The Super Eagles were not able to perform at their best in the Africa Cup of Nations final against Cote d’Ivoire. According to the head coach, Jose Peseiro, the players failed to replicate their previous performance, and as a result, lost 2-1 to the hosts.
William Troost-Ekong had given Nigeria the lead in the first half, but Cote d’Ivoire came back strongly in the second half, scoring two goals through Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller.
Reacting to the result, Peseiro said:
“My players did their best in this tournament, Cote d’Ivoire played better than us in this game. We didn’t show our level,” Peseiro said during his interaction with the media after the game.
“The performance on individual and collective level was not good enough for us.
“Cote d’Ivoire played better than us. They played really well. I wanted to win this trophy, my players wanted the trophy as well. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t do it.
“I’m sad, my players are sad too. The performance was not good enough but I can’t fault them. They gave their best in this tournament.
“These things happen in football. Sometimes things don’t go your way.”
