2023 AFCONQ : How Peseiro's return to simplicity helped Nigeria record biggest ever win

There is no doubt that Jose Peseiro is a big fan of offensive football, and he has made some adjustments in the scheme of things in his first four games as the coach of the Super Eagles.

Against Sao Tome and Principe in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Monday afternoon, the Portuguese manager recorded Nigeria's biggest ever international victory with a 10-0 scoreline.

However, this landmark victory was only possible due to Peseiro's return to simplicity which will be analysed by allnigeriasoccer.com.

Since Peseiro became Nigeria's coach, it is quite obvious that he has been trying to shoehorn two of Nigeria's biggest creative midfielders Alex Iwobi and Joe Aribo into the same side.

He has tried them alongside one defensive midfielder (Sani Faisal) but his insistence on utilising two strikers made the team look awkward going forward.

He also used Iwobi in a deep-lying playmaker role and pushed Aribo forward. In the last match against Sierra Leone, he played both at the base of midfield with Iwobi shuttling and Aribo sitting.

It all looked awkward but the qualities of the players shined through and they were able to mount a comeback after going 1-0 down.

Against Sao Tome and Principe, Peseiro went returned to the basics and kept things simple.

He started Oghenekaro Etebo in the holding role and kept Iwobi as the shuttler who played close to the attack and returned to help out defensively.

In return, Nigeria dominated every facet of play, scored an insane number of goals and reduced the opposition to zero penetration. All of these while barely getting out of second gear.

Etebo's rapid distribution of the ball, positioning and ability to hold on to the ball for more than 4 seconds in deep areas were instrumental in asserting control.

His line-breaking pass in the build-up to the fourth goal was a thing of beauty.

When he scored his cracking freekick, it was the icing on the cake for an outstanding performance from the Stoke City midfielder.

Not to forget that Peseiro had to bring him on against Sierra Leone to wrestle control away from the Leone Stars.

While Iwobi and Aribo are great and versatile players who can do a job at the base of midfield, they are not entirely suited to the role.

Etebo is naturally a central midfielder and this is visible in the Super Eagles' last 135 minutes of football.

Returning to the simplicity of pairing an attacking midfielder with a central midfielder helped the Super Eagles to a landmark win.

Sofoluwe Mayowa

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