Ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro remains optimistic about his team’s strength despite the necessity to substitute key players due to injuries.
Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, a pivotal figure in the squad, had to withdraw from the competition owing to an injury setback.
The 26-year-old was promptly replaced by Royal Antwerp’s Alhassan Yusuf.
Compounding the challenges, Victor Boniface and Umar Sadiq have also been ruled out of the competition.
Their voids in the lineup will be filled by Terem Moffi and Paul Onuachu respectively.
Despite these setbacks, Coach Peseiro expresses confidence in the remaining squad, emphasizing that there is still ample quality within the team to vie for success in Cote d’Ivoire.
“It’s unfortunate that those players can’t be here with us; they all want to play, but they can’t because of injury,” Peseiro told a press conference in Abidjan on Saturday.
“The good thing is that we have the players to replace them.
“It’s not much of a problem for us because we have picked players with the same profile.
“Onuachu is similar to Sadiq, Moffi and Boniface are not different, same thing with Ndidi and Alhassan.
“These players have different characters, but in terms of profiles, they are not different.
The Super Eagles will take on Equitorial Guinea on Sunday.
