2026 WCQ: Super Eagles is the team with most pressure to win games in Africa - Peseiro

Coach Jose Peseiro has said the team with the most pressure to win games in Africa is the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

The Eagles will commence their Group C FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign today (Thursday) against Lesotho.

The game comes up inside the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, Akwa Ibom.

After failing to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Eagles will hope to advance this time around.

However, they must finish top in a group that also has South Africa, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Benin Republic.

In his pre-match press conference, Peseiro explained why the Eagles players get the most pressure on the continent.

Nigeria must be at the next World Cup, if we are among the best in Africa then we must play in the next World Cup, the players want to play at the World Cup.

“In Africa, the team with more pressure and stress is Nigeria because there are more people who want satisfaction and I have spoke with my players to be focus which if that is done they will get the first three points in the qualifiers.“

The Portuguese coach touched on the criticism of Francis Uzoho, who has come under heavy backlash for his errors lately.

He was slammed for his errors in the Super Eagles’ friendly games against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique.

Also, he still gets criticised after conceding what many believe was a soft goal in the Qatar 2022 World Cup play-offs qualifier against Ghana in Abuja.

But Peseiro expressed confidence in the ability of Uzoho saying he believes in him.

“I understand the fans, I understand the media but I need to follow what I have confidence in. (Adebayo) Adeleye could not come because he can’t play currently in Israel, Maduka Okoye could not come because of passport issues but we have Uzoho. He was our goalkeeper in the AFCON qualifiers and I believe in him and others in camp now.

“I understand the pressure on the goalkeepers and I understand nobody wants to accept the mistakes of a goalkeeper, when strikers lose chances and when midfielders misplace passes.

“Everybody know Uzoho did a mistake against Saudi Arabia and I spoke with him about it and truth is if I see a goalkeeper better than Uzoho I will bring him because I want the best players but he has my confidence.”

On the Eagles failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, Peseiro attributed it to nervousness in the second leg against Ghana’s Black Stars.

“When I arrived here I said Nigeria was better than Ghana in the playoffs in my opinion, but that is football. In the first leg (in Kumasi) Nigeria was better and deserved to beat Ghana there.

“The return leg, I observed the Super Eagles players were nervous maybe due to the huge crowd at the stadium which brought pressure.”