The Super Eagles of Nigeria booked their place in the round of 16 of the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire on Monday after beating Guinea-Bissau 1-0 to finish second in Group A.
The three times African champions are gunning for a fourth AFCON title and will face familiar foes Cameroon in the knockout round of the competition on Saturday, January 27, 2023 at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, nicknamed Le Félicia in the heart of Abidjan by 9pm.
Nigeria went through the group stages unbeaten, winning two and drawing one of their three group games. They scored three goals in three matches and conceded just one against group winners Equatorial Guinea.
The team have been heavily criticised back home for lack of goals and boring football despite having one of the best set of players in the tournament, including the reigning African Footballer of Year, Victor Osimhen.
However, Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro is not bothered about the criticisms and is happy that his team has been able to churn out results despite not playing well.
‘It is impossible to satisfy Nigerian football fans’ – Victor Osimhen
Peseiro told journalists on Monday: “For the next match, we’re going to score,” Peseiro said. “It is important for us to score goals, but it’s a difficult tournament. We deserve to reach the first position because against Equatorial Guinea, we created many chances, we didn’t score. Equatorial Guinea did not beat us, they draw us.
“I’m happy for that, and I’ll wait for the next match. It’s not easy to win one match in this competition. It’s not easy.”
He added: “Today, we played very good football but we missed scoring chances which is not good for us.
“Our striker, Victor Osimhen, was not at his best but I’m happy we are through to the next stage.
“I want to congratulate Equatorial Guinea for leading the group with seven points after scoring many goals. I also congratulate my team for making it to the next round.
“Today’s match was a tough one; we created four opportunities but we couldn’t convert them. But I’m still happy we progressed to the next stage.
“I believe we kept our goals for the next round; we will definitely work on our finishing ahead of our next match.
“For the next match, if you score goals you proceed to the next round,” he said.
