Peseiro ‘angry’ for replacing Onyeka with Aribo against Angola
Nigeria cemented their position as one of the dominant teams at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, beating Angola 1-0 to advance to the semifinals of the competition on Friday evening.
The highest Fifa ranked team remaining in the tournament secured qualification to the last four thanks to Ademola Lookman, who fired home the winner in the 41st minute after a cutback from Moses Simon.
It was a historic win for the Super Eagles as this is the first time they have won four consecutive matches in a single Africa Cup of Nations tournament without conceding a goal.
Super Eagles manager Jose Peseiro has admitted that he made an unplanned substitution, bringing on Joe Aribo to replace Frank Onyeka in the 87th minute, based on the advice of his captain for the game, William Troost-Ekong, who noticed that the midfielder was not playing at full throttle due to an injury he could not shake off.
The Portuguese felt slighted because the Brentford star claimed that he was not fatigued and chose to stay on the pitch.
Speaking to reporters at the post-match press conference, Peseiro said: “Before the break I called Iwobi and Onyeka, asked them who is more tired so I can bring in one substitute. No one said I’m tired.
READ ALSO: JUST-IN: Lookman fires Nigeria’s Super Eagles into AFCON semi-finals
“After five minutes Ekong came to tell me Onyeka cannot continue. Ekong informed me you must change Onyeka.
“From my bench, it’s better I keep Iwobi, put Yusuf, and Onyeka goes out but I know all the players want to complete the game.
“I was angry in that moment. Two times Ekong said Onyeka is tired due to the pain in the shoulder. But I asked him five minutes before, not 10, 15 or 20 minutes, said he was okay, it’s happening in football.
“The captain on the pitch can inform me about some situations – some players tired, some players feeling some pain.”