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It seems Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro didn't enjoy some of the things he saw against Mexico on Sunday morning.
New Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro has given an insight into some of the changes we may see from the team after his first match in charge ended in defeat.
Mexico proved to be a hard nut for Nigeria to crack once again after El Tri extended their unbeaten run against Nigeria to seven matches after a 2-1 at the AT & T Stadium in Dallas.
Super Eagles were under intense pressure from the North Americans, who dominated the opening half of the game and deservedly took a 1-0 lead at the break.
Nigeria could have been as many as 3-0 down in that first half but for good goalkeeping from Francis Uzoho and Mexico's profligacy.
The second half saw a much-improved display from Peseiro's Super Eagles, who were rewarded when Cyriel Dessers headed in the equaliser with his first International goal for Nigeria.
Unfortunately, Mexico got a second goal and went on to seal the win no thanks to an own goal from Nigeria's captain, William Troost-Ekong.
However, coach Peseiro saw enough especially from the second half to praise his boys for their character and resilience before talking about some of the areas the team must improve on, which gave insights on what Nigerians can look forward to in future.
"Although, we didn't win last night, I am very proud of the boys," Peseiro said via a post on his official Twitter account.
"The team showed character and resilience. A special mention to the 4 NPFL players who had the chance to debut with the national team. Welcome," he added.
So, here are three things Peseiro wants from his Super Eagles team;
1. More control - (aka you know Guardiola?)
Mexico controlled the opening half of the match, with 64% of possession, and eight attempts on goal. Nigeria was forced to chase shadows and struggled to touch the ball for long spells, making zero attempts on goal while Uzoho made three saves from those attempts.
Peseiro didn't find this funny at all and will be working to fix that in subsequent game as we saw in the better second half.
"I saw so much quality in the team but we need to use our quality to control the ball more because if you don’t control the ball, your opponent will come for them, and I like to control the game, more upfront."
2. No more parking of buses
President of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Amaju Pinnick, did mention that Peseiro was a recommendation from fellow Portuguese and renowned coach, Jose Mourinho, who is known for his style of play which has been termed "Park de bus".
However, it seems Peseiro isn't a fan of that football and didn't enjoy seeing his Super Eagles side forced to defend so deep in their own half as Mexico had fun in the opening 45 minutes. The team improved in the second after, reducing Mexico's dominance by 10%, while making five attempts on goal, with one on target - the goal.
"I didn’t like to defend deep as we did in the first half, I like to attack more but it’s ok."
3. Press. Press. Press
It seems the days of having players walking on the pitch are over as Peseiro explained that he wants to see his Super Eagles team not only defend from the top but to learn to press press and press relentlessly.
"We just had two training (sessions) and we are just starting. (But) I like to pressure teams, I pressure.
"Two training (sessions) are not much but we will love to have more of this to improve our team."
Nigeria faces Ecuador on Thursday in the second friendly match slated for the USTour and we will be keep a close tab on some of these insights from the gaffer.
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