Buoyed in spirit by the win over host nation Egypt on Wednesday that shipped their campaign back on track, the Flying Eagles played with commendable self-assurance and dominated large swathes of a game played under floodlights at an impressive facility in north-eastern Egypt.
Browsing: José Santos Peseiro
The Portuguese tactician admitted he was very impressed with the performance of the players, and charged them to keep improving their game as preparations for the Africa U17 Cup of Nations in Algeria hot up. He also admonished players that would eventually be dropped not to be dejected as that would not be the end of their football career.
“I must say I have been impressed by a number of players in this team. They are headed for great things if they keep level heads and remain disciplined,” Peseiro said as he welcomed NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi towards the tail end of the second encounter.
The warm-up game was another tune-up session to the game against Junior Chipolopolo of Zambia on Saturday at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, as part of the general preparations for the Africa U20 Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt next month.
At a brief but colorful ceremony in Abuja, where the NFF formally presented Peseiro to the Government of Nigeria through the Sports Ministry, Dare told the gaffer in no uncertain terms that Nigerians want their National Teams to win every game, even though this is an impossibility in sport. “Whenever the team does not win, it must be clearly seen to have demonstrated high-level commitment, fervor, consistency, and discipline on and off the pitch.
The AFCON qualifying matches are against Sierra Leone and São Tomé and Príncipe, with the list out on Friday.
The newly-unveiled coach spoke after the team’s first training amid absence by key players for the A-List friendlies.