Central African Republic head coach Raoul Savoy has explained how his side managed to stop an overconfident Super Eagles.
A 91st minute goal from Karl Namnganda, following a mixup at the back between Leon Balogun and William Troost-Ekong, earned CAR a shock 1-0 win in Thursday’s Group C 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
It was CAR’s first win in the group and takes the to four points while the Eagles on six points still lead.
And speaking to journalists, Savoy disclosed how his side stunned the star-studded Eagles.
“We stood by them and know that if we cut them off and don’t allow them to be quick then we’ve got a chance. It’s a very great result for us.
“I’m very happy because we put in a strategy and it worked. And when you put in a strategy and have young players, because we have young players in our team, who listen and put their heart in, they can beat anyone.
“Nigeria is one of the best team in Africa but sometimes in football you don’t take the game serious because you feel at the beginning you have already won. I feel the Eagles said ‘we are going to take the three points and focus on other things’.”
Both teams will meet again on Sunday for the reverse fixture in Douala, Cameroon on Sunday.
By James Agberebi
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COMMENTS
Coach mentioning strategy. Our own …such an array of talent messed up by an incredible Rohr. Super Ducks
His own worked out today no big deal bro. every coach has a strategy or tactics for every match but one must scale through that is the mystery of football. You heard the man saying over confident Nigeria team, you and your likes always want the coach, players to boast before every match but see where that left us today?
Get Rohr any tactical assistants pls. Right now it’s needed. The tools (players) are there.
Good evening mr roar or rohr. The same old story : rigid tactics, wrong substitutions, wrong tactics, lack of creativity in the team because the team lacked creative midfielders. We played 4:4 with minnow such as lone stars , we lost to Madagascar and now we lost to central African republic yet some of his supporters are saying this is football. This coach is incompetent. He does not know how to use the talented players that are available for selection. Mr picnic or panick you saw how fans were angry during the match. You reputation as member of fifa executive council is at stake. Incompetence and greed can truncate any career whether as a sport administrator or fifa official. Please pay this man off and get a good coach. God bless Nigeria
The other day someone said when is our double head inter house sport with car. I said it that day that we should not allow overconfident to set in.
We all just thought with CAR it will be additional 6 point. No team should be under estimated again.
Am not sure if the technical team even bother to watch any of CAR games prior to today’s game.
More also we lost todays game from the middle, the mild field was not cohesive at all and no creativity.
The second leg is more or less like away game for CAR, so ealge should capitalise on that. Should we fail to get a point in that game, we should forget about world cup.
Hahaha Soy was laughing when that dead old coache made that dumb substitution.
I have never seen Nigeria with arrays of young quality stars in a very long time, and their performance over time is next to shambolic. There are coaches in the past who need time to build a solid team but the FA never gave them the chance before sacking them. I just cant understand why this FA sticks to the wrong man for this long. Keshi didnt have the luxury of having a bunch of good players like this and he played better football compare to this team. With due respect, the bottom line is this coach is not the one for the job. He’s been in the job for how many years now and still no head way, common man.
And still no head way? Common man!!! He has qualified for 3 major tournaments after back to back failures. Yes we lost to a more determined team because the SuperEagles underrated the WildBeasts. A team that can be likened to Cameroon, DRC, Congo and Gabon, teams that’ve gave us problems many times in the past. We are missing virtually our entire midfield and you expect a team to come together in two or three days to whitewash a team that’d been training together for two weeks or more????
Obviously, we underrated CAR and that is criminal in my opinion, but qualifiers always throws those kain of results and at the end of the day the boys will be separated from the men. I’ve read some comments that SuperEagles will not qualify from this group. I laugh in French because despite the loss we are still topping the group so what’s the fuse about?? Just to castigate the coach?? No problem it only comes once in a while enjoy it while it last as the SuperEagles are about to explode!!!!
Mr mechanic abeg spare all this rubbish that he has taken us to 3 straight this and that, he goes there and eventually fumbles. We have told you and your cohorts that the man is incompetent, but you are ready to defend the garbage he offers us.
It’s a personal issue for you guys,your empty egos is stopping many of you from admitting your foolery,this your seeming unconditional support for the coach at the expense of the growth of our football. Let me ask you people, at what point does one begun to query the competence and technical abilities of an employed coach/gaffer? When Nigeria becomes the laughing stock of the continent?we had a pedigree, we never used to lose to all this lower rung football country, your rohr has put that in our hitherto respect-commanding records, and all you do is sing his praises to high heavens, if he’s that good, you think the likes of Barcelona, man u,Chelsea won’t have poached him away from us? Many of us never knew a time will come when some so-called ardent lovers of our football will tell us no ‘big deal’ losing to likes of Madagascar, car,sierra leone, Algeria twice under a year,shame,shame,shame
Super eagles abi waiting them call should stop bosting as build up to any game and focus on their tactics
The coach is not good. The Beast of Congo’s coach says he was very strategic in his approach. Ask Rohr what strategy he applied in today’s match. Zero. I bet, any local team in Nigeria would have beaten the Congo Beast today. They will easily beat super Duck again in Cameroon on Sunday. Forget about going to World-Cup with this coach leading super Duck. Some of the players were running like a chicken whose heads were cut off. Running around without purpose. Folks, join me, Omo9ja and, many other patriotic Nigerians to pledge that NNF should let Rohr go. Rohr is toothless, he can not bite anymore. He is too old for the job. He is tired ,he wants to go home to his people in Germany. Let him go now. Please !!.
