Osimhen Feels More Pressure Playing For Super Eagles — Peseiro

Head coach of the Super Eagles Jose Peseiro has admitted that Napoli's in-form Victor Osimhen feels more pressure with the national team than his club.

Peseiro said this in Osimhen's defence as the lethal forward failed to register a goal in Nigeria's AFCON qualifying fixtures against Guinea-Bissau, putting him under public scrutiny.

He however had a number of good scoring chances in both legs but couldn't replicate the goalscoring form that earned him the reputation of being one of the hottest strikers in Europe at the moment.

Asked to comment on Osimhen's recent struggles with the Super Eagles, Peseiro said it is a result of the pressure he feels when representing Nigeria.

"Victor is among the top scorers in Europe but it happens.

"Sometimes the people complain about the players, it's not true they are not committed. 

"The players come here and feel the pressure, they feel the stress. 

"Osimhen came here to fight for our shirt, for the Super Eagles. 

"Osimhen now feels the pressure more with our national team than in Napoli, it's not good," he told a news conference.

Peseiro further noted that he spoke to Osimhen about putting pressure on himself but discovered that the striker had a mindset of doing "everything well" for the Eagles to succeed. 

"I spoke with him, the first match, he started the match in Nigeria. 

"He started feeling the pressure - I need to score, I need to do everything well.

"When a player puts it in his mind I need to do everything well, sometimes he doesn't do well, but he made a fantastic sacrifice.

"When our players put on the shirt to defend the Super Eagles, they are under more pressure. The fans, people need to understand that.

"They feel too much pressure because they want to do well for the country, family, flag and Super Eagles. 

"That moment, they commit more mistakes, they don't do things well," he added.

Despite Osimhen's failings in front of goal, no player has scored more goals than him in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

He is level with former Liverpool man Sadio Mane on five goals having scored four of those goals in Nigeria's record 10-0 hammering of São Tomé and Príncipe.