Jose Peseiro, the Super Eagles’ head coach, admits his players were not at their best in Sunday’s defeat to Cote d’Ivoire.
Peseiro’s squad lost 2-1 to the hosts in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final.
In the 37th minute, William Troost-Ekong headed in from a corner kick to give Nigeria the lead.
However, Cote d’Ivoire rallied after the interval, with goals from Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller.
“My players did their best in this tournament, Cote d’Ivoire played better than us in this game. We didn’t show our level,” Peseiro said during his interaction with the media after the game.
“The performance on individual and collective level was not good enough for us.
“Cote d’Ivoire played better than us. They played really well. I wanted to win this trophy, my players wanted the trophy as well. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t do it.
“I’m sad, my players are sad too. The performance was not good enough but I can’t fault them. They gave their best in this tournament.
“These things happen in football. Sometimes things don’t go your way.”
