Jose Peseiro, the head of coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria says he can’t promise that his team will defeat Ivory Coast on matchday 2 of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Ahead of the crucial game against Ivory Coast this evening, in which Nigeria must strive to secure the maximum points to ease the pressure on the team and boost their chances of advancing to the round of 16 of the tournament, he said the team could only play on the field, but only God can give victories.
“In the game against Equatorial Guinea, we were the better team. We created chances and had the most possession in the match but could not record a win,” Peseiro said.
“Like I said, only God gives and takes,” added Peseiro.
‘God gives; God takes’ is a catchphrase now synonymous with Peseiro among journalists covering the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast.
He first made the statement during the post-match press conference after the draw against Equatorial Guinea.
Nigeria are going into their second Group A game against the host with so much pressure on the team to get a better result against Ivory Coast after several unconvincing performances in the past matches coming into the tournament.
ivory Coast maintained an early lead in Group A with three points following the comfortable 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau in the tournament’s opening match.
