Super Eagles head coach, Jose Peseiro insists he has capable replacements for Victor Osimhen and Kelechi Iheanacho ahead of his side’s friendly against the Mambas of Mozambique.
Osimhen and Iheanacho are not available for selection after featuring in last Friday’s 2-2 draw against Saudi Arabia.
Napoli striker Osimhen sustained an injury in the game and has returned to Italy for medical attention.
Iheanacho, who scored Nigeria’s second goal against the Green Falcons has left camp to attend to personal matters.
Peseiro is optimistic ahead of the encounter, insisting he has a clutch of forwards to replace the duo.
“We will miss Kelechi and Victor, but we have other good players who can make Nigeria proud. I look at the bench and see players who can step up and take their chances,” Peseiro told thenff.com.
Monday’s meeting will be the fifth-ever clash between both Nigeria and Mozambique at senior level.
The encounter will hold at the Estadio Municipal de Albufeira. It will start at 4pm Nigeria time.
9 Comments
Okay o
Leave story.
Na you sabi Paserio
It remains to be seen what you are coaching or managing with – if in fact you are doing any actual coaching.
I actually “supported” you staying in job not only because I thought you might come good but predominantly for consistency and continuation but at this rate, If you continue to sabotage Nigeria by playing the likes of Lookman, Chukwueze and Uzoho, then, You definitely do not deserve to remain as you are a big failure or an agent planted to destroy the SE from within because anyone with half a brain will know that these 3 along with one or two others have ZERO business in the SE and the team will never be success with these useless so called footballers and that monumental basket “Apere” –
So shine your eyes mr Pasierio and look sharp because we are watching your stupidity!
Ire O!
God bless Nigeria!
BIA, Complete Sports, Ah ah! I thought they said you fixed this thing?? Are you people not ashamed?? I am sure you are all drawing wages ke? Chaii! A whole National Football site where thousands congregate and you cannot fix a small issue like this???
No wonder ghana and south africa and other small nations even kenya etc have no respect for Nigeria again! It is because of shameful individuals like you people!
Thanks coach, what do you intend to do about the coaching situation?
_Uzoho and Okoye: Hounded Goalkeepers_
Although it might seem that we are scraping the barrel of goalkeepers available for Nigeria in the wake of yet another high profile mishap from beleaguered Uzoho, I think we are missing a wider systemic problem.
You see, in the last 18 months, Goalkeepers Francis Uzoho and Maduka Okoye have been excessively peppered with bitter criticisms from fans due to performances that contributed to painful losses. From the Afcon semi-final loss to Tunisia to the World Cup qualifier failure to Ghana and unacceptable friendly outcomes against Algeria and Saudi Arabia , these net-minders have received the lion share of blame.
Even though I concur that Okoye and Uzoho could have done better on those occasions, the problem, I believe lies beyond these two lads.
For instance, what in the 4-4-2 formation makes it susceptible to such damaging long range strikes that these goalkeepers find so difficult to deal with?
Also, why do the Super Eagles concede needless free kicks in dangerous areas towards the dying embers?
Plus, why aren’t these goalkeepers given adequate training to anticipate and deal with these long range strikes within the framework of the 4-4-2 formation they have been planted in?
From Ekong to Balogun, Omeruo, Bassey, Akpoguma and Awaziem, it is open secret that the majority of our center backs are error prone. But few fans subject these defenders to 1/10 of the abuse directed at Okoye, Uzoho and Daniel Akpeyi before them.
So, when you consider the totality of a confluence of factors, it is reasonable to assume that any man brave enough to lace the goalkeeping gloves for the Super Eagles is almost certainly being set up for ridicule, ruin and regrets.
And someone who knows about ridicule all too well is former number one Daniel Akpeyi.
He endured years of abuse and insults throughout his Super Eagles career for negligible shortcomings.
After the 2019 Afcon semi-final loss to Algeria in which, suprise-suprise! he was again scapegoated, Akpeyi said: “I take the blame for everything because it is what it is. As a goalkeeper, they won’t look at what you have done before. I remember they had a couple of chances in the first half that I made one-on-one saves. But those ones won’t count in people’s eyes because no matter how much a goalkeeper saves, it is the one mistake he makes that people remember.”
In the last 2 years, Okoye and Uzoho have produced some fine saves for Nigeria but, like Akpeyi said, no one remembers those. It is the negative events that stays in the mind like a disease.
To be clear, I have always advocated looking beyond Okoye and Uzoho to mind the post for Nigeria because I want to believe there should be more highly skilled and technically grounded goalkeepers available to Nigeria. But the level and nature of vitriol and abuse directed at Uzoho and Okoye are unprecedented, unfair and unacceptable.
