Super Eagles of Nigeria head coach, Jose Peseiro, said his team are “keeping the goals for the next game” in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) knockout stages, after a narrow 1-0 victory against Guinea-Bissau in their final Group A match in Cote d’Ivoire.
Nigeria booked its passage into the last 16 after defeating Guinea-Bissau 1-0 on Monday, courtesy to a first-half own goal from Guinea-Bissau defender Opa Sangante. The victory was enough to earn Nigeria a second placed finish in Group A.
Peseiro told newsmen during a post-match conference he was happy with the victory, while congratulating Equatorial Guinea for topping the table. He said his team wasted many scoring chances but claimed that they were keeping the goals for the next stage of the competition.
“I want to congratulate Equatorial Guinea for leading the group with seven points after scoring many goals. I also congratulate my team for making it to the next round,” Peseiro said. “Today’s match was a tough one; we created four opportunities but we couldn’t convert them.”
“But I’m still happy we progressed to the next stage. I believe we kept our goals for the next round; we will definitely work on our finishing ahead of our next match. For the next match, if you score goals you proceed to the next round.”
The coach explained that he was not afraid, or even care, about Nigeria’s next opponent in the round of 16 as he was focused on every game.
The three-time AFCON champions dominated the game, but poor finishing ensured it was a tense encounter at the end, with Osimhen missing several chances to secure the three points earlier in the contest.
Nigeria must be more clinical if they are to go far in the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations to claim a fourth continental title.
The Super Eagles will next face the runners-up of Group C, either Guinea or Senegal, in the Round of 16 at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, on Saturday.
