By Adeboye Amosu:
The Super Eagles of Nigeria will return to action when tyey face Seychelles in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixture on September 7 in Victoria, reports Completesportsnigeria.com.
The encounter will be their first competitive game following their exit from the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The three-time AFCON winners who have missed out on the last two editions of the competition lost 2-0 against South Africa in their first game in the qualifiers.
Gernot Rohr’s men will face Libya on October 10 at home will the reverse fixture to hold five days later in Tripoli.
The reverse fixture against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa is scheduled for November 16.
The Super Eagles will round off their qualifying campaign with a home fixture against Seychelles on March 22, 2019.
Dates and venues are subject to approval of CAF and respective Football Associations.
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COMMENTS
Mr. Rohr was a very confident man during the World Cup qualifiers. He believed we could beat any African team and that mindset was translated to the players. But in the World Cup, it was a different story. Like most Germans, he felt Nigeria was not good enough for the world stage. You could read this from his body language and his own words testified to this. This negative mindset was communicated also to the players and the rest is history.
I want him sacked, not because I dislike him, but because I believe he does not posess the mentality to take us to the next level in our game. Like a commentator has said in this forum, you cannot give what you don’t have.
Its time to look for a younger and more ambitious coach. NFF, please do something!
The Argentine team we lost to is the worst to have represented that country for years. We had no business losing to them. They beat us because they had more self belief and footballing pride. They felt it was a taboo losing to Nigeria. If our coach had instilled a similar belief into our boys, the result would have been different.
No other coach since the Westerhof days has received this much support from the NFF like Mr. Rohr received. That is why I am so disappointed.
Let the old man go!
You are very much on point. I am not happy that I have not heard about his sack up till now. He has lost the confidence of most Nigerians. He spent all the time in Russia, praising croatia and the rest players in the group. Russia that defeated Spain today did so due to their self believe, I saw how they were jubilating before the penalty kicks. Mbape was in d news today for donating his match bonus to charity, saying that he doesn’t represent the national team for money.the same cannot be said of our boys that earn thousands of pounds weekly yet they are willing to abandon or refuse to train when they are owed as little as 5k dollars match bonus. Before the nations cup qualifier which I don’t value(the world cup is valuable for me) the issue of using money to pamper these average players should be addressed, clueless rohr MUST be made to be watching our local league and stop going round Europe begging players like idowu to come and play for Nigeria. A wing back that made zero pullout all through the 7/8 matches that he played. Do I need to remind them that it’s finished for old and tired legs like ighalo, onazi, Joel obi echejile, players that are below par should be dropped too e.g Simy nwankwo,idowu,iheanacho apkeyi, ezenwa. It should not be a problem for us to qualify as a second runner up cos I don’t see this team getting any point from South Africa at away. South Africa plays with home based footballers and they were able to humiliate rohr and and his average team. Rohr does not have the confidence to play any home-based player against an African side, he will still be looking for players born abroad or players in 2 division to come and play for us. A certain tounarigha that plays youth football in Germany would have been at the world cup if he had pledged his allegiance to Nigeria, that’s how low rohr has taken our football to. Something has to be done NOW
Bomboy, as much as I share your sense of disappointment at the nature of our exit at the World Cup, I don’t think it is the right time to talk about sacking Rohr.
Like you, I am no longer a fan of Gernot Rohr and I look forward to when he ceases to be the coach of our national team.
However, I think this period calls for pragmatism.
There are greater issues – though not evident – facing the Super Eagles now which are continuity, stability and transition and I hate to admit that I believe Rohr is the man to achieve goals in these areas.
There are 3 categories of players in the national team and the moment who need integration, development or glorious exit/retirement.
We have players like: Uzoho, Ebuehi and Iheanacho who need continued integration.
Players like: Moses, Etebo, Ndidi and Iwobi need renewed development while players like: Echiejile and Onazi need to be phased out in a dignified manner.
Much as I would not want to admit it, the need for stability, continuity and smooth transition for the Super Eagles far outweighs my desire to have Rohr sacked.
And, come to think of it, the Super Eagles was a mess when the Pep Guardiola of Africa (Mr. Oliseh) decided to jump the sinking ship he stirred into the iceberg.
Rohr brought stability to the team and restored the reputation of the Super Eagles as a credible team in Africa and at the World stage.
Nigeria has failed to qualify for the group stages twice prior to Rohr and on both times, Nigeria came last in the group – at least that wasn’t the case this time around.
Our team needs continued stability at this time and I think Rohr is the man to deliver that in the short term.
Correction ***second to the last paragraph should read: “Nigeria has failed to qualify from the group stages (to the knockout stages) of the World Cup…. ***
Oliseh ran for his dear life. Wud it be beta if he was dead like our dear Keshi or Amodu?
And Oliseh did well too,if u talk of tactics,motivation and results.
At least I’m sure Oliseh or even Siasia,would av made simple changes by around the 70th min of dat Argie match and easily we wud av gone tru.
Eliakim, quoting one of my lovely brothers in this forum, Bro.SunnyB,:’ you can’t give what you don’t have.”
