The coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has explained why he called up 22 foreign based players for the dead rubber AFCON qualifiers game against Sao Tome and Principe in Uyo, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Nigeria has already booked a spot at next year Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire making the game against Sao Tome a formality, hence questions were asked when the Portuguese coach of the team called up all of his regulars for the game.
Reacting to questions during the pre match conference, the 63 year old defended his decision, explaining that he wants only the best players in the team at all time help forge a strong team, that will power them to the goal of winning the AFCON and also the first two games of the World Cup qualifiers which begins in November.
He said he is however open to calling more new players in the team like he did with the opportunity given to the trio of Jordan Torunarigha, Gift Orban and Victor Boniface, who are line for their debut tomorrow.
“We have three new players here; Orban, Jordan and Victor Boniface. They are all good players and who done well for their clubs. We have a lot of good players that I and staff have follow all the time. Weekend at times, we monitored like 40 games.
“So, now we are thinking about building a more cohesive team. Of course, there is always a chance for new players to come in.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