If the scouts find better goalkeepers, fine, if not, I will stick with and support the ones we currently have. I intend to criticize them if their performance calls for it but it will be in moderation.
We have to know where to draw the line!
@deo, the truth is that it comes with the territory. When these players do well, the sames fans are singing their praises using all sort of superlatives. I do not see anyone criticising any fan for too much adulation. I like Uzoho, at one time I felt he was our best keeper but since he sustained that injury to his knee , he hasn’t been the same. He used to be the number one goal keeper but has now been relegated permanently to the bench at his club. Some of our problem might also be that we do not have good goal keeper trainers any more ( This is an area most people are overlooking).
The criticism I have seen on this forum is not over the top. I haven’t seen any one threaten his family or rain abuses to his family or lineage. You might see somethings like “basket”, “worst goal keeper” etc but nothing outside the criticism footballer players get feom their fans. IF THERE any outside the norm , you can bring it to fore but we should not pamper these players. They should feel the weight of putting on the famous green and white Jersey.Only those who fully grasp magnitude of playing should be allowed into the team in my opion. Are you saying these players don’t receive criticism from their club fans and possibly from the press when they make such cataclysmic mistakes? Uzoho’s mentality should be to prove all his doubters wrong and that has to be by putting in the yards and he hard work.
When I look at the gk training , it is not inspiring. The do this boring drills that do not help the goal keeping situation. There is no invention to their approach. The gk trainer simply kicks a ball to the keeper so that he catches it and that is it. More pressure needs to come to the goal keeping trainer.
Thanks Golden Child. I don’t see anything particularly wrong in constructively criticising players within reason. But my point is that I think the system is failing Okoye and Uzoho. How do you explain that the same sort of weakness is the achilles heel of both goalkeepers: long range shots?
What is being done to protect them within the framework of a flat 4-4-2 formation that either doesn’t have any or enough defensive midfield apparatus ?
Why aren’t the coaches brave enough to at least try another goalkeeper? When Eguavoen made wholesale changes against Ghana in Abuja,why wasn’t he brave enough to try John Noble?
Why do the Super Eagles keep losing concentration at key times?
I think Okoye and Uzoho are just allowed to the the rap for a wider systemic problem.
Five Players Who Need To Shape Up or Be Shipped Out
Whilst one is appreciative of the efforts of all the Super Eagles players, some of them have to really stand up and be counted.
With Nigeria’s first game in the Afcon less than 3 months time, I don’t think we can afford to take any passengers along to the tournament. All selected players have to be on top of their game.
For me, the following 5 players have to bring their A game to the fore in games leading up to the Afcon.
1) Tyrone Ebuehi: he has lost the gloss and shine that once defined his first touch, ball control, pace and delivery. He still gets in promising areas only to pull the rug of expectations from under the feet of fans with subpar outputs. The flame of affection fans used to have for him is dying. Ebuehi needs to improve.
2) Ademola Lookman: he seems confused in Super Eagles colours. Watching him play seems almost like looking at someone who is wearing an oversized suit as the winger responsibility seems to heavy for him to shoulder. Lookman barely executes delicious pullouts; his incursions into dangerous areas lack conviction; he comes across like a lightweight winger ; and his take-ons aren’t always successful; and he lacks a commanding presence on the wings. Lookman needs to overhaul his game.
3) Francis Uzoho: now that opponents know his achilles heel when it comes to weaknesses in dealing with long range bullets, opponents will seek to exploit this in coming games. Against Ghana, Algeria and Saudi Arabia, failure in this one aspect stuck out like a sore thumb. Either the goalkeeper trainers help him speedily to resolve this and other minor issue or they look for a replacement skilled enough to deal with this long balls as part of an overall package of quality goalkeeping skills.
4) Samuel Chukwueze: I think he just needs to calm down. For such an experienced winger, Chukwueze still plays with so much exuberance. If you look closely, Chukwueze works very hard to cover a lot of grounds. He darts into wonderful positions only to produce some truly awful and nauseating crosses or shots. If he rediscovers his composure, anything is possible.
5) Sadiq Umar: yes he recently returned from long term injury but he needs to pick up the pace quickly or he might miss out on an Afcon place. With his height and propensities to blindside defenders, Umar might yet be an asset to the Super Eagles. But he’s still rusty and his timing, positioning and footwork are still way off. Umar must recapture his killer instinct soon.
TOSIN SHOULD PLAY IN MF ALONG WITH IWOBI AND NDIDI. ATTACK SHOULD BE TEREM, BONIFACE AND SIMON. DEFENCE SHOULD BE BASSEY, TORUNARIGHA, AJAYI, SAMUEL. GOALIE, WELL I CANT SAY FOR NOW.