That’s why friendly matches don’t matter – Jose Peseiro

The Portuguese mentor had been heavily criticised for his side’s form coming into the tournament, more especially the two draws in the World Cup qualifiers as well as the 2-0 defeat in the final preparation match against Guinea.

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But Peseiro suggested that was a mere slump.

''It's true, our previous results were not so good, against Guinea and especially against Zimbabwe - we deserved to win against Zimbabwe. Our qualification had more goals and big score,''  said Peseiro. 

Peseiro added he understood the frustration from supporters and media alike during this period, but his objectives were always to experiment ahead of travelling to Cote d’Ivoire for Africa’s major showpiece.

''The friendly match for me is used to check and test some things. I have used the friendly matches to test the players against different teams,'' added Peseiro. 

The fact that Nigeria were also playing a lot of these matches away from home was a factor, the coach argued.

''Nigeria played friendly matches away from home, against Portugal, Mexico and Mozambique, for me friendly matches are for training and to check things,'' he concluded.

At the AFCON, it is clear The Super Eagles have been together longer and with more time to run through ideas and tactics. They are now two games away from possibly being crowned champions.

Peseiro, whose side will face Bafana Bafana in the semifinals on Wednesday, insists he never had this luxury outside the tournament.