Benin Republic head coach Gernot Rohr has said his team’s attention will now be on how to try and qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after booking their place at next year’s AFCON in Morocco.
The Cheetahs secured their place in next year’s tournament after holding Libya to a 0-0 draw in their final Group D game in Tripoli.
After the conclusion of the qualifiers, Benin finished second on eight points.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles topped the group after amassing 11 points while Rwanda and Libya were third and fourth respectively.
After the game against Libya Rohr, quoted on Joueurs Beninoise, said: “We qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations. It is a done deal. Now, we are going to try and qualify for the World Cup.”
Rohr qualified Nigeria’s Super Eagles for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, finishing top in a group that had Cameroon, Algeria, and Zambia.
Meanwhile, Benin Republic will be heading to its fifth appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations.
They are currently in third place on seven points in Group C of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
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Complete sports, did you have to remind us that “…Rohr qualified Nigeria’s Super Eagles for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, finishing top (with a 5-point gap) in a group that had Cameroon, Algeria, and Zambia….” ???
Practically, Rohr coaching Benin republic amassed the same number of points as the technical director of Nigerian football coaching the SE. Benin even scored more goals than Nigeria in these qualifiers……LMAOOoo
I want those ex-internationals like Dosu and Akpoborie who called him a Mechanic to come back now to tell us who the Mechanic is between the two.
If this man should qualify for Benin the world cup…….?!
‘If this man should qualify for Benin the world cup…….?!’
I would lie if I said that this isn’t a worry for me @Dr Drey.
How in the world, the NFF expects Eguavoen to tactically outshine a Rohr, Splitter and Broos in the world cup qualifier is beyond me. Especially with the fact that we are going to play some away and WİN all 6 remaining games. Trust me, that’s insurmountable task for Mr Technical director, Eguavoen.
My plea is still out. Gusua, get us a COMPETENT foreign coach ASAP. We simply can’t miss out on another world cup. Newly reformed one for that matter. And in America, Canada and Mexico, countries with overwhelming Nigerians in diaspora!
This is just disappointing to be held in duress by pathetic leadership.
Mr Hush, for the sake of your health and sanity, please forget about the 2026 World cup. It’s an alternative forgone as they call it in economics.
Gusau chose the alternative of saving money and forego-ed qualifying for the world cup.
Pompei and I did a simple business analytic here a few months ago…..having won $4m from AFCON, it would take just $3m spread over a 30 month period to pay a quality top grade coach $100,000 from February 2024 till July 2026 when the world cup will end.
Rwanda, Benin and South Africa could afford average coaches who dont even earn up to $50,000 per month, but Gusau rather chose to put our destiny in the hands of charlatans whose profile in coaching does not even scare a fan, talk more of fellow coaches.
Is anyone still wondering why those 3 are currently the ones topping our WCQ group…? And I can bet with anyone who is ready, one of those 3 will eventually make it to the WC. I even hear Torsten Splitter is leaving Rwanda now. Maybe Gusau should go and have a word with him.
But in all honesty, I can’t see any coach anywhere in the world the NFF will rush into employing at this 11th hour that will come in for his first match in March 2025 and go on a 6-win run to qualify for the WC.
We are unfortunately stuck with this “gather and play” Eguavoen or embarking on a futile money down the drain venture trying to hire a last minute messiah in 2025.
Trust me on this.
The NFF will appoint a coach to safe their head. By now they know if SE fail to qualify for WC with this local coaches in charge, Nigerians will come for their head. Especially with our position on the wc log. I believe they will do the needful before our next WC games in March.
“…play some away…”
No, play 3 away. Eguavoen played 3 away in the just concluded qualifiers AND WON NONE. CAF inspired a “win” via their boardroom and CAS are about to judge the matter.
He drew against Benin Republic (60 places beneath us) and Rwanda (90 places beneath us) and, oh, isn’t God wonderful, both nations are in our WC group that we MUST WIN ALL AWAY MATCHES next year and both are CURRENTLY TOPPING US.
Everyone is using Nigeria to shine. Coaches who should have grovelled and cringed when their teams are facing us NOW HAVE THE AUDACITY to dream at appearing at the most expanded World cup edition in 2 years time
Make we go hide. Ihenacho is in another article saying the team have red eye now because someone told them they are still indispensable and slots guaranteed.
The ambition is gone before it begins
I want to use this medium to plead to our fellow SE supporters to forget about World Cup 2026, there’s absolutely no way Nigeria can Qualify. We had our chance to correct everything but the clueless Gusua led NFF decided to go for Dead brain Finish could only manage 1 point from 2 matches. How do you expect the Super Eagle to qualify when we are playing Rwanda that just disgraced us in UYO away?
We don’t even have a coach, Eguaveon Can’t outsmart all the coaches in our world cup group tactically. Let’s just focus on 2025 Afcon and forget 2026 world Cup.
You can forget it if you want that’s your choice..For me with the right gaffer 6 matches is a lot to turn things around..
