Nigeria coach José Peseiro spoke about his trip to Qatar to watch the World Cup final and provide briefing for the Super Eagles.
- Nigeria failed to qualify after losing to Ghana
- Peseiro is in Qatar watching matches
- He thinks that Morocco is the surprise package
WHAT HAPPENED? Even though the Super Eagles have been left out of world competition, Peseiro, 62, is in the Gulf nation.
Peseiro arrived in Qatar on December 2 and has already seen Portugal vs. Croatia and Cameroon vs. Brazil.
WHAT HE SAID? “I have been to the last five World Cups watching the matches live so far. I am in Qatar with the support of the Nigerian Football Federation,” Peseiro told NFF TV as quoted by Punch.
“I think it is important to assess the evolutionary trends of the national teams in this competition. It is a bigger competition for national teams. I can’t compare the organization of the national teams, some teams have more time to prepare than other teams.
“But if you talk about the quality of the players, games. As the coach of a national team, the Super Eagles, I can say that there are many qualities. Any team can gather the best players”.
WHAT IS MORE? Peseiro, who took charge of the Super Eagles in May, has further claimed that the Atlas Lions are the best African team in the tournament.
“Cameroon played a fantastic game against Serbia and beat Brazil, Ghana also beat South Korea. Senegal had a great performance in the group stage, but the big surprise in this year’s World Cup is Morocco,” he said.
“It is a well-organized team and they conceded fewer goals. Only three teams in Africa have reached the World Cup quarterfinals; Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon and Morocco make up the fourth team.
“They showed qualities and they are the best African team in Qatar.”
THE LARGEST PHOTOGRAPH: Nigeria missed out on the ticket to represent Africa in Qatar after losing to Ghana in a two-legged tie-breaker on the away goals rule. The teams drew 0-0 in the first leg in Kumasi but the second leg in Abuja ended 1-1.
WHAT NEXT FOR NIGERIA AND MOROCCO? The Super Eagles will face Guinea-Bissau in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in March.
Nigeria tops their group after winning their first two games: 2-1 against Sierra Leone and 10-0 against Sao Tome and Principe.
For its part, Morocco will face Portugal, Peseiro’s native country, in the round of 16 of the World Cup at the Al Thumama Stadium on Saturday.
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