Cracks are beginning to appear in the camp of the senior national team of Nigeria over the behaviour of new coach Jose Peseiro to his Nigerian assistants, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Peseiro was appointed head coach of the Super Eagles and came with three of his assistants which includes an assistant coach (Asacio Santos) fitness coach (Maykel Moreira) and a video analyst (Hugo Victor) who also doubles as his son.

Prior to his appointment, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) appointed three Nigerian coaches (Finidi George, Salisu Yusuf, Usman Abdallah) to work with him as assistants including a goalkeeper trainer in Ike Shorunmu and a video analyst in Eboboritse Uwejamomere.

However so far there has been zero synergy between the Portuguese coach and his Nigerian assistants. He only speaks and work with the three coaches who came with him. A situation which has come as a surprise to some backroom staff.

We gathered it started prior to the 1-2 friendly loss to Mexico in his first game in charge as he worked only with his Portuguese assistants. Same was extended to the day of the match in particular during the half time break.

” It started from training and we all thought it was normal as he is yet to get to know us and the people he came with are already familiar with the drills. We watched the first two sessions as onlookers and pick balls like ball boys’,a member of the back room staff told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” On the day of the match, he sat close to his three assistants and constantly communicated with them in Portuguese. At half time he took three of them into one of the dressing rooms in the stadium leaving us with the players. After their meeting he came back and address the players with instructions to change formation for the second half. We were just looking”, he further said.

” Even his son whose job as a video analyst means he should be in the background get involved more than the rest Nigerian coaches. We recently had a gym session and it was his son and the fitness coach who handled it. Maybe it will get better but for now we don’t have any synergy with him”, he concluded.

The senior national team of Nigeria were beaten 1-2 by Mexico in the first of their two friendly game in the United States of America, no thanks to an own goal by captain of the team William Troost Ekong.

OwnGoalNigeria.com rates the players who were on for Nigeria in what was the first game for new coach Jose Peseiro.

Francis Uzoho – Made two big saves in the first half to deny Mexico the chance of killing the game as a contest. Unlucky to concede after his save came off Santiago Gimenez for Mexico’s opener…..7/10

Chidozie Awaziem – Lost his man for the first goal scored by Mexico. Solid in duels but looked suspect in terms of his positioning. Also poor with his distribution……5/10

William Ekong – Not one to shy away from a duel and he was his usual self. He didn’t look quite confident maybe due to his inactivity at club level. Scored an own goal from what should have been a routine clearance…..4/10

Semi  Ajayi – Struggled to cope with the pace of the Mexicans down his flank. Did well with the ball at his feet and it helped in keeping possession. Played really well in the second half when the team shifted to a back four……6/10

Innocent Bonke – Guilty of sideways and backward passes even when a pass forward should be the best option. Despite covering lot of grounds and getting stuck in duels he still didn’t cover himself in glory…..3/10

Alex Iwobi – Made himself available for a pass and always tried to play forward. His quick feet helped him beat the Mexican press with ease. He was more of a threat in the second half and played a huge role in Nigeria having most of the ball…..6.5/10

Joe Aribo – When on the ball he looked very much at home and worked his socks off  without the ball. Played too close to the defence hence didn’t carry the threat he possesses in the opponent’s half…..6/10

Moses Simon – Worked hard to provide cover for Ajayi who isn’t the quickest. Should have taken more responsibility particularly when in the opponent’s box……6/10

Calvin Bassey- Loves to run with the ball but wasn’t on same wavelength with his teammates hence he is mostly isolated when he decides to release the ball and when he finally got one in Dessers was on hand to draw Nigeria level……6/10

Terem Moffi – Dropped deep to link up play and caught the eyes with how he held the ball up. Brought others to play but didn’t get going against a resolute Mexico defence……5/10

Cyriel Dessers – Made really clever runs and constantly tried to put defenders under pressure. Lively and menacing but lack of service made him ineffective until he got picked by a cross from Bassey which he finished off to draw Nigeria level…..6.5/10

The new coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has revealed his first line up for the friendly game against Mexico at the AT &T arena in Texas.

OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal that the Portuguese coach has decided to go for 3-5-2 formation ditching the 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 the team used majorly under their previous two coaches.

Peseiro went for Francis Uzoho in goal and in defence picked the trio of Semi Ajayi, Chidozie Awaziem and William Troost Ekong. In midfield Innocent Bonke starts alongside the duo of Alex Iwobi and Joe Aribo.

The duo of Aribo and Iwobi will operate further high up the pitch with Moses Simon and Calvin Bassey playing as right and left wing backs respectively. The twin attack will be led by Terem Moffi and Cyriel Dessers.

Francis Uzoho
Chidozie Awaziem
William Ekong
Semi  Ajayi
Innocent Bonke
Alex Iwobi
Joe Aribo
Moses Simon
Calvin Bassey
Terem Moffi
Cyriel Dessers

The senior national team of Nigeria will take on the Mexican senior national team in an international friendly game in Texas as part of their preparation for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers which begins next month.

Jose Peseiro will take charge of the senior national team of Nigeria for the first time in a game which will be played at the AT & T stadium. It’s the first of two games the Nigerian team will play in the United States. The second game is against Ecuador on the 2nd of June.

