Francis Uzoho is unhappy with the decision of the coach Jose Peseiro to hand the number one spot to Stanley Nwabali in the Super Eagles first game at the Africa Cup of Nations, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Uzoho was for the first time since the appointment of Peseiro made to sit on the bench when he is available for selection. Nwabali was handed a chance and the Chippa United shot stopper didn’t do badly although he wasn’t tested.

A source in the camp of the team said Uzoho was stunned when he found out that he won’t be in goal for the game against Equatorial Guinea, which ended in a 1-1 draw. He voiced out his unhappiness that he wasn’t informed privately before the decision was made public.

” It’s normal for Uzoho to react negatively to getting dropped because he has been the first choice since the coming of the coach. It came as an unpleasant surprise to him and most of the players. He was unhappy as well that he wasn’t taken into confidence before the decision was made”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” To be fair, Uzoho has done really well in training and also in his conduct in the camp. Although there was an issue with a player that I won’t mention but it was largely not his fault and even at that he kept his calm all through”, he stated.

Peseiro is expected to stick with Nwabali for the game against the host on Thursday after coming through his AFCON debut unscathed. A decision is however not made according to what we heard.

” Maybe Nwabali will continue in goal but you never can say because we are up against the host. So Uzoho’s experience might be needed in games like this. It’s up to the coach to decide”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Nigeria will be aiming to bounce back from a disappointing start to the Africa Cup of Nations when they take on the host country Cote d’Ivoire in their second game of the tournament, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Super Eagles forced Equatorial Guinea to a 1-1 draw in their opening game of the tournament and will need a win in the game against the host, who were 2-0 winners over Guinea-Bissau in their first game of the tournament.

The host currently tops the group but will be looking to seal progress to the round of 16 with a win against the Super Eagles, but they have been warned by a player of the Nigerian team on what they will likely face on Thursday.

Speaking after the stalemate against Equatorial Guinea, Bright Osayi-Samuel who was a late substitute in the game for Ola Aina said they will bring a reaction against the host, as they traditionally do well against big teams.

“We have a game in the next four days and I believe in everyone in this team and I think next game will be a reaction. I believe that with the squad that we have the game against Ivory Coast, we will do our best, when we play against those big teams that’s when we do better, we know what it takes and everyone is confident,” he said.

Ade Emmanuel

The senior national team of Nigeria will be looking to get back to winning ways when they take on host of the Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire in their second game of the tournament, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria started their campaign on a not too impressive note by coming from behind to draw 1-1 against Equatorial Guinea in their first game. Cote d’Ivoire started on a sound note by beating Guinea-Bissau 2-0.

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro isn’t taking the game lightly and plans on the perfect system to prosecute the game has started in earnest, following a video session where they reviewed how the team played in their opening game.

Peseiro expressed his satisfaction with the way they played in the 1-1 draw, particularly with the number of chances they created which is for now the highest ever by any team in the tournament so far.

He however made corrections to the errors and some poor decisions he noticed during the course of the game. Which could mean lining up in the same way when they play the host on Thursday.

That said, a member of the crew told OwnGoalNigeria.com that the only likely change will be reverting to a back three with the trio of William Troost-Ekong, Semi Ajayi and Calvin Bassey expected to be at the back.

The idea is to keep the host at bay considering the fact that they will be pumped up for action with the crowd cheering them on. So containing them is the first step they have discussed so far.

Osas Mahawi

A winner of the Africa Cup of Nations with the senior national team of Nigeria Efe Ambrose says the performance of the Super Eagles against Equatorial Guinea was their best display since the appointment of Jose Peseiro, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria had to come from behind to draw 1-1 in their first game of the Africa Cup of Nations. A result which was meant with disappointment back home with many unhappy that they failed to get a win.

That sentiments isn’t shared by Efe Ambrose, who said he has seen a few of the games they have played under Peseiro and the performance against Equatorial Guinea stands out for him.

