The coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has opened up on three reasons why the team were defeated by Cote d’Ivoire 1-2 in the final game of the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Despite taking a first half lead through captain William Troost-Ekong, the Super Eagles failed to hand on to the lead with goals from Franck Kessie and Sebastian Haller ensuring that the Ivorians emerged as champions.
Looking back at the final in an interview with GoalFrance, Peseiro listed four things that worked against his team on that day leading to the defeat, which denied them a fourth AFCON trophy.
“There are two things. First there is the fact that Cote d’Ivoire reached the final of the competition having avoided the worst each time. They were almost eliminated three times. In the final, they were more liberated. They weren’t under as much pressure as at the start of the competition. Second thing, I think the energy there was that day in the stadium touched us”, he explained.
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”If I had to rate our performance, it was perhaps our worst game. In previous matches, we have always been in control and we have created a lot of opportunities. But in this match, even at 1-0 for us, we were feverish. The atmosphere penalized my players.
“We didn’t have the same abilities. There were too many lost balls. If I had to analyze, I would say that 2 or 3 of my players played at their true level. They wanted to do their best, but they couldn’t”, he further added.
On the reason behind the nervousness of some of the players during the course of the final game, he said it was due to inexperience as they couldn’t react positively to the atmosphere in the stadium which was in favor of the host.
“I’m sure if another final was played a week later, we would have won it. Because many players have never had the experience of a CAN final. 14 of our players have never played in a CAN final phase. While the Ivorians had experienced players. We tried to play down the event, trying to forget the pressure and the responsibilities that weighed on our shoulders, but it wasn’t enough”, he said.
”Yes, the final is about winning and we must seize this opportunity. But we still felt nervous, including in the semi-final against South Africa. Once again, the atmosphere made the environment not conducive to a great performance from us. And it’s also my responsibility, I should have made sure that they were more liberated. And I am still very happy with them and very proud. They did a great job. And no one can blame them. This new final will perhaps take place next year in Morocco”, he concluded.
