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By Johnny Edward
Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro, and his players have come under scathing criticisms from ex-players and fans of the team on social media, after his side suffered a shock 2-0 loss to Guinea in an Africa Cup of Nations pre-tournament friendly played at the Bani Yas Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Monday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
A goal in each half from Camara Aguibou in the 14th minute and Facinet Conte four minutes after the hour mark secured a comfortable win for the Syli National who are ranked 80th by FIFA.
Winger Moses Simon missed a chance from the penalty spot in the 20th minute to restore parity.
Peseiro, who handed debut to Chippa United goalkeeper Sunday Nwabali and Antwerp midfielder Yusuf Alhassan in the encounter, deployed a 3-4-3 formation for the match with William Troost-Ekong, Kenneth Omeruo and Chidozie Awaziem playing as centre-backs.
Bright Osayi-Samuel and Zaidu Sanusi played as wing-backs, while Raphael Onyedika and Alhassan were the central midfielders. In attack, striker Umar Sadiq was flanked by Samuel Chukwueze and Simon.
And despite making six substitutions (Calvin Bassey for Omeruo, Alex Iwobi for Onyedika, Frank Onyeka for Awaziem, Ahmed Musa for Chukwueze, Ademola Lookman for Moses and Joe Aribo for Yusuf), Peseiro watched the Eagles suffer a sixth defeat in 16 games under his watch.
The defeat came a day after the three-time AFCON winners thrashed Al Gharbia FC, a Dubai side, 12-0 in a test match in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Before the defeat to the Guineans, the Eagles had been underperforming in recent times, having drawn 1-1 against Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe respectively in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Speaking with PUNCH Sports Extra in separate interviews, former players of the Eagles believe the defeat is not a good sign for the team heading into the tournament billed to kick-off from January 13 to February 11 in Ivory Coast.
Ex-international, Sylvanus Okpala, a member of the Eagles’ 1980 AFCON-winning squad, said, “It’s a friendly game but not a very good sign for the Nigerian team.
“It’s not a good sign at all, even if we can’t use it as a yardstick to judge how we will perform at the AFCON.”
Former Eagles goalkeeper and Atlanta Olympics gold medallist Dosu Joseph, added, “How can the Eagles lose 2-0 to Guinea a day after we won a game 12-0?
“The sign ahead of the AFCON is not too good. From (Victor) Boniface’s injury to this loss raises questions on our readiness for the tournament.”
Garba Lawal. who featured at three AFCON tournaments in 2000, 2002 and 2004, urged Peseiro and the team to make amends before the start of the tournament.
“They’ve lost the game now, and desperately need to look forward to the tournament ahead of them,” Lawal said.
“The coach and his assistants now have to go back and do their homework to rectify the problems they encountered in this game. If you want to go far in any tournament, you have to win every game. The most important thing for them now is to qualify for the second round.”
AFCON 1994 winner, Mutiu Adepoju, added that the defeat should offer Peseiro the chance to correct his team’s mistakes.
“We can’t use a friendly game to condemn the team, but I think it will be a lesson to the coach to reassess the team and correct mistake noticed ahead of the AFCON. I believe we can do better at the tournament and even other matches beyond the tournament.
Meanwhile, fans vented their anger online, after the disappointing result.
Obiora Orakwe posted on X, “Please let’s leave that “#LetsDoItAgain” hashtag for the Super Falcons. I genuinely want to see less of it henceforth with the Super Eagles.”
Paul Imonikhe wrote on X @Kingpaulista14, “And we say the AFCON is coming home. I laugh in Esan. I’ve said it before and will still say it again. We won’t win this AFCON with Peseiro.”
@tobyasky added, “Guinea is beating us and we want to win AFCON. I won’t follow the team during the tournament.”
@KhingSZN also faulted the performance of the Eagles.
He wrote, “All the players, the coach and his coaching stuff deserved to be nailed. Shameless set of people. They can’t beat Guinea in a test game. Shame!”
Edward Edaba played down the chances of the Eagles winning the AFCON.
“The Super Eagles will not go past the group stage with this coach, “Edaba wrote via his X handle @louiseEdaba.
However, Eagles captain, Musa, believes the three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners have what it takes to win the tournament despite their 2-0 loss to Guinea.
Musa, who will be featuring at his fourth AFCON tournament having made a winning debut with the team in 2013, said they won’t let the country down.
“We have a good squad and I believe that we have what it takes to bring the trophy home and I believe that,” Musa said.
“Our AFCON group is tough but that doesn’t mean we are pushovers.”
The Eagles squad is expected in Nigeria for a sendforth party on Tuesday (today) night, hours before they depart for Ivory Coast to participate in the 34th Africa Cup of Nations, which begins on Saturday.