Nigeria Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro has said his team has the best attack heading into the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.
Last Friday Peseiro unveiled his 25-man squad for this month’s AFCON which will kick off on January 13 and end on February 11.
In attack, the Portuguese listed eight players which comprise Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface, Ahmed Musa, Umar Sadiq, Ademola Lookman, Moses Simon, Kelechi Iheanacho, and Samuel Chukwueze.
The eight forwards have scored a combined total of 45 goals in all competitions for their various clubs this season.
Boniface has scored the highest number of goals with 16 and is followed by Osimhen who has eight.
Lookman has found the back of the net seven times, Iheanacho has bagged six goals, Simon has three while Sadiq and Chukwueze have both found the back of the net on two occasions.
Ahead of the commencement of the AFCON 2023, Peseiro expressed hope that with the firepower the Eagles possess the goal of being crowned African champions is still intact.
“Currently the Super Eagles have the best attack on the continent and I have evaluated the players, the situation and I want to win the AFCON, it’s my goal, my objective,” he said on Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
“It’s not going to be easy because there are other teams but we want to fight to win the AFCON,” Peseiro said.
“Our group is not easy, Côte d’Ivoire is one of the favourites because they have a good squad and they are playing at home.
“Equatorial Guinea did better than Nigeria at the last AFCON, they got to the quarter-finals and Guinea-Bissau beat us at home (in the qualifiers).”
Speaking on the criteria for picking the 25 players, Peseiro listed the qualities met by those selected.
“The NFF decided that it will go with 25 and I agreed because it is easy to manage this number,” he explained.
“We first came up with the 41 players then the players who made the final list have been with us and they have shown good performance.
“There are players who showed good performance in their clubs but didn’t do well in the national team. Also, there are players who do well for the national team and didn’t do well in their clubs.
“We looked at current form, if they are playing well and showed good condition.”
He stated that it was not easy to choose the 25 players but it was his responsibility and he hopes the team will not disappoint Nigerians.
