Super Eagles head coach José Peseiro publicly explains how he arrived at twenty-five players for the upcoming 2023 Africa Cup Of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Cote d’Ivoire npflupdates.com reports.
Peseiro who will lead the Super Eagles at the biennial tournament unveiled that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) was behikd his reason for selecting only 25 players when he can extend his squad size to 27(twenty-seven).
Also read: Okocha Wants The Date Of The New AFCON Tournament Shifted
Peseiro shifts AFCON squad size selection to the NFF
The former Saudi Arabia tactician further explained that managing 25-man squad size will be easier for him.
“The number is from the Nigeria Football Federation. NFF decided to take 25 players. I agreed, twenty five players is enough to manage. Since the first moment NFF decided to take 25 players,” Peseiro told the Super Eagles media.
“We did a big list of 41 players and these chosen players worked with us until now. The performance in the selection because some players show good performance in the clubs but didn’t show in our national team,” he continued.
“It can happen the same in the opposite, some players play very well in the national team, they didn’t play well in the clubs – it’s different atmosphere, different context.”
Speaking further, the former Venezuela coach stressed that current form of players were in contention when the list is being compiled.
“The third one is the current form, if they are playing well, if they show the good conditions for their clubs for us. I try to bring four fullbacks, five central defenders, five midfielders, four wingers and four strikers.
“Some players give more deep moments, some players give more support, some players give more connection. We tried to coordinate these characteristics and these solutions for our system, for our game.” he added.
In another story, Peseiro identifies his ambition with the Super Eagles to be winning Nigeria’s fourth AFCON title. According to the former Sporting CP gaffer, working with Nigeria, and being part of African Football is a beautiful experience he’d cherish for a very long time.
“My experience with the Nigerian national team is very good. Being part of African and Nigerian football is an interesting thing, and I cannot deny that,” Peseiro was quoted by Daily Post Nigeria.
Also read: Peseiro Unveil 3 Important Steps On How To Win The AFCON
“I told everyone that I wanted to win the Africa Cup of Nations from the first moment I signed the contract with the Nigerian national team, and we study our opponents well in order to win, and this is what we seek to achieve.”
The Super Eagles will start their preparation for the competition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates next week Tuesday.
