Nigeria boss Jose Peseiro has revealed what he believes are the reasons behind his side's loss in the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday night.
The Super Eagles overcame hurdles of considerable proportion to reach the tournament's deciding match, but suffered a 2-1 defeat to hosts Ivory Coasts, who came back from being a goal down to win the trophy.
Read: Four things we learned from AFCON 2023
A 38th minute opener by captain William Troost-Ekong was not enough to secure victory as Franck Kessie found the equaliser in the 62nd minute before striker Sebastien Haller scored what proved to be the winner in the 81st minute of the match.
The victory saw the Elephants secure their third continental title at the expense of the Super Eagles, who missed out on the opportunity to win their fourth after competing in their eighth AFCON final.
In trying to explain their defeat, Peseiro said that he felt his players were not comfortable and thus unable to exhibit their best level.
"Ivory Coast were better than us and played very well," he said, per Allthingsfpl.
"Our team didn't show our level. I'm sad, my team is sad. Sometimes you want to do something but you cannot.
"I don't know why, but I didn't feel my players were comfortable. We lost many balls from the back. That allows their players to create more attacks."
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Nigeria were undefeated in the tournament prior to the final, finishing second in their group before going on to beat Cameroon, Angola and South Africa in the knockout rounds.
The Super Eagles, however, could not replicate their results against the now three-time AFCON winners, and Peseiro admitted that nerves may have affected his side's performance.
"The second half was more balanced between the teams," the Portuguese manager continued.
"We can speak about strategies and systems, but our team could not play at their level, individually and collectively.
"Ivory Coast were fantastic. They didn't feel nervous. My team and players felt nervous. It can happen in football.
"Everybody must congratulate my players. They had a fantastic tournament."
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