Same way some people on this forum said we will go home after the group stages at the last afcon especially after we Drew the first match.
Eguavon may not be good but the truth is that we qualified for afcon.
Cote D’Ivoire may not be good at the last afcon but they won.
Sometimes we just talk about football as if we are the GOD of football.
And with the way some people sing the praises of rohr on this forum still baffles me. As if we didn’t have some nasty results and displays during rohr era. If he was perfect we won’t have to sack after giving him lots of years to bring up something. He is always talking about afcon semi final but after he was sacked we got to the final.
If we are getting a new coach we should not be praising rohr here.
If you love Benin and rohr you’re free. It’s your choice but stop putting unnecessary and inconsequential records of rohr on us to make him appear as an angel.
As if Benin and rohr did not get spanked here in Nigeria.
What makes a good supporter is one who criticises his team and still stand with them to get good results not one who is sad when they are getting good results but who comes to the forum to show his happiness when they have bad results.
All these are just to show their love for rohr as if rohr is guadiola or Mourinho.
Abeg, don’t write eagles off until the final match is played during world cup qualifiers.
Just as you did before afcon. People like that when the team began to win matches at afcon they disappeared from the forum but they lost the final they appeared again. Immature football supporters.
Even if nff did not get a new coach before wc qualifiers, people like stand with the team. Even if they didn’t qualify I stand with the team. Nigeria is my country. Super eagles is my team. Chikena.
@Christian Ministries Nigeria the only way Nigeria Stands a chance of Qualifying for World Cup and Beating that Hugo Broos Led Bafana Bafana that is playing like Manchester City now is using a Quality coach that will give the in game Drills to execute and teach them how to dominate possession. Eguavoen cannot do that.
You people keep talking about AFCON as if we will not have World Cup Qualifiers to deal with before then let me give you an insight the game against South Africa World Cup qualifier is in September 2025 only 2 months before AFCON in November 2025, Let me ask you people what do you think will happen if we get crushing defeats to Benin, Rwanda and Most Especially South Africa in September 2025 you think the TEAM will have the moral in November to have a good AFCON outing??. why is Nigeria Always planning to FAIL!!.. It seems you people have not even done you proper Homework to realise the timing of those WC and AFCON and what a defeat in those WC qualifiers will do to our Moral going into AFCON a couple months later
LET ME EDUCATE YOU A POOR EC QUALIFIER WILL MEAN DISASTER AND POOR AFCON OUTING
DO NOT SAY I DID NOT WARN YOU PEOPLE!!!! A WORD IS ENOUGH FOR THE WISE
Ugo – Do you mind explaining how South Africa is playing like Man City? They played Uganda and war-ravaged South Sudan. Lol
The NFF is a masterclass in mediocrity. Nearly a year wasted in search of a coach, and all they could muster is Eguaveon—a man whose tactics inspire about as much confidence as a rickety bus on a mountain road. This is the same coach who failed to qualify us for the last World Cup, yet here we are, expecting different results from the same formula of failure.
I read somewhere in a previous comment that that the nff might want to hire a foreign coach “to save face.” What face? The NFF lost any semblance of dignity ages ago. They’ve normalized failure to the point that missing the World Cup is just another routine disaster. And the excuse of being unable to afford $50k for a proper coach? Laughable. Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa, home to politicians who loot billions, yet we can’t invest in the Super Eagles? It’s not a lack of funds—it’s a lack of priorities.
Under Eguaveon, our World Cup hopes are a flicker in the wind. Even if we qualify, it’ll be in spite of him, not because of him. Until the NFF prioritizes competence over complacency, we’ll remain the “giant of Africa” only in name, not in results.
@Papafem it is so shameful and some Fans have become so used to faliure that they have normalised it and their excuse is rebuild for next one, they have been saying this Damn Rebuild for Next one since god knows when
Thank you bros, NFF and some Fans are Reducing this Team to the level of Botswana them it is shameful and sad
Please My dear forum mates resist in thinkng we will have a good AFCON outing if we collapse in WC qualifiers the Last WC qualifiers are just to close to kickoff of AFCON in 2025, meaning a collapse in WC qualifiers and demoralisation of Failing especially to continental and recent Bitter Rivals of Late South Africa and Loud mouth coach Hugo Broos will Demoralise that team also meaning a change of coach 1 month before kickoff, this will be an utter disaster for Super Eagles coupled with the fact and by then well known fact Super Eagles have missed out of 2 back to back World Cups will be a big shame and consequently Dismiss any claim of being Giants in African Ball we will officially be regarded a minow.
NIGERIANS if we must succeed Next year the only Option is to bring in a Coach World Class Foreign Coach only one that comes to mind Herve Renard. This must be done ASAP NFF if you are listening to me ACT now We can not afford to fail Next year and missing out of WC will cause a ripple effect that will take us back 3 or 4 years.
This current set of players with the right experienced Manager can over turn world Cup. SA, Benin and Rwanda can play eachother out, after all everyone has lost 1 game. We can do it but certainly not with Augustine Eguavoen. Thank you!