Paseiro Says Victory Depends On God’s Favour As Eagles Set For Crucial AFCON Tie With Elephants

Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro insists he will stick to his previous game plan as his side battle hosts Ivory Coast in their second Group A game of the 2023 AFCON on Thursday (today) at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan.

Today’s meeting will be the ninth between the Super Eagles and the Elephants at the AFCON, with both sides winning thrice respectively, while the other two encounters ended in stalemate.

Having failed to win their first game of the tournament against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, which ended 1-1, Peseiro’s men need a positive result against the Ivorians – who won their first game 2-0 against Guinea-Bissau – to restart their campaign.

Despite the urgency to turn things around with the game, Peseiro again was prophetic during the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

“We have what it takes to win the game and I won’t change my strategy because we create chances. Of course, we don’t have excuses but the point is that me and my staff have also seen the issues. From the last game, we deserve much more and we will create more opportunities. Like I said before, sometimes God takes, sometimes God gives, if it’s the right time, God will give us,” Peseiro told journalists at the presser.

Ivory Coast captain Max-Alain Gradel sounded a warning to the Eagles ahead of the game.

Gradel, who has 105 caps and was part of the squad that won the AFCON in Equatorial Guinea in 2015, warned that despite their respect for their West African neighbours, they would make their fans proud on match day.

Source: PUNCH