Head coach Baciro Cande of Guinea‑Bissau launched a scathing critique of the Super Eagles after his side’s shocking 1‑0 victory over the three‑time African champions in Abuja on Friday, a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. The Wild Dogs delivered one of the biggest upsets in African football, defeating the hosts and favourites at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, leaving fans in disbelief at another poor display by the Eagles under Portuguese coach José Peseiro.
Speaking at the post‑match press conference, Cande said his team deserved the win despite the “big names” fielded by Nigeria. “This victory is for the Guinea‑Bissau people. We respect all the Nigerian players, but big names don’t play football on the pitch. They (the Eagles) tried everything to beat us and created many scoring chances, but we deserved to win,” he explained. “We are very happy about today’s (Friday) victory and the boys did a very good job. The result is very important for us and the Guinea‑Bissau people.”
Cande admitted the result had surprised his team. “We are surprised, but the team trained very hard and today they beat Nigeria, a big football country with good players. We feel good about this victory against Nigeria,” he said. Regarding the reverse fixture of the double‑header in Bissau on Monday, Cande added, “I will keep the team focused ahead of the return leg and we will see what the best strategy is for the next game. I can’t really speak about the strategy we deployed today because we have another game next week.”
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