Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro has said his players will not use weather as an excuse not to do well at this year’s AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire.
The Eagles have arrived Côte d’Ivoire ahead of the tournament which will begin on Saturday, 13 January.
They had been on a one week training camp in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
After their arrival in Côte d’Ivoire on Wednesday, the team had a light session to loosen up due to a long flight from Nigeria.
Speaking after the light walkout, Peseiro gave update on the arrival dates for Kelechi Iheanacho and Terem Moffi.
The Portuguese also talked about his expectations for the tournament.
“We cannot give excuse about the weather, we need to put in our focus, adapt well and do our best ahead of the first match which is very important for us,” he said on NFF TV.
“After a long trip and due to CAF meetings, photos and video sessions for everybody we didn’t do tactical training, conditional training so we have tomorrow for practice.
Also Read: AFCON 2023: Guinea-Bissau Not Scared Of Super Eagles, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea –Gano
“This is a hard tournament but we want to win, we want to put 100 percent focus and in the game against Equatorial Guinea we don’t mistakes, we need to put 100 percent or more to win the first game which is important for us.
“Moffi will arrive on Sunday 14 because he will play on the 13 with Nice and Kelechi will arrive on the Saturday 13th.“
The Eagles will take on Equatorial Guinea in their opening game of the tournament in Group A.
Other teams they will face in Group A are hosts Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau.
Got what it Takes?
Predict and Win Millions Now
34 Comments
I don’t want to conclude that paceiro didn’t know this is Africa. Not Europe or American. A team without a nucleus will fail . He is wineing us . Because we know how to drink ogororo and forget our sorrows.one thing I know is eagles have not lost 2 games in a row . It is either dey draw one or lose one . Or win one and lose another
Nothing is going to be different in Cote D’Ivoire 2024
So after win equitorial guinea they will lose to Cote D’Ivoire and we pray dey win the last game and again get bundle out by penalty in the next round . Lol
He has already lined up his self defence endless excuse and explanation in event of an impending disasterclass afcon! Photos, video, caf meeting, long trips, injuries, 27 players too much 25 better, now he has 23 for a start, no tactical training because of useless photos, after two years no patterns of play, boring football, no creativity, salary cut, boniface injury, iheanacho not fit, uzoho spreads panic, Nff incompetency, NIGERIANS SHOULD FORGET THUS THIS NATIONS CUP NOW.
Hmmmn. My guy relax. Stop the tension. Let them go an play in the field. Sometimes football dey get surprises. I am sur if one thing no one can just come and beat them like that. They will fight. This is African football. The records of leaving the group and getting into semi finals is to our advantage.
Let’s take all the issues away now. The players may just spring surprises in this tournament.
Fingers crossed. Don’t over expect and don’t allow the tension make you reduce Nigeria to small football playing country.
I am still maintaining this that one of the major problems with this team is the players not taken their chances.
I did not watch the guinea match but if they had taken their chances we would have won.
Guinea according to report had four chances and they converted two. We even lost a penalty.
If we had won with players taken their chances we won’t be here talking about the coconut hear pesero.
I think the players need to bring their A game to this tournament and forget about the nonsense bench we have.
At afcon 2013, people like ideye, emenike Moses Mikel mba etc. played their A game.
Oshimen ademola sodiq moffi chukuwueze Simon etc convert your chances. You score abroad but you don’t convert chances here.
All the blames should not be on the coconut head pesero.
BREAKING NEWS!! Sadiq Umar is now also injured now. Which kind jinx be this. What’s going on peeps ?? Now my morale has collapse against all odd.. Not choosing 27 players will surely hunt us.
It’s precautionary for a knock he took against Guinea.
AYPhilly from Philadelphia, how you take Know? You dey camp?
Big up bro, I remember you from the kickoff Nigeria days.
