites for all three points.

“I’m not happy with the result. I’m sad, my players are sad. We are all sad because we deserve to beat our opponent."

Peseiro, however, was not displeased with how the Super Eagles played and insisted if his team maintained their tempo, they would be difficult to defeat at the tournament.

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“Today, the result was not good for us, but we played really well. If we play like this in subsequent games, then it will be difficult for any team to beat us.”

Nigeria will hope to bounce back when the Super Eagles take on host nation Ivory Coast on Thursday, January 18, in their second game in Group A.

Peseiro stands by Onuachu decision

Meanwhile, Jose Peseiro explained his decision to field Trabzonspor striker Paul Onuachu in Nigeria’s 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea despite the forward joining the team late, All Nigeria Soccer reports.

The Southampton loanee joined the Super Eagles' squad eight hours before kick-off after getting a late call-up by the Nigerian Football Federation to replace injured Sadiq Umar.

Onuachu entered the fray for Nigeria as they sought a winning goal, replacing Alex Iwobi in additional time, a decision Peseiro admitted he needed to make due to the striker’s aerial prowess.

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Peseiro goes spiritual after draw

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Nigeria coach, Peseiro, addressing the media following the lacklustre display from his side, touched on how unlucky the Super Eagles were not to secure the victory against Equatorial Guinea.

God gives, and God takes, was his remark as the Super Eagles dropped two points in their opening game as the three-time African champions struggled to create scoring opportunities.