By Obaloluwa Joshua, LAGOS
Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro has said he picked 25 players for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations due to squad management.
All the 24 participating countries could name 27 players in their final squad for AFCON 2023.
Peseiro however opted to select 25 players for the biennial competition.
The Portuguese said he had an agreement with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on the number of players he would be taking to the AFCON.
“The number is from the Nigeria Football Federation. NFF decided to take 25 players. I agreed, twenty five players is enough to manage. Since the first moment NFF decided to take 25 players,” Peseiro told the Super Eagles media.
“We did a big list of 41 players and these chosen players worked with us until now. The performance in the selection because some players show good performance in the clubs but didn’t show in our national team.
“It can happen the same in the opposite, some players play very well in the national team, they didn’t play well in the clubs – it’s different atmosphere, different context. READ ALSO:
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“The third one is the current form, if they are playing well, if they show the good conditions for their clubs for us. I try to bring four fullbacks, five central defenders, five midfielders, four wingers and four strikers.
“Some players give more deep moments, some players give more support, some players give more connection. We tried to coordinate these characteristic and these solutions for our system, for our game.”
