I was asked to drop Osimhen against Cameroon

Ademola Lookman scored twice in each half to hand Nigeria a famous win over the Indomitable Lions.

But it was Victor Osimhen that did most of the dirty work, most notably when the Napoli forward broke free and laid off a pass to Lookman, who saw his weak finish trickle over the line to give the three-time African champions their first goal.

Peseiro insisted that the highly sought-after striker had a fantastic game despite his goal drought extending to three games at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The 25-year-old was everywhere, troubled Cameroon with his physicality and worked brilliantly for his Super Eagles teammates.

Addressing the press after the game, a Cameroonian journalist asked Peseiro why Osimhen did not get the job done by getting on the scoresheet, and the Portuguese highlighted the key role played by his key man in the game.

“He didn’t score but had a fantastic game; it’s not easy to stop that guy. One lady asked me yesterday to put Osimhen on the bench if you want to score,” Peseiro said.

“Ask the opponents’ defenders what they suffered. He pressured, won the first ball, and created the goal. The opponent had the ball and, with pressure, took the ball and assisted.

“He’s fantastic for our team, which has very good players. We want a striker who can defend and attack, sometimes you need to give him the ball and he’ll win the ball against two or three.”

Nigeria’s next game is on February 2, when they will come up against Angola in the last eight.