(Reuters) – Nigeria have finally confirmed the appointment of former Porto and Sporting coach Jose Peseiro two weeks before the start of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The Portuguese had been tipped for the role late last year and was due to take charge after the last Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon ended in February, but his appointment was put on hold during haggling over the terms of his contract.
The 62-year-old, who was in charge of Venezuela until August last year, will have to hit the ground running with friendlies against Mexico (May 28) and Ecuador (June 2) ahead of the start of the Cup of Nations qualifiers where they meet Sierra Leone (June 9) and Mauritius (June 13).
The Nigeria Football Federation confirmed Peseiro’s appointment on Monday but did not give any further details except to say he will be assisted by former Nigeria midfielder Finidi George.
Nigeria reached the second round of the continental finals in Cameroon but were surprisingly ousted on away goals by Ghana in March in the third qualifying stage for this year’s World Cup in Qatar.
Augustine Eguavoen was the coach for those two matches but sacked following the latter failure.
(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Ken Ferris)
