Egypt's AFCON coach reacts to Peseiro's claims NFF pressurised him to field home-based players 

In an interview with the Portuguese press, Egypt's 2023 Africa Cup of Nations coach, Rui Vitória was asked to comment on claims by ex-Super Eagles manager Jose Peseiro that he was pressurized by the powers that be at the Nigeria Football Federation to give minutes to home-based players in the Super Eagles squad, something that would have weakened the team.

Rui Vitória is out of work at the moment following his dismissal as Egypt's national team boss after the country's dismal showing at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, where they were beaten by Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties in the round of 16.

Nineteen players on the books of Egyptian clubs were named on the Pharaohs' AFCON roster with eight based abroad including Premier League stars Mohamed Salah and Mohamed Elneny.

On the other hand, Jose Peseiro took twenty-four foreign-based players to Ivory Coast and just one NPFL player Olorunleke Ojo who was not utilized during the tournament. 

If Peseiro were to include more players from the local scene in the AFCON squad, it would be to the  detriment of those players competing abroad. 

Reacting to Peseiro's statement, Rui Vitória told Portuguese sports daily A Bola: "Egypt is a different reality. It has players of quality and potential, and there are three tremendously strong teams: Al Ahly, Zamalek, mainly, and now Pyramids, where the players are stars.

"It is not easy there, as it happens in other latitudes, for a player to leave that environment, his family, the good weather, the food, his friends, and abandon his status at the club where he is idolized and join any European team."

The Super Eagles squad that clinched the 2013 AFCON title boasted six players from the domestic league, among them Azubuike Egwuekwe, Reuben Gabriel, Godfrey Oboabona, Ejike Uzoenyi, Sunday Mba, and Chigozie Agbim.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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