Super Eagles manager Jose Peseiro has defended his choice to not start a natural defensive midfielder in Thursday's AFCON 2023 Qualifier against Sierra Leone at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja.
The newly-appointed Portuguese manager chose to start only two natural midfielders in Alex Iwobi and Joe Aribo in his first competitive match handling the Super Eagles.
Nigeria ran out 2-1 winners with Iwobi and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen scoring in the first half to cancel out Sierra Leone's 11th-minute opener.
Peseiro defends starting only Iwobi, Aribo in midfield
As reported by sports journalist Oluwatobi Adepoju on his personal Twitter account, Peseiro stated that he chose to set up his squad that way since the final decision on who plays rests on him (Peseiro).
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Adepoju, while questioning Peseiro at the post-match press conference, stated that the Super Eagles manager confirmed that he would select players only according to his game plan.
Peseiro said: "I can play any player, I make the final decision. If I ask you, to give me your XI, it will be different from others.
"I believe in my players, it's my responsibility to select the players according to our plans."
The Super Eagles manager acknowledged that he saw the team needed a change going into the second half and he heeded to that which turned the tide in favour of the Eagles in the second period.
"We are better than Sierra Leone in this game, we deserve to win. We changed the setup in the second half, I think it was only the last 10 minutes our opponent had some good moments," Peseiro said.
We need to win bigger - Peseiro to Super Eagles
The Super Eagles manager also noted that whilst the team created so many scoring opportunities against their Sierra Leonean visitors, the Eagles need more time to win games such as this with a larger margin.
Peseiro claimed: "We created a lot of scoring chances, we could have won with a bigger margin, but the team needs more time and we must work."
The Super Eagles will now turn their attention to their second AFCON 2023 qualifier against Sao Tome & Principe scheduled for Monday, June 13 in Morocco.