Just look at this toad of a whiteman … If not people with slave mentality. Who hires a nonentity like this. I can only manage 25players leaving Onuachu, Chuba Akpom, Nwakali and possibly Iheanacho isn’t fit enough for the group stage. No one should expect anything from Nigeria in Abidjan this is a coach who has never tried 3-5-2 or 4-2-3-1 a complete dull man who does not know his 424,442 and 343 has no place in African football with fast attackers and energetics midfielders.
Excuse Excuse Excuse Factory. The next calamity is that NFF has cancelled salary for assistant coaches so the corruption in the SE is the only way to survive now or beggings by these non salary assistants. I don’t even understand what’s happening in Nigeria again….I will just watch the games with low expectations and support any winning team…
I noticed one thing, we blame coaches when ever super eagles looses. example, in our marches against Zimbabwe and Lesotho we created millions of chances and our opponents created just little and scored one each then we fight back and draw the Mach. now my question is why blame coaches
We blame coaches (even clubs around the world do so when results don’t go their way during a season) because they are hired (some call them MANAGERS) to bring out the best from their players.
Why do you think world’s best coaches are called best and are rated anywhere they go (think Klopp, Guardiola etc)?
They know what kind of players suit their various formations and how they could be galvanized to push on to win trophies.
See how ETH, coach of Man U (Poch of Chelsea is only been left for now) is always been roasted after any poor performance.
Peserio has NO SINGLE “BALLS” to drop non performing players in super Eagles. That’s why you don’t see fighters in the team because they are irreplaceable if they do badly.
I fear for Osimhen. He has already won African best. He might lose some ginger on the pitch if our wingers play true-to-type (play to the gallery or showboat) and say the team did not pass quality balls to him.
Imagine Peserio saying Ihenacho must go to AFCON even if he is unfit.
KDB had been well for nearly 3 weeks but it was only last weekend City gave him a cameo.
How can nacho cope with 3 group games in 8 days when he last played in early December?
Coaches choose to ride and die with their coterie of players and when players decide to go on sabotage, you hear coaches have lost their dressing room so they are kicked out for a new sheriff to bring his own ideology.
For ages, Nigeria have lacked creative midfielders, strong ball jugglers and adequate defensive replacements for Ndidi. All because our coaches want to accommodate 600 strikers in every squad list.
Peserio had called up 46 players since he took over but guess how many have been strikers?
Since he is too scared to alter the narrative (I don’t know which of defense, midfield or attack have the most “occultic” predisposition like new players come in, preferred players will be out) and own up to his squad and BS NFF interference as Waldrum did with falcons and ditched names like Ngozi Okobi and benched my love Oshoala against all odds, then he should be blamed for any team catastrophe.
Waldrum now is being courted again by NFF because he’s elevated falcons and shamed their expectations. Peserio meanwhile is loyal to players like mumu at the expense of a nation.
Zambia lost players in 1993 to a plane crash but hurriedly assembled a new squad that lost to Nigeria in that year’s AFCON.
Peserios first team hammered secondary school kids 12 nil but team b lost to a quality opponent in Guinea. In his warped mind, his first team is ready for business.
Our team is full of players who need competition for places to sit up. However, when most of them are still in their 20s (in their minds and heads), the laxity and lack of ambition will continue because why should people in their 20s not be given more years to “gel”?
Young age my foot. How many Ladan Bosso’s Under 20 world cup team of last year are making waves today?
For Me this Tournament is already lost advantage for me the excitement of anticipating and witnessing the havoc Osimhen and Boniface can cook together is gone and that was a big factor for me. Then we could have had the excitement of witnessing what a player like Orban can bring off the bench if called upon also gone. Nigeria does not like good thing. appeasing this Musa seems to be top of the agenda rather than building a formidable team.
As if Ndidi’s Injury was not enough Boniface followed suit. Anyway if Sadiq is injured maybe this coach can do what any exciting coach will do in a haste. CALL UP GIFT ORBAN. And if possible drop Musa for Nwakali. Please Peseiro do this and know wisdom. LET US COOK.
P.s Wishful thinking I know. Nothing good comes our of Nigeria these days besides music and Movie
That’s the 419 coach the NFF brought to us. The team cannot go far. I am happy that his contract expire after the AFCON. Can’t wait for that vagabond leave our team.
