National Teams
AFCON 2023: ‘They’re having an excellent tourney’ – Jose Peseiro hails Angola progress
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
The head coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s national team, Jose Peseiro is not taking the team’s quarter-final match against Angola at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with kid gloves.
After a 2-0 win over Cameroon in the Round of 16, the coach is shifting his focus to their next opponent.
The three-time African champions which has not lost any of their four games so far at the tournament will face another unbeaten team in the last eight.
Peseiro while admitting the quality of the Palancas Negras opined that his side has to approach the game with all seriousness.
“We will now focus on our next match against Angola that is having an excellent tournament,” Peseiro told journalists in Abidjan.
“Jokes aside, all the teams at this stage are capable of winning the tournament.”
Angola topped Group D with seven points ahead of Burkina Faso (4 points), Mauritania (3 points), and Algeria (2 points).
The team defeated Namibia 3-0 in the Round of 16 thanks to goals from Jacinto Dala (brace) and Agostinho Mabululu.
With seven points, Nigeria on the other hand finished second in Group A behind Equatorial Guinea which also had the same point before securing a 2-0 win against the Indomitable Lions in the Round of 16.