SUPER EAGLES of Nigeria head coach Jose Peseiro has said that he will not be motivated by the need for revenge when his side face Guinea-Bissau this evening in their final AFCON 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Group A fixture at the Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abijdan, Cote d’Ivoire.
Guinea-Bissau stunned the Super Eagles 1-0 in Abuja in one of the qualifying matches for this tournament, a result which had led to calls for Peseiro to be sacked by the Nigeria Football Federation.
The Super Eagles did bounce back from that defeat to qualify with relative ease, and are on the verge of advancing to the round of 16 in Cote d’Ivoire after drawing with Equatorial Guinea and beating the hosts in their first two matches.
“We have to forget that we defeated the host nation. There is a lot more work to be done. We want to be here for the long haul,” Peseiro told thenff.com in Abijdan.
Peseiro won his first two competitive games with the Super Eagles – a 2-1 victory over Sierra Leone in Abuja and a record-breaking international win of 10-0 against Sao Tome and Principe in Agadir, Morocco in June 2022.
However, Guinea-Bissau dented his record with that 1-0 defeat in Abuja last March.
Nigeria repaid the compliment a few days later in Bissau, and Peseiro is looking at the bigger picture against ‘dangerous’ opponents who have nothing to play for having already been eliminated.
“We are not thinking about revenge but we are here to top the group and they are in our sights,” the Portuguese coach added.
“We must do what has to be done. Guinea Bissau have no point and will play with freedom, and that is when a team becomes dangerous.”
The clash is scheduled to begin at 6pm Nigerian time, with a draw enough to seal a round of 16 spot for the Super Eagles.