” They did play badly? No I don’t think so because chances creation is key in games like this and they had a lot of them. It was unfortunate that they fell behind but look at it that if one of the seven clear cut chances had gone their way, they would have conveniently picked up all three points”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” You don’t bother much when your team create chances, it is when they are not creating that you should be worried. On another day Osimhen would have grabbed a hattrick like he did in the games against Sao Tome and Principe, it wasn’t just his day and if at all blaming is allowed then he should take the stick, but this is football where you win as a team and you lose as team” , he concluded.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The scorer of Nigeria’s lone goal in the 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea at the Africa Cup of Nations Victor Osimhen sat out the training of the team ahead of their game on Thursday against Ivory Coast, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Preparations for the game against the host who are group leaders started in earnest with Jose Peseiro keen on his team making up for the wastefulness that led to the 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea yesterday.

22 players took part in the training session with players who played above 60 minutes and above given less tasks unlike those who played around ten to fifteen minutes. The trio of Osimhen, Alhassan Yusuf and Terem Moffi who arrived earlier today weren’t part of the session.

Osimhen we were made to understand was rested to avoid any risk of injury, while Yusuf who was subbed off due to cramps, is being protected from aggravating his muscles owing to his importance to the team after his display yesterday.

Moffi was given a rest after his long trip down. All three players are expected to be involved in full training tomorrow when they will have a full tactical session.

Paul Onuachu and Kelechi Iheanacho trained fully with the team for the first time following their late arrival before the first game. They are both in contention for Thursday’s game.

Ade Emmanuel

The fitness issue that led to the departure of Real Sociedad forward Sadiq Umar from the camp of the senior national team of Nigeria for the Africa Cup of Nations has been thrown into doubt by the LaLiga side, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Sadiq left the camp of the senior national team of Nigeria with what was diagnosed as a thigh injury that will keep him out for three weeks, effectively ruling him out of the tournament and leading to his replacement by Paul Onuachu.

He however didn’t leave the camp of the team until Saturday night and in just a little over 24 hours, the club posted a video of the lanky forward in full training running and doing short sprints, which isn’t possible for a player suffering from a thigh injury.

The video has now raised doubts over the authenticity of the diagnosis of the medical team of the Nigerian team particularly with further reports saying he could be available for selection this weekend when they take on Celta Vigo on Saturday.

It will be recalled that Sadiq told OwnGoalNigeria.com that he only suffered a knock and will be back in training the next day, but upon his arrival he was stopped from joining the team by Jose Peseiro and later asked to leave the camp on the advice of the doctor who said he will be out for three weeks.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has singled out Antwerp midfielder Alhassan Yusuf as the one player who stood out for the Super Eagles in their 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.

Nigeria had to come from behind to rescue a point against the hard fighting Equatorial Guinea team with Victor Osimhen making the most of an inch perfect cross from Ademola Lookman to draw Nigeria level, a minute after they went behind.

Frustrated by the fact that his team couldn’t make the best out of the numerous chances they created, Peseiro was asked about the injury suffered by debutant Alhassan Yusuf, who caught the eyes with an energetic display. He used the opportunity to sing the praises of the 23 year old.

“Alhassan [Yusuf] had a very good match, he showed that he deserves to play for the Super Eagles, I hope he will be fit for the next match because you want your best player available and he was for us today”, he said at the post match conference.

Meanwhile in an interview, Yusuf confirmed that he only suffered from cramps and expect to be back in the team for the game on Thursday against the host Ivory Coast. ” Nothing serious. I had cramps and I will be fine for Thursday”, he said.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Las Palmas defender Saúl Basilio Coco-Bassey Oubiña, better known as Saúl Coco says his team were lucky to have secured a 1-1 draw against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in their opening game at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.

Yesterday, Equatorial Guinea held their own against the star studded Nigerian and even took the lead through Iván Salvador in the 36th minute, but it only lasted for a little over a minute with Victor Osimhen drawing Nigeria level from the restart.

Nigeria had chances to put the game to bed but failed to make any count with goalkeeper Jesús Owono ensuring that the Nigerians were kept at bay with some string of saves, but the major miss of the day was when Osimhen failed to make the best of a one on one situation to grab a brace and likely a win for Nigeria.

