Why Peseiro changed to defensive formation at AFCON 2023 — Iwobi

Alex Iwobi has disclosed how former head coach Jose Peseiro had to switch up his lineup during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations due to a rough start.

After an unimpressive opening to the competition, the West Africans managed to hold Equatorial Guinea to a 1-1 tie.

In their second group game, Peseiro changed to a defensive 3-5-2 system, and the Super Eagles prevailed 1-0 over hosts Cote after a fierce battle.

The Super Eagles advanced to the championship game before falling to Cote d’Ivoire 2-1, thanks to the Portuguese sticking to their formation.

“We thought it was a lucky escape. [After that] the manager’s gone a bit defensive, put five at the back, and the next game’s against the host nation who just won,” Iwobi told Fulham FC.

“Confidence is high thinking, ‘yeah, this formation sticks, it’ll work.’ Then we win our next game, go through to the next round, and everyone’s on high thinking, ‘ok, there’s a chance we can do something here.’

“We got to the Final, though we could beat the host nation again, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”

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