Super Eagles head coach, Jose Peseiro has revealed that the 25 players shortlisted for the 2023 African Cup of Nations were the NFF decisions he agreed with. Last week, the Nigeria Football Federation released 41 man provisional squad, which was trimmed to 25 days ago. NFF and Jose Peseiro could select 27 players as the maximum by CAF, but the Federation decided to recruit 25, which is a number they can manage according to the head coach.
Peseiro also asserted that players selections were based on current form.
“The NFF decided that it will go with 25, and I agreed because it is easy to manage this number,” the Portuguese coach said on Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) TV.
“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.
“It was not easy to choose the 25 players, but it was my responsibility and I hope and pray they play well for us.”
One area in the Eagle’s team that has been a cause for worry is the goalkeeping aspect going into the AFCON.
Embattled Francis Uzoho is one of the three goalkeepers who was selected by Peseiro, but it is not certain if he will be in goal.
Following Uzoho’s poor displays in goal for the Eagles, Chippa United’s Stanley Nwabali was drafted in to provide competition for the first choice spot.
When asked why he decided to include Nwabali, Peseiro said he was impressed with what he saw when he watched him in Chippa United’s training and league game.
“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), and spoke with other people.
“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 in 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 manager disclosed that the team will leave for Abu Dhabi in preparation for the tournament:
“We will be in Abu Dhabi for six days from where we will be involved in our preparation, organization, ideas. At the same time, we want to improve our speed, introduce different dynamics because this is a specific tournament that needs maximum focus.“
