Head coach of Nigeria, Jose Peseiro, has explained the reason for some of the tactical changes he made during a friendly with Mexico last week.
According to him, the Super Eagles played badly in the first half, because of a mistake in the team’s set-up.
Mexico beat Nigeria 2-1 inside the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Peseiro, who is a big fan of the 3-5-2 formation, started with the trio of Chidozie Awaziem, William Troost-Ekong, and Semi Ajayi in the heart of the defence flanking them with wing-backs Moses Simon and Calvin Bassey.
The set-up failed as El Tri took the lead in only the 12th minute and the Eagles didn’t muster a single shot on target in that opening half.
Peseiro then changed his formation to a back four, a move that saw a change in the team’s efficiency, as Cyril Desser headed in for 1-1.
An unfortunate Troost-Ekong own-goal ensured the Mexicans won.
“We cannot hide it; we played a very bad first half.
“We had five players in defence, and they had two players playing forward and the two players controlled the five. They were pressing and we did not solve it. We cannot have that.
“We decided that if the two was controlling the three, then we have to make it a four and have more control in midfield.
“And it helped us take control of the game,” Peseiro told ESPN.