Nigeria head coach Jose Peseiro has demanded a more attacking performance from the SuperEagles ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2024) semi-final against South Africa.
The Super Eagles booked their place in the last four after beating Angola and will now face Bafana Bafana on Wednesday, February 7.
The rivalry between the two teams has increased the stakes of the upcoming game, with Nigeria chasing their first AFCON title since 2013, while South Africa last won the tournament in 1996.
Peseiro believes the Super Eagles delivered a great performance in the quarter-finals against Angola but wants to see his players step up more against South Africa.
Peseiro calls on Super Eagles attacking players to step up
Nigeria have been rock solid in defence in the AFCON, but their attacking contributions haven’t really been flawless.
The Super Eagles completed the group phase, scoring just three goals, one of which was an own goal, while Ademola Lookman scored the team’s last three goals.
Peseiro’s side, though, will be coming up against a South African team that has kept four clean sheets in their last five AFCON games. While the Bafana Bafana defence appears very hard to breach, the Portuguese believe his side has what it takes to be more efficient in the attacking third.
“We're missing some key creators like (Kelechi) Iheanacho and (Joe) Aribo, so it's been hard. But others must now step up,” Peseiro said, as quoted by Supersport.
“Once again we played (against Angola in the quarterfinals) without conceding, scored a goal, but I would have liked more. The team could have created more opportunities,” Peseiro said.
“We are a quality team, Angola was very good, but we had more luck. I remain satisfied with my players but want us to be more efficient (in attack).”
Nigeria will face South Africa at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake.
