Former Nigeria international Henry Nwosu believes the Super Eagles are headed in the right direction under new coach Jose Peseiro despite suffering two international defeats against Mexico and Ecuador.
On Friday, the Super Eagles went down 1-0 defeat against La Tri courtesy of a third-minute goal from Pervis Estupinan at Red Bull Arena to end their tour of the USA in disappointment.
The defeat came after they had lost 2-1 against El Tri at AT&T Stadium on May 29. The two matches mean the 62-year-old Portuguese tactician has now suffered two straight defeats since his appointment to replace German Gernot Rohr as the new permanent coach on May 16.
“The results of the two games the Super Eagles played against Mexico and Ecuador may not be too good,” the 58-year-old, who managed 60 caps for the Super Eagles and scored eight goals, said as quoted by Completesports.
“However, the performance of the players showed the level of improvement in the team.
“I know results also matter a lot because Nigerians always want to win but then, we need to give him time to implement his own ideas into the team. Besides, he has done well by not just including the players in the NPFL but also using them in the two games.”
Meanwhile, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick believes they have achieved their objectives despite the Super Eagles losing in the two matches.
“I am happy and I can tell you that we fulfilled our objectives of restoring the spirit of the Super Eagles following the failure to qualify for the Fifa World Cup,” Pinnick said.
“We lost both games against Mexico and Ecuador narrowly but we were up for it and never finished on the back foot. The boys gave a good account of themselves in both games.
“Given the number of first-team players that were not available, we have to praise the boys, who showed up here and gave their all. They have given us confidence going into the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
“The despondency is over and we can now march forward in a sure-footed manner.”
The three-time African champions will shift their focus to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers where they will kick off their campaign with a Group A fixture against Sierra Leone at Abuja National Stadium on June 9.