It was a day to forget for the Super Eagles of Nigeria as they fell to a 1-0 defeat at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja courtesy of a 29th minute composed finish from Guinean forward Mama Balde to give the away side all 3 points.
Guinea Bissau go top of group A in the AFCON qualifying rounds after this victory with 7 points while Nigeria closely follow in 2nd place after 3 games with 6 points.
Nigerians expressed their disappointments after the game as the unexpected result ended their teams winning run in the qualifiers. Their coach however, Jose Peseiro blamed the loss on poor officiating in his post-match comments insisting the goal scorer should have been sent off for a foul on Kevin Akpoguma and more time should have been added on in the game to justify the time wasted in the treatment of the Super Eagles defender.
The Portuguese coach on the other hand remained positive despite the loss and reiterated his Nigerian side can defeat any team if they keep the sort of performance they put in on Friday evening. Sierra Leone and Sao Tome and Principe are the only two sides his Nigerian team have defeated in 7 matches since his appointment in May 2022.
The two sides meet again for the return leg in Bissau at the Estadio 24 de Setembro, on Monday, 27th March, 2023 as Nigeria look forward to getting a positive result to avoid losing further grounds in the race for qualification for next year’s AFCON tournament.