By Daniel Edu
Coach Jose Peseiro of the Super Eagles has attributed the team’s inability to score more than two goals in their recent international friendly against Saudi Arabia in Portugal to a lack of a killer instinct among the strikers. Despite creating numerous scoring opportunities and dominating possession against the Green Falcons, the Super Eagles failed to capitalize on their chances.
The match in Portugal ended in a draw, just as it did in their only previous encounter 13 years ago, which was also a friendly game. Nigeria and Saudi Arabia couldn’t be separated at the end of their second-ever meeting, with the Asian champions scoring a last-minute equalizer from a free-kick that deflected off Calvin Bassey.
Peseiro expressed his concerns in a post-match interview, saying, “We need to improve our finishing. We played very well in the first and second halves, creating multiple chances, but we lack the killer instinct in the squad. Nevertheless, I’m content with the result.”
Notably, Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, and Samuel Chukwueze had opportunities in the first half to put the Super Eagles ahead but couldn’t capitalize. The Saudis took a shock lead on the hour mark when a free-kick from Salman Al Faraj was deflected into Nigeria’s net by goalkeeper Francis Uzoho.
Coach Jose Peseiro made substitutions, introducing Terem Moffi and bringing in Bright Osayi-Samuel, Kelechi Iheanacho, and Moses Simon, which improved Nigeria’s performance in attack. Victor Boniface scored Nigeria’s equalizer in the 73rd minute, followed by Iheanacho’s powerful goal eight minutes later.
The game came shortly after the Super Eagles learned their group for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations and adopted “Let’s Do It Again” as their mantra for the tournament. The team will face Mozambique in another friendly match before 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe next month.
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