Jose Peseiro has defended Victor Osimhen who did not score in the last two of Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers despite rich form for Napoli.
Osimhen struggled to get shots on target in the entire 180 minutes plus against Guinea-Bissau.
The Super Eagles lost by a solitary goal in Abuja but avenged the loss on Monday March 27, 2023 with a victory by the same margin.
However, the closest Osimhen came was hitting the inside of the upright in Bissau but the ball bounced back into play and eventually, the danger was cleared.
Peseiro has now explained why it was not easy for the Napoli forward to shine for the national team, as he had done at the club level.
Too Much Pressure
“Victor is among the top scorers in Europe but it happens.
“Sometimes people complain about the players. It’s not true they are not committed.
“The players come here and feel the pressure, they feel the stress,” Peseiro told the media.
“Osimhen came here to fight for our shirt, for the Super Eagles.”
“Victor now feels the pressure more with our national team than in Napoli. It’s not good.
“I spoke with him, the first match, he started the match in Nigeria.
“He started feeling the pressure – I need to score, I need to do everything well.
“When a player puts it in his mind; I need to do everything well; sometimes he doesn’t do well, but he made a fantastic sacrifice.
“When our players put on the shirt to defend the Super Eagles, they are under more pressure.”
“The fans, and people need to understand that.”
“They feel too much pressure because they want to do well for the country, family, flag, and Super Eagles.
“That moment, they commit more mistakes, and they don’t do things well,” Peseiro said.
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‘We Played Better’
The tactician has further revealed his concern after the two matches against their Group A opponent.
“We could have won 6-1 in Abuja and 5-0 here in Bissau [on Monday] because we played better on Friday.
“But that is football, sometimes you play better than your opponents, but the result will show otherwise,” Peseiro concluded.
