NIGERIA’S senior men’s football team’s immediate past coach, Jose Peseiro, led the Super Eagles in 23 matches during his 22-month stint at the club.
The team recorded 11 wins, seven losses and four draws under his watch.
The Portuguese announced his departure as the Super Eagles coach on Friday, March 1, eliciting widespread reactions from Nigerians.
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The ICIR reported how Peseiro’s initial contract dated May 2022 till May 2023 was characterised by a chain of poor results.
In his first 12 months as the gaffer, the Super Eagles won four and lost six of its ten matches. Among the six lost, five were friendly.
The ten matches started from his first assignment against Mexico in a friendly match in Texas, dated May 29, 2022, till June 18, 2023, when Nigeria defeated Sierra Leone, 3-2 out.
In addition to the matches since June 18, 2023, The ICIR analysis shows that 13 other matches were played during the coach’s renewed contract since September 2023.
Out of the 13 matches, the Super Eagles won seven, drew four and lost two.
The coach’s spell with the team was faced with criticism given poor results from his team from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) played in Cote d’Ivoire between January 13 and February 11 this year.
The team won five of its seven matches at the AFCON, drawing its first game against Equatorial Guinea and losing the final against the host nation, making it the runners-up at the tournament.
Reacting to Peseiro’s performance with the team, a sports journalist, Rotimi Arabi, lauded the coach’s football philosophy during the AFCON.
“He has done so well against all expectations, we never gave him a chance prior to the AFCON but at the end of the day, he did so well,” he said.
He advised the leadership of the NFF to learn from Senegal and Cote D’Ivoire who gave room for their local coaches to manage their countries’ national teams.
“My own view is to make do with our local coaches, let’s try our local coaches. Let’s follow the foot of what Senegal has done. We have Emmanuel Amuneke and Findi George. Going for another foreign coach will generate a lot of debate,” he said.
Peseiro’s record as Super Eagles coach
May 29, 2022: Mexico 2 vs Nigeria 1
June 3, 2022: Ecuador 1 vs Nigeria 0
June 9, 2022: Nigeria 2 vs Sierra Leone 1
June 13, 2022: Sao Tome and Principe 0 vs Nigeria 10
Sept 27, 2022: Algeria 2 vs Nigeria 1
Nov 10, 2022: Costa Rica 2 vs Nigeria 0
Nov 17, 2022: Portugal 4 vs Nigeria 0
Mar 24, 2023: Nigeria 0 vs Guinea-Bissau 1
Mar 27, 2023: Guinea-Bissau 0 vs Nigeria 1
June 18, 2023: Sierra Leone 2 vs Nigeria 3
Sept 10, 2023: Sao Tome and Principe 0 vs Nigeria 6
Oct 13, 2023: Saudi Arabia 2 vs Nigeria 2
Oct 16, 2023: Mozambique 2 vs Nigeria 3
Nov 16, 2023: Nigeria 1 vs Lesotho 1
Nov 19, 2023: Zimbabwe 1 vs Nigeria 1
Jan 8, 2024: Guinea 2 vs Nigeria 0
Jan 14, 2024: Nigeria 1 vs Equatorial Guinea 1
Jan. 18, 2024: Ivory Coast 0 vs Nigeria 1
Jan. 22, 2024: Guinea-Bissau 0 vs Nigeria 1
Jan. 27, 2024: Cameroon 0 vs Nigeria 2.
Feb. 2, 2024: Nigeria 1 vs Angola 0
Feb 7, 2024: Nigeria 1 vs South Africa (4-3) penalties
Feb 11, 2024: Nigeria 1 vs Ivory Coast 2