Super Eagles head Coach, Jose Peseiro refused to criticize his players over their poor outing against Lesotho in the 2026 FIFA World Cup African qualifiers, on Thursday.
The Super Eagles played an uninspiring 1-1 draw with a lowly ranked Lesotho in their first game of the qualifiers.
Motlomelo Mkwanazi gave the Crocodiles, ranked 153rd in the world, a shock lead with a 56th minute goal from a corner.
Ajayi leveled 11 minutes later but Eagles could not find a winner in their Group C opener.
“I think they tried, the opponents stayed at the defense and came forward only two or three times”, Peseiro said after game.
“Lesotho was lucky not to concede many goals. How many opportunities do they create?”
The Portuguese also believes his players struggled due to the fatigue.
“We didn’t prepare well for the match and the players didn’t rest well for the Lesotho match because some players came on Monday, others on Tuesday and we couldn’t train until Wednesday.
“The Wednesday training was not too good because we have a match today.
