Former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Sylvanus Okpala insists criticisms against Jose Peseiro over his final squad for the Africa Cup of Nations is a bit premature.

Peseiro named his final 25 players last week, and it has caused mixed reactions among analysts and fans.

Speaking on BRL, Okpala explained that player invitation is based on in-formed decisions by Coaches.

“I don’t like to question a coach’s selection of players,” Okpala noted. “It’s his discretion to pick whoever he wants to pick and leave out whoever he wants to.”

“So he has to pick these players based on the system he wants to play, that’s the formation first. Then the strategy he wants to adapt.

“Every player has different characteristic, so he has to pick based on his strategy, the formation he wants to play.

“And you know, that’s how he has to pick the player. And that is why I don’t like to question the selection of coaches, who they have selected or who they have not selected. So I just leave it to the coach.

“I only wait for the day of the match to analyze what he is playing, whether it is going well or not. Based on strategy and the formation.”

The Super Eagles officially opened their training camp in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, and are to take part in a friendly tournament with two other nations before returning to Nigeria on the 10th of January for a farewell.

Nigeria’s campaign gets under way in the AFCON, on January 14 against Equatorial Guinea, before playing Ivory coast 4 days after.

The group stage campaign will conclude on January 22, when the team takes on Guinea Bissau.