Nigeria head coach, Jose Peseiro, has questioned his side's performance against Cote d'Ivoire during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The Super Eagles allowed a first-half lead to slide as they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the end of 90 minutes in Abidjan.

William Troost-Ekong opened the scoring for the Super Eagles before second-half strikes from Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller sealed the win for the host nation.

The defeat denied Nigeria a fourth AFCON title while handing the Elephants their third.

Peseiro, speaking after the game, says his side were far from their usual self against the host nation.

"Our team had a fantastic tournament but today Cote d'Ivoire were better," he said.

"They had a very good game. We didn't show our level. Not the same individual quality performance like we had done until now. Congratulations to Cote d'Ivoire were better.

"Congratulations to my players because they did a fantastic job until today. They wanted to win the trophy for Nigerians."

Nigeria last won the AFCON trophy in 2013 and were hoping to get their hands on the trophy once again in Abidjan.

Cote d’Ivoire now has the same number of #AFCON titles as Nigeria, and they are all one shy of Ghana’s four, of course.@Dani77k watched the Elephants overcome the Super Eagles in Abidjan and sums up everything that unfolded.#JoyAFCON | #AFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/s3RqVKo1aB

— #JoyAFCON (@JoySportsGH) February 12, 2024