And when we get a good result in the return leg please don’t come here to praise the coach O!! Fair weather fan of the highest order! When we won against Cape Verde you were all over the forum praising the gaffer it’s only when we lost that you always recognize Omo9ja as your fellow repressive Lmao!! Even though we lost we’re still top of the group. CAR has shown us what to expect in Cameroon and I’m sure my SuperEagles will be ready for the battle ahead.
It could, perhaps, turn out to be a pipe dream as well. The opponent has something going for them that Nigeria doesn’t have, that is, a coach with a strategy. Remember, another game loss, super duck is out playing in the dirty pond. The Beast will then go home with 6 points too. Think about that.
The worst that will happen in Douala is a draw. We could’ve got at least a draw from this match but enthusiasm of trying to a get a win at all cost exposed our defense and we paid dearly for it. Meanwhile it’s only one game we’ll see what’s up on Sunday in Douala. I’m sure the SuperEagles will bounce back. We have the pedigree for that.
Draw ke…? Rohr shouldnt just dare that. Otherwise he will be on his own as from then on. Him and the entire team have to go and pull up their pants and start getting serious. If they dont wanna play they should just stay back at their bases, but if they have come all the way down here to play then they have to play and play well.
A home draw would have ranked as the lowest point for the SE since Rohr took over…i dont know what to quantity this loss. They all should go back to their hotels and ask themselves if they want to keep being this lackadaisical and shambolic and getting humiliates or they want to be serious, business like and guns blazing every game. All these seniorman off the pitch and puppylike display on it has to come to an end.
I saw a different SE yesterday from the ones I watch every weekend at their clubs. Even osimhen was just lashing at every ball today without being intelligent about it. The coach, the players, the FA…they were all a bunch of disappointment today.
From an organizational point of view, what was the hurry in playing this game on a Thursday when we only normally get a full house on a Tuesday….knowing fully that most of the regulars wouldn’t be around.
Only 5 straight wins till we reach Qatar can compensate for yesterday’s humiliation.
The SE that CAR beat today were complacent and unprepared.
CAR will be facing a different SE on Sunday. An SE that will be baying for blood.
An SE that will be looking for retribution.
We all know what our boys are capable of when they have been pushed to the corner, when they are written off. That is when their claws come out.
Coach Savoy, see you on Sunday!
Until our Bless Sunday, we shall meet again.
The truth is football is that a coach is as good as his last result.QED. I am not advocating for his sack(The NFF does not even have the $3m severance pay in an event of a sack.) The coach knows that his job is safe.His clever lawyers have ensured that upfront.
Once in a while, big teams lose matches to unheralded oposition and that is the beauty of football.England lost to Iceland in the Euros and heaven did not fall.Same with Nigeria losing to CAR.
But that said, a few introspection though.A team is as good as its reserve bench.During Westerhof era, you can take off the first eleven and replace them with the next set of players and you will barely know the difference.The strength in dept of any team is to have 2 or 3 good players for every position.Tomorrow if our present set of strikers are out injured what happens?
The game was lost on 3 fronts, we ran out of ideas when CAR parked the bus.Ineffective strategy and game plan and complacency of our central defenders.The oyibo wall may need to spend some time out to reinvent themselves as they have become too relaxed knowing that they will always play.
The other thing is that we must learn to respect teams and stay humble as there are no small teams anymore.CAR taught us a lesson in humility.They sneaked into the country unheralded and unannounced.No single press interview by their players. They were disciplined to their game plan and duly won.Big congratulations to them.
But the honest truth is that Rangers of Enugu, or Enyimba or Rivers United would have beaten this CAR team silly.That is a fact no one can deny.
See you on Sunday
No comments until Sunday,
Creat a competitive environment in your team……stop assuring your first team players of their shirts in public…….be ready to take risks and transmit such mentality to your players…..There is an hirachy in the SE now because it is only when Ekong and Balogun are not playing that Omeruo or awaziem will have a chance of playing,no matter how they perform in training…….When Zaidu is out Collins automatically knows that the spot is his no matter what bassey does in training…….Ighalo had to retire for a whole osimhen to start getting games even during his exploit at Lille and Charleroi……. Practicing such seniority as a coach and making the players know it is not good at all……Keep your cards to yourself and spring surprises from time to time to make your players understand that competition exists in the team……. Now is a good opportunity to let the players understand that you are upset with Their performance against CAR because there is another match in 3 days time……..Ring changes,drop players who think they are untouchable….. Don’t remain rigid and field the same starting 11 against CAR…..I think Rhor should remain in his position for the now because changing him will rock the ship And set us back like 10 years.