In a chat with NFF’s media team after Monday’s victory, the Portuguese coach was full of praises for his team’s ability to create but rued their inability to score more goals while he also pointed out that the turf of Guinea Bissau’s September 24 Stadium is better than the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
After losing 1-0 in Abuja, the Eagles beat Guinea Bissau with the same margin in Bissau on Monday to return to the top of Group A of the qualifiers with nine points from four matches while Guinea Bissau is second with seven points from the same number of matches.
The Portuguese tactician said the Eagles would have won the two matches convincingly due to the several chances created by the team in the two matches, adding the Super Eagles were capable of netting more than 10 goals in the two matches given the quality of players in the team. He was particularly impressed with the ball possession of the Eagles in Bissau which he said showed the character of the team –
The pitch in Bissau was better than Abuja and this allowed free flow of play by the players. We were more on the offensive because this is my style of play and I don’t believe in defensive style of play. Our ball possession was impressive but our finishing failed us. I am happy with the response of the players in Bissau after the defeat in Abuja and they showed character with the way they started the match and this made me happy that we were able to show our quality even under intense pressure.”
The Eagles will travel to Sierra Leone in June before hosting Sao Tome and Principe in their final game of the qualification series.
The top two in the group will book an automatic ticket for the upcoming AFCON billed for Ivory Coast in 2024.
cc: Punch