The Super Eagles will next take on Ivory Coast on Thursday and Coco sounded a warning to the host on the threat the Nigerians carry in attack, where he said they suffered to cope with the intensity and constant pressure.

His statement is a timely warning to the backline of Ivory Coast ahead of the game against Nigeria, more like despite the fact that Nigeria only converted one of the seven shots they had on target, they shouldn’t be taken for granted.

“Our game plan was to get a goal and see out the win but we suffered to get a point. It wasn’t an easy point as we had to deal with Nigeria constantly attacking with pace and directness. The weather was harsh and although they had the better chances, we are proud of the way we defended as against them”, he said at the mix zone.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro fired back at the president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) after he tongue lashed the players in the dressing room following their 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea yesterday, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The president of the NFF Ibrahim Musa Gusau went in hard on the players after the game, and told them so many unprintable things in the heat of his anger in the presence of some top officials of the Nigerian government.

He went as far as questioning the commitment of the players when they play for the national team of Nigeria, threatening to have them dropped from the team if they don’t step up their performance.

His tirade didn’t go down well with not just the players but also the coach who stood up in defence of his players. He said the team and the technical crew had a good game plan but were unlucky not to score from the chances created.

In the defence of his selection and tactics he said he won’t go on the pitch and score. Apparently referring to the chances missed by team’s top striker Victor Osimhen, who was guilty of missing four big chances in the game.

Top of which was a through ball that had the goalkeeper at his mercy but he somehow failed to make it a brace and likely a win for Nigeria with his effort sailing wide.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The senior national team of Nigeria started their campaign at the Africa Cup of Nations by playing a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea with Victor Osimhen rescuing them from a potential defeat.

OwnGoalNigeria.com rates the players on show for Nigeria in the game.

Stanley Nwabali – Didn’t have anything meaningful to do in the first half but showed remarkable composure and controlled his area properly when needed. Could do nothing about the goal he conceded…….6/10

Ola Aina – Very adventurous. He didn’t show enough discipline in defence leaving Ekong with a lot of work to do. Forced the goalkeeper of Equatorial Guinea into a good save in the second half….. 6/10

Zaidu Sanusi – Strong in duels and link up play at both ends. Unlucky not to get on the score sheet with a late bounce taking a cross across goal away from him. In the second half he missed a chance that he could easily have converted to put Super Eagles 2-1 up…… 5/10

William Troost-Ekong – Defended strongly and showed a desire to get stuck in when needed….. 5/10

Semi Ajayi – Had a lot to do in the first half with Nigeria playing with a high line. Always there when needed although didn’t quite inspire confidence however it didn’t prove costly…. 5/10

Frank Onyeka – Went missing in the first half partly why there was so much pressure on Iwobi and Yusuf in the first half. A surprise that he lasted the entire duration his only meaningful contribution was the flick on to Lookman to set up Osimhen for the equaliser….. 5/10

Alex Iwobi – Was at fault for the goal conceded by Nigeria. A major dent on what was an eventful first half for him. Went missing in the second 45 minutes…… 5/10

Alhassan Yusuf – Had a debut to remember as he was the best player for Nigeria for the period that he was on the pitch. Didn’t look out of place and the technical crew will be sweating over the injury that led to his substitution ahead of the game against Ivory Coast….. 7/10

Moses Simon – Lively in the first half but found the second half very difficult to navigate through despite moving to his favorite left side. Got subbed off as Nigeria chased a win….. 5.5/10

Ademola Lookman – He came alive with a man of the match performance in a big game for the senior national team of Nigeria. Quite unlucky not to get on the score sheet. His peach of a cross set up Osimhen for the leveller….. 7.5/10

Victor Osimhen – Drew Nigeria level with a powerful header. However can be faulted for the stalemate on the part of Nigeria. Missed four big chances including a clear one on one chance in the second half. Unforgivable miss that was ….. 6/10.

Substitutes:

Samuel Chukwueze – Thrice wasted good chances to make something happen for Nigeria in the closing stages of the game….. 4/10.

No any other substitute did enough to warrant a rating.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman