Super Eagles head coach José Peseiro acknowledge that his new found tactics of winning matches at the 2023 AFCON tournament suffered a great deal on Wednesday; npflupdates.com reports.
Peseiro was on the technical area on Wednesday when the Super Eagles defeated perennial rivals South Africa to reach first AFCON final in over a decade.
Also read: AFCON 2023: Nwabali Make Shocking Revelation Ahead Of South Africa Clash
After battling to a 1-1 draw at the end of 90 minutes normal regulation and 30 minutes extra-time, the semi-final match was to be decided from penalty shootouts.
Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali saved two penalty kicks to help Nigeria beat South Africa 4-2 on penalties.
Peseiro explains how his tactics suffered against South Africa
Speaking a post-match press conference, Peseiro confessed failure of his new found tactics.
“Around 90 minutes, I see that our team suffered, we were shaken, we lost the balance,” the 63-year-old former Sporting CP manage said.
“But during the break before the extra time, we put ourselves together and went into extra time with that confidence.”
South Africa troubled Nigeria, becoming the first team to force Nigeria to a penalty shootout at the ongoing 2023 AFCON tournament. Reason for that may not be far from the quality of players under the tutelage of Hugo Broos.
“They are a very good team, they created a lot of problems for us, they did a fantastic job but I think our boys deserved to win,” Peseiro stated.
“Beating a well-organised team like South Africa isn’t an easy task.
“They caused us a lot of problems, so the Super Eagles deserve to progress after achieving this feat.”
“It was a very good victory against a good team,” the former Venezuela coach acknowledged.
“The players deserve to be in the finals, even though they had to achieve that the hard way.”
The former Saudi Arabia national team coach added, “I think it was very difficult to beat them,” he admitted. “Huge congratulations to Hugo Broos, who put this team together. They played well.”
Nigeria will now play host nation Ivory Coast in the finals on Sunday. The match will be staged at the prestigious Alassane Ouattara, stadium, Abidjan.
