Peseiro wants better finishing against Mozambique

Nigeria head coach Jose Peseiro is hoping his team will be more clinical in front of goal when they take on Mozambique at the Estadio Municipal de Albufeira in his homeland of Portugal on Monday.

Kick-off is at 5pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

The Super Eagles are in action again just three days after they played out to a 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia in Portimao, where they conceded a last-gasp equaliser in the 10th minute of stoppage time.

Goalkeeper Francis Uzoho came under the spotlight after his blunder gifted Salman Al Faraj the opener from a free-kick on the hour mark and he should perhaps also have done better when Mohamed Kanno scored from another set-piece at the death.

But Peseiro felt the West Africans should have killed the game off earlier on as they created numerous chances in both halves, but lacked a cutting edge in the final third.

With important 2026 World Cup qualifiers coming up against Lesotho and Zimbabwe, next month, the Portuguese tactician acknowledges they can do a lot better with converting their chances.

"We need to improve on our finishing," Peseiro said in his post-match interview. "I think we played very well in the first half and could have scored about three to five goals and in the second half as well.

"We created more chances in the second half but we need the killer instinct in this squad but I'm happy with the result."

Mozambique were denied a third straight win after Angola also scored late on to rescue a 1-1 draw at the same venue in Albufeira on Friday.

The Mambas took the lead through Faisal Bangal 19 minutes from time, but they weren't able to hold on as Gelson Dala hit back for the Black Sable Antelopes in the 85th minute.

Chiquinho Conde's side will face a much sterner test from Nigeria, although the contest should provide them with valuable information about where they stand ahead of Afcon 2023.

The draw for the continental showpiece took place on Thursday and presented Mozambique with a tough challenge after they landed Egypt, Ghana and Cape Verde in Group B.