I said it before that the NFF should call that US man to coach our team. What we need is someone who is technically and tactically sound and with his physical and goalkeeper’s trainers, the sky would be our limit.
Super Eagles need that kind of coach.
The problem of this team is not really defense or midfield, it’s the curse that comes along with the abundance of many strikers. The team has not been taking their chances. In our last five matches if we had taken twenty percentage of the chances we had Nigeria would have beaten each team we met by at least 3 nil .
My question is what may have cost this misses by our players ? The simple answer is pressure , abundance of replacement strikes and fear of losing your spot. We have strikers in Osi, Kele,Boniface, Lookman, Awoniyi, Sadiq, Chukwueze, Tella, Moffi, Akor, Orban, Moses,. These are world class strikers and only 5 at most can be invited and probably three can play at a time. When you look at the scenario up, every player wants to prove his worth and this is where unhealthy rivalry and selfishness comes. Most times players in eagles would prefer to shot the ball when there is another player at an advantage of scoring the goal.
The injury we are experiencing now might be to our advantage, we have shortage of strikers now this automatically takes away pressure on the players and they can now begin to play for each other which was lacking before.
Let the game begin but one thing is certain we will either win or lose. I will enjoy this Afcon whether Eagles play well or not. Musa this Musa that is not my business. Who knows now 99% of soccer fans in Nigeria has written the team off they will surprise everyone. We still have a great squad and anything is possible.
343 formation is a good formation. However, I do believe we do not have to the right personal to prosecute it and these are my reasons.
Firstly, our wingers don’t contribute much to the goal scoring of the team.
Secondly, with such formation,it will force Iwobi to sit deep as a double pivot.
Therefore, once our wing is clipped and there is no creativity in the middle because Iwobi who is our only goal creator is playing deep. Far away from where he can hurt the opposition team. Then we will struggle to score goals.
In conclusion, I believe the best formation is 433 or 342
Mercy, good points.
3-4-3 can be very similar to 3-5-2, depending on what the attack looks like.
See what I mean below:
Goalie
Ajayi, Ekong, Bassey
Aina, Yusuf, Iwobi, Zaidu
Iheanacho
Osimhen, Lookman
In this 3-4-3 formation, we have Iheanacho playing behind the 2 main strikers Osimhen and Lookman. He is the link between the 2 strikers and the 4 man midfield. Iheanacho is perfect for this role because of his close control and ability to pick a pass, releasing the forwards and overlapping wing backs. He can also shoot from distance, so he can pick up balls in the opponent’s danger area and try shots.
With this formation, Iheanacho is part of the attack, but will frequently drop into the midfield to pick up the ball, and combine with Iwobi and Yusuf. So we have a 3-4-3 morphing into a 3-5-2.
Creativity will come from Iheanacho, Iwobi, and the overlapping wing backs.
The subs for Iheanacho – I think Chukwueze and Aribo can fill in.
Chukwueze in particular could be a revelation in this role. Instead of being restricted to the right wing, he could thrive in a roving role behind the strikers, and with his pace and trickery coming thru the middle instead of the right wing, he could be a real handful.
We’ve played several friendlies, and Peseiro should know by now which players can handle which roles.
3-4-3 is a really good system. However, with just a couple of days to go, is it wise to try a system the players are not used to? That’s Peseiro’s decision to make.
If Peseiro decides that the players can’t adjust to a new system, he can pick a system his boys are familiar with. He just has to ensure that the midfield is adequately populated. In modern African football, playing with a weak midfield puts you at a great disadvantage, even against so called minnows.
My man you are on point!!! I was reading with a big smile. At first, I thought I was reading a pep tactical game plan.
You are the best!!!!
Thanks brother.
I’m no expert. Definitely not a Guardiola, hahaha.
But I do love to share ideas with progressive minds like yourself.
Keep up the good work.
Pompei, I am so sorry to disagree with you but 3-4-3 is quite distinct from 5-3-2. I see your point about ‘movements making the formations to morph into each other’ but even at that, I struggle to see how the transformation in-game can last long enough to describe both formations is bedfellows.
Let me say why.
In 3-4-3, your three forwards are LW, CF and RW whereas in 5-3-2, your two forwards can be LF and RF or CF and SS. Hence in 3-4-3, the wingers tend to spend time wider apart and the centre forward (Iheanacho, using your example) can drop deep, but seldom deep enough to be mistaken for an attacking midfielder (unless when the team is in defense mode). The two wingers (Chukwueze and Lookman) will hardly be close enough – in 3-4-3 – to be mistaken for centre forward and Support striker. This could happen sporadically but not extensive or regular enough to mistaken for 5-3-2.
Moreover, in midfield, consistent presence of 3 midfielders in 5-3-2 is inescapable. The fact that, in 3-4-3, one of the 3 strikers will occasionally drop in to augment midfield is also inescapable.
I guess the only similarity in both formations is defense where you have 3 CBs and 2 WBs.
3-4-3 is a highly technical and risky formation which I think our players might struggle to fully interpret and harness. You need discipline to augment the midfield and also focus not to leave the 3 centre backs isolated. The 3 strikers might be too wide apart to communicate and collaborate effectively.
But 5-3-2 is formulaic and requires minimal extra technicalities to interpret. It already caters for everything in the original arrangement: 3 centre backs with 2 defensive midfielders in front of them: 1 attacking midfielder behind 2 strikers with 2 wingbacks on either side providing width and crosses. Little wonder Rohr trusted this formation when all else fails.
@deo
You don’t understand what pompei was talking. A 343 formation can become 352 without changing of players.
For instance, Ihenacho and Lookman that are wingers in a 343 formation can change the formation to become 352. If Ihenacho move from right wing to a no 10 and Lookman moving from the left winger to support osimhen upfront.
This can happen without any making substitution
Exactly.
Aribo dey give me anxiety ooo.
He’s a good player, for sure. But he has struggled against African opponents. He seems to prefer playing non Africans.
I hope he performs well at the Afcon if selected.
As for Onyedika, he impressed me when he played. He’s a good option to have in the squad. I do wish we had one more midfielder.
Sorry, this reply was for Mercy.
Talking about a formation the players are used to, the 4-2-3-1 is a formation that served us well going back to the Rohr era.
Goalie
Aina, Ajayi, Bassey, Zaidu
Onyeka, Yusuf
Iheanacho, Iwobi, Lookman
Osimhen
I would play 2 DMs, since we have just 2 CBs, and push Iwobi up into the AM role.
This is a system that offers good balance.
Good team list. However, since Ndidi is not going be Afcon. I might have to go for either omeruo or Ekong instead Ajayi. Just only because of experience. I am not convinced in Bassey/ Ajayi combination. Then Aribo to replace Yusuf and Onyedika for Frank. I think onyedika might be our revelation for this year Afcon
But when we went into the world cup 4-2-3-1 failed us woefully against Croatia leading Rohr to revert to 5-2-1-2.
I will just admonish Peseiro to stick with his 4-2-4 which transforms into 4-4-2 at various points in-game.
We will concede goals but we will create copious opportunities as well.
You have:
Uzoho
Osayi-Samuel – Ajayi – Bassey – Sanusi
Aribo – Iwobi
Chukwueze – Osihmen – Umar – Simon
Chukwueze has the thankless task of dropping in midfield to prove an outlet for passing routines.
Crosses will need to be whipped into dangerous areas. Give and take passing routines between the 4 forwards need to now be honed sharp enough to open up and decimate defenses.
Another formation I like is Eguavoen’s 4-1-4-1. It’s unfortunate that ill-luck rubbed us of the opportunity to see the manifestion of this formation. It is such a Nigeria-friendly formation is so unreal.
