Coach Jose Peseiro reassured that Nigeria’s lacklustre beginning in the Africa Cup of Nations finals, marked by a 1-1 draw against minnows Equatorial Guinea in their initial Group A encounter, should not be a cause for worry.
“I’m talking about the result but not the capacity of our performance,” he said as his team failed to overcome a country whose population of 1.6 million is dwarfed by Nigeria’s 214 million people.
The modest central African nation proved to be a surprise contender in the previous tournament two years ago, and once again, they exceeded expectations. They took an unexpected lead when Iban Salvador scored in the 36th minute, against the flow of the game.
However, their advantage was short-lived, lasting only two minutes before Victor Osimhen, the Napoli forward, equalised with a header for Nigeria.
“We played a good game; we created many chances and clear opportunities, especially in the second half, and I think we deserved to win,” Peseiro told a press conference.
“If we keep up this dominance, we will do well. Of course I’m not happy we drew but if the other side deserved their point, then I’d be concerned.”
The draw was the third in competitive internationals for the Super Eagles after two disappointing results in their opening two World Cup qualifiers in November. They were held at home by Lesotho and then drew away against Zimbabwe.
“Obviously we need to improve finishing but it is not as if the players meant to miss their chances,” the Nigeria coach added.
He also said the hot and humid conditions had taken a toll and the pressure from disgruntled home fans did not help. “It is not easy to wear the Super Eagles shirt,” Peseiro said.
Next up for Nigeria is potential crunch game against hosts Ivory Coast on Thursday, where there would be a hostile atmosphere to deal with.
“But I think my players prefer to play in front of 60,000 rather than the 8,000 we had today.”
In 19 previous Cup of Nations finals appearances, Nigeria have only twice failed to advance past the first round but could face early elimination if they lose to the Ivorians.