The first two matches of new Eagles Manager, Jose Peseiro, ended in defeats for Nigeria yet he remained resolute about his ambition, but on June 9, Eagles under his tutelage returned to winning ways with the 2-1 hard-fought victory over Sierra Leone in an AFCON qualifier.

The attacking play he promised was prevalent with the two strikers that started the match with four attacking midfielders. And against Sao Tome and Principe, Eagles recorded an emphatic 10-0 win which incidentally was a record. It was on November 28, 1959 that the senior national team last recorded a 10-1 win over Benin and that was erased on June 13 with Victor Osimhen on target four times. Even though the opposition was weak it was great to see Eagles flourishing in attacking play. We must state that the Eagles have met weak opposition in the past without making it count in terms of goals.

We commend the team for the big win. However, after the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officially announced Peseiro as the new manager of the Super Eagles, the Portuguese was clear about his ambition to win the Africa Cup of Nations for Nigeria. Of course, Nigeria has won the continental football trophy on three occasions, the new Eagles boss has given himself a target to win it again next year at the AFCON finals billed for Cote d’Ivoire. It was interesting that Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa, shared the ambition of Peseiro and he is also thinking of another title with the national team 10 years after winning under the tutelage of late coach Stephen Keshi.

It is, however, important we evaluate the quality of the entire Eagles team. The team looks average and the new handler will have to blend them into a solid bunch with understanding and cohesion to compete with other top teams on the continent and beyond. In the goalkeeping department, it has been proven in recent times that the Eagles are weak. The goal conceded by Maduka Okoye against Tunisia in the second round of the AFCON earlier this year was cheeky while the only goal conceded by Francis Uzoho against Ghana in Abuja was also weak considering it was from a long range.

The entire defence line is average and this was again clear on Thursday against the Leone Stars. We make bold to say it is only when Wilfred Ndidi plays that the midfield will have a bit of organization while the creativity will still be lacking. There is no good passer of the ball who can set the strikers up to get goals. This was clearly evident in the home and away tie against Ghana, which cost us a World Cup ticket. In the attack, Victor Osimhen is the arrow head but the playing pattern is not good enough to help him or help ‘out of favour’ Paul Onuachu to easily get goals. And so the ability of Eagles to continue to be among the best on the continent is suspect until Peseiro works on the playing pattern and injects better techniques to make the team stronger.

Sadly, almost every team is now a threat but we expect the 10-0 win recorded against Sao Tome to boost the overall confidence of the team. There is so much to do beyond aspiring to win the AFCON 2023 title which the Eagles are yet to qualify for. This is the truth. We believe the ambition and confidence of Peseiro is good but looking at the ability of the players in all departments, the team is not showing promise to make the manager achieve his desire. It was great to record a win in the opening AFCON qualifying tie but no doubt the team is yet to adapt to the Peseiro style as the players struggled such that but for luck, Sierra Leone could have levelled the score in Abuja.

Creativity and efficiency is needed in the middle while the team must have good options to convert set pieces. The new technical crew should capitalise on the good result against Sao Tome to stabilise the team and gradually make it solid again. When the NFF officially presented Peseiro to the Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare, in Abuja, the coach expressed his confidence that the current Eagles players are good enough to rule the continent. Interestingly he is yet to have a good knowledge of how competitive the game is on the continent with tough teams like Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Cameroon, Morocco and Ghana also on the cards as favourites to win the trophy almost at every event. The minister, however, charged the new handler to work towards giving Nigerians a solid and formidable team.

We must stress these are early times for the Portuguese handler and the recent win is not enough to conclude the team is now solid. We charge Peseiro to work on the weaknesses of the Eagles especially the defence if he is to achieve his ambition of winning the next AFCON for Nigeria.

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