Imagine:
Uzoho
Osayi-Samuel – Ajayi – Bassey – Onyemaechi
Onyeka
Chukwueze – Iwobi – Aribo – Lookman
Osihmen
Again another formulaic arrangement that caters for every position. We can dominate the midfield and look for the slightest opportunity to release Osihmen with long balls from defence, defensive midfield and the wings. This formation caused Ghana problems in the second half in Kumasi and the first half in Abuja where Osihmen scored but was ruled offside.
4-1-4-1 might not work for this squad of players.
For it to work, you need a vey solid DM protecting your back four.
Guediora excelled in this role for Algeria in their successful 2019 campaign.
If we had an Oliseh, Onazi or Ndidi of before before, we probably could pull this off. But looking at the five midfielders we have in the Afcon squad, I don’t see any that has the maturity or experience to play this role. Onyedika is one for the future in this regard.
An Iwobi-Aribo double pivot in a 4-2-4 formation will fall just short of disastrous.
Aribo’s low energy style will mean Iwobi will be overworked, and our back four will be frequently exposed.
Aribo would do well as a 3rd midfielder, but if he’s to start in a 2 man midfield, he needs a really strong DM alongside him. Looking at the options we have, an Onyedika or Onyeka would pair better with Aribo instead of Iwobi, who is not a natural DM.
If I might add, I think we can safely say that Iwobi is almost indispensable in this squad. Undroppable is another word. So it would take a very brave coach to leave out Iwobi for an Aribo and another DM combo. All due respect to Aribo who’s a really good player. It’s just that Iwobi has a particular skill set that is critical to the well being of this present squad.
So, if a double pivot is to be deployed in a 4-2-4 formation, it would likely be Iwobi and one of Onyedika, Onyeka and Yusuf.
In a 3 man midfield, Aribo of course would be a very viable option.
@pompei
What totally sold me to buy into your view was when you mentioned Ihenacho. This is a guy that can occupy those little pockets of space in the midfield/ final third and pick out a pass.
One of the most delicate left footed player Nigeria has ever had.
Mercy, in addition to what you said, he’s also good with freekicks, and frankly, he’s the best finisher we have at the moment. I hope he’s match fit by the time the tournament starts.
Deo, you don’t have to apologize for disagreeing with me!
Now back to the discussion. Let’s look at an example.
I’ll use Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen for illustration purposes.
Alonso switches from 1 CF and 2 wingers in a 3-4-2-1 formation, to 2 forwards and an AM in a 3-4-1-2 formation.
Note that 3-4-2-1 and 3-4-1-2 are variations of 3-4-3.
Also note that 3-4-1-2 is a variation of 3-5-2.
Talking about why 4-2-3-1 failed us against Croatia, a big reason is the 2 guys that ran the show in the midfield that day. Modric and Rakitic. Croatia progressed to the world cup final, so it was not only Nigeria that struggled with the sheer brilliance of the Croatia midfield. Against more mundane opposition, 4-2-3-1 will likely be a balanced formation to deploy.
If we are going to concede goals playing the outdated 4-2-4 formation, it stands to reason that we should try to prevent that, doesn’t it? I think we can have a more solid defense and still retain our attacking verve with the 3-4-3 or the 3-5-2 formation. If we must play 4 at the back, then for me, 4-2-3-1 is the safer, more balance option. Our midfield is less likely to be overrun in a 4-2-3-1 formation, which is what would likely happen, and has indeed been happening, when we deploy a 4-2-4 or 4-4-2 formation.
An onyeka last played as a DM for Brentford two seasons ago. He always look like a liability whenever he played as a DM for SE. Again, I decided to go for Aribo as the third man in the midfield because of his ball retention. The guy rarely lose the ball and if we want to dominate any team. We need players that can keep the ball.
Hahaha Mercy, I see you’re a big fan of Aribo.
Indeed, he is a good player. Holds the ball well and has that languid style. Intelligent and technically gifted.
Because of his languid style, he needs to get stronger physically, so his African opponents don’t keep taking his lunch. If he can toughen up a bit, he will be much more at home with African football.