Fans of the team who wish to see the game will be able to watch it on popular streaming website Hesgoal.com. The game is listed for broadcast. It might likely be streamed on the official Facebook handle of the Nigeria Football Federation as well.

No confirmation yet but sources at the NFF told this portal that the game will likely be streamed on NFF.tv as well if all goes according to plan. The timing for the game cut across two different days base on time zone difference.

In the United States of America it will be played by 7pm on Saturday but for viewers in Nigeria it will be aired by 1am very early on Sunday morning.

The new coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has fired a warning to star players of the team saying he isn’t focus on individual talent as his aim is to create a team with good spirit.

Peseiro will for the first time be on the sidelines for the senior national team of Nigeria when they take on Mexico tomorrow morning in an international friendly game in the United States of America.

Ahead of the game, the Portuguese coach spoke with Oma Akatuga of Oma Sports TV on star players of the team which many see as the likes of Wilfred Nididi, Victor Osimhen, Emmanuel Dennis and a host of others.

Asked what he thinks about the individual qualities of the star players in the team, Peseiro said his focus is on creating a team and not one that will be dependent on the individual quality of any star player.

“The most important is the team not the players. In this moment we need to create a group spirit not speak about who is the best player. We need to do the best national team”, he told Oma Sports TV on YouTube.

The senior national team of Nigeria had their final training session ahead of tomorrow’s friendly gone against Mexico, OwnGoalNigeria.com has obtained exclusive details on how the session went.

New coach Jose Peseiro was in charge of the entire session barking out instructions to the players who were 20 in number following the arrival of Feyenoord goal scoring sensation Cyriel Dessers.

Dessers was made to initially train separately from the rest of the team to enable him shake off the stress of flying for the game. He was however added to the group where he excelled as expected.

Per our source, he was lively, quick and precise with his shooting when they had a shooting drill. He looked very much the player who finished as top scorer in the Europa Conference League with ten goals from ten goals.

However he isn’t expected to start against Mexico tomorrow but he is a sure bet to start against Ecuador on the 2nd of June and most likely the first two games of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sierra Leone and Mauritius respectively.

Newly appointed coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro says he is responsible for any bad result caused by mistake from a player he picked to be a part of his team.

Peseiro will take charge of his first game as coach of the senior national team of Nigeria in the early hours of tomorrow when Nigeria take on Mexico. The game is the first of two games the team will play in the United States of America.

They will take on Ecuador on the 2nd of June and ahead of the game. Talks have been about the first and second choice goalkeppers of the team who have been guilty of costly error in two high profile games.

Okoye was at fault for the goal which handed Tunisia a 1-0 win at the Africa Cup of Nations in the round of 16 which led to their exit. Uzoho didn’t fare any better in the World Cup playoff as he allowed a harmless shot roll under his body to hand Ghana the ticket to the World Cup.

The coach was asked by Germany based Nigerian journalist Oma Akatuga what he thinks about both goalkeppers in the light of attacks from supporters of the team.

“When they attack some players because they commit some mistake. In my opinion they didn’t commit big mistake. If any player commit a mistake and he doesn’t feel the protection from the coach and the staff like he should. He loses confidence”, he told Oma Sports TV.

“Shout is normal, kill all the players who commit mistakes. One day who are the players we will have to play? They most feel from me and the staff the confidence. Who is the one who is guilty? The coach or the player. It’s the coach everytime.

If I choose my players that will play. If I train them and I if I put in mind this guy can play well with our team. If he play bad or if he commits mistake. Who commits the mistake? The coach must accept the mistakes not the players”, he further said.

“Now we have Maduka, now Uzoho. Another mistake we change. Call another. For me I don’t do it. The other thing is the past not the present. For me all the players can play whether you commit mistakes or not before. For me everybody can play for our national team. Tomorrow you get to see which goalkepper is going to play.

” If one player play bad and bad and bad. What do you think the coach can do? Call the player. One mistake is enough to throw him out. One goalkepper 22, the other 23. I don’t think it’s the best”, he concluded.

The first lineup of new coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro when they take on Mexico will likely have two players from the Nigeria Professional Football League.

Peseiro has handled the players in two training session with as many as 20 players to pick from and it involves eight players from the Nigeria Professional Football League consisting of two goalkeppers in Olorunleke Ojo and Adewale Adeyinka.

The coach will however pick Cyprus based Francis Uzoho to start in goal ahead of the aforementioned duo but it’s in defence that a player from the NPFL will likely get a look in. For now Plateau United Ibrahim Buhari looks more likey to get the nod.

However it appears Peseiro will go for experience in selecting two out of the trio of Chidozie Awaziem, William Troost Ekong or Semi Ajayi to pair in central defence but the injury to Ola Aina leaves Buhari with a huge chance of making the line up.

While in midfield Akwa United Babatunde Bello looks certain to be involved. He appears to be striking a near perfect understanding with Innocent Bonke in training. Joe Aribo will play as the third player in the middle slightly behind Alex Iwobi.

Iwobi is expected to start in attack with the duo of Moses Simon and Terem Moffi despite the impressive performance of Feyenoord goal king Cyriel Dessers in his only training session with the team. They could also be a debut for Ishaq Rafiu of Rivers United but most likely not from the start.