National Teams
Jose Peseiro responds to Nigeria lack of ‘killer instinct’ critics against Saudi Arabia
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
Head coach of Nigeria, Jose Peseiro has reacted to his side’s 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia on Friday.
The three-time African champions missed lots of goal-scoring chances in the first half before going behind in the second half.
Substitutes Kelechi Iheanacho and Moses Simon rattled the Falcons’ defence at will, and Simon was the architect of Nigeria’s equaliser, when he did a yeoman’s job to lay the ball to Victor Boniface to score his first Nigeria goal from a tight angle in the 73rd minute.
Eight minutes later, Iheanacho drove the ball powerfully into the net beyond the flailing hands of the Falcons’ goalie, after Moffi and Simon combined to put the opposing defence in knots.
A last-gasp free kick which was cooly converted by Mohamed Kanno ensured that both sides share the spoils and Peseiro admitted that the Super Eagles need to improve with converting their numerous goal-scoring chances.
“We need to improve on our finishing,” Peseiro said in his post-match interview.
“I think we played very well in the first half and could have scored about three to five goals and in the second half as well. We created more chances in the second half but we need the killer instinct in this squad but I’m happy with the result.”
The Asian side took a shock lead on the hour mark when goalkeeper Francis Uzoho palmed the ball into his own net from a free-kick way out on the right flank by Salman Al Faraj.
The Super Eagles will next take on Mozambique in another friendly match on Monday ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in November.
