The Super Eagles will be looking to bounce back and get their qualifying campaign on track as they take on Guinea Bissau in the second leg of the AFCON 2023 qualifier on Monday evening.
Eyebrows continue to be raised around Jose Paseiro’s ability to lead Nigeria to success as the Coach has struggled to make his mark since taking over the reins of Super Eagles in May 2022.
The Portuguese manager was in fact a surprise appointment for the Super Eagles job after his underwhelming 18-month spell in charge of Venezuela, where he picked up just one win in 10 matches.
Despite calling up a host of world-class talents across all departments of the pitch, Nigeria were stunned in Abuja as they fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Guinea-Bissau on Friday.
With less than 40% of the ball possession, Baciro Cande’s side found a way against the run of play as Mama Balde powered home the only goal of the game one minute before the half-hour mark.
The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations winners have now lost each of their last four matches across all competitions, suffering defeats against Algeria, Costa Rica, Portugal and most-recently Guinea-Bissau.
Nigeria kicked off their quest for a place in Ivory Coast in June 2022, when they scrapped a 2-1 home win over Sierra Leone four days before running riot in a 10-0 dismantling of Sao Tome and Principe.
Friday’s defeat against the Djurtus was a new low for Nigeria and former Sporting Lisbon manager Paseiro, whose task remains to guide the Super Eagles to a third consecutive AFCON appearance.
Peseiro to name a similar starting side at the Estadio 24 de Setembro, meaning that the Premier League midfield duo of Alex Iwobi and Wilfried Ndidi should combine at the centre of the park once again.
With Kevin Akpoguma coming off with a 55th-minute injury, 29-year-old Semi Ajayi will push for a starting role, potentially forming the back four with Bright Osayi-Samuel, Calvin Bassey and Zaidu Sanusi.