Mr Oliseh – in my view – is a legend of Nigerian football and nothing will change that.
However, as a coach, some of his flaws were laid bare when he managed Nigeria.
This included inadequate stakeholder management (which led to him falling out big time with his ex-colleagues in the NFF and sections of the media) and inadequate man management skills (which led in the unfortunate manner that Emenike and Enyeama left the international football scene).
Oliseh had best intentions for Nigeria. However, I think he needs to work on aspects of his overall coaching skills if he is to excel as a narional team coach for any country.
He couldn’t give us what he didn’t have at the time hence why, in your words, he had to run for his dear life.
Bro Aphyllythegreat, I throwaway salute!
Fact is he had the tactical know-how to do the job,not that he just had good intentions.Mr Amaju doesn’t employ quacks,if you know him well.
That’s the Musa he made as captain,he knew this about Musa,then.O yes,I think he was harsh on Enyeama,but it doesn’t reduce Oliseh. Aren’t dey harsh on Enyeama now at his club?Was Guardiola nt harsh on Yaya,has Mourinho not made bad player judgements?
Oh yes coaching is beyond just tactical acumen,people like Conte,Mourinho&even Guardiola are now learning how to be more like Father’s to plays(not just great trainers) and how to be deal with club hierarchy with less fuss. These are what Oliseh needs to address&maybe wat u call ‘overall coaching skills’.
He left d SEagles& coached a club in Holland,and made multiple history by getting them promoted to d elite division. A huge history&by an African.
But before the end of the season he was sacked(by that time,his team were more or less safe to be promoted),then later d club apologized to him and rescinded d sack& allowed his contract(wich was to expire at d end of same season) to expire normally.
It was clear dat his team of players had no problems wit him,but it was a war between club management and Oliseh dat cost him dat job.Oliseh said,he refused to be a pun in their hands to do some illegalities.
But it’s quite clear dat dat old issue he has wit hierarchy still needs help.
I even think dat we are saying same thing on Oliseh.
Let me add dat in dis same Dutch club(Fortuna..),Oliseh purposely eased out old players,&brot up young ones(same as he was to do with the Supers Eagles)&got dem promoted.
How many matches did he lose with the SuperEagles?
He ran for dear life,is wat it means.Go find out.
He didn’t leave because he isn’t a world class coach as per coaching tactics.
I repeat an Oliseh,or even Siasia wud av made a change long before the Argies scored. He won’t see an over-stretched midfield and not reacted. Simple
Eliakim, thank you so much. One of the benefits of this forum is that it allows us share our knowledge and also to ‘steal’ knowledge from others.
I now have greater awareness of Oliseh’s ways and how passionate his fans are through your beautifully crafted contribution above.
Love him or hate him, Oliseh has left an imprint in our football consciousness and his activities – positively or negatively appraised – will be discussed for many years to come.
Cheers bro.
Thanks Deo.
Oh well,that’s wat dis forum is all about.
I like how we can “steal” here.hehe.
Stop complaining.
We are awaiting FIFA hammer.
Pinnick has just been sacked by court again.
FIFA will banned us for life.
How can this old men be playing politics with our football,infact let the country disintegrate cos it’s no longer walking,election is by September n court sacked AP on d 5th of June for Chris giwa to assume office pending d final court verdict which could be in d next 5 years this is absolute madness for the sake of d fans,sportsmanship n d unifying factor can’t Chris giwa close d case n recon test by September it’s just a clear prof that he is there for selfish reasons
You’re absolutely on point @deo. Eloquently delivered piece of write up. As much as I think Rohr went brain freeze in the last 10 minutes of the match against Argentina and the tactical disappointment against Croatia. A game we could’ve got away with a draw, I still believe he’s the right man for the SuperEagles at the moment. I haven’t seen the SuperEagles play with such swagger in a very long time. Pundits all over the world have already dubbed them ‘Africa’s team of the future’.
Obviously, these SuperEagles are not the magnificent swashbuckling side of the 90s that plays with so much physicality, flair, gusto and panache. In all honesty that is the only thing missing in these present SuperEagles. However, they displayed enormous team spirit not seen in recent times by a Nigerian team at the Mundial.
For me I won’t bother myself about players who should remain or go. Certainly some have played their last game in a SuperEagles jersey and some other players will emerge. The AFCON in Cameroon next year is a platform for Rohr and his generals to show how far they have come after the priceless experience in Russia. We have two AFCON, two U20 and two U17 tournaments between now and Qatar. The way we approach those tournaments will determine how far we have come.
We missed two AFCON, we failed to qualify for the last U20 and U17 WorldCup yet we’re looking for a quick fix and thereby expecting a team of 18 WorldCup debutants to go to Russia and beat everybody with Modric, Rakitic, Mandzukic, Messi, Aguero, Higuain in the group of death!!! Players from Madrid, Barcelona, Man City, Juventus et all.
Inspite all that SuperEagles only lost to an own goal and a penalty against Croatia. Robbed against Argentina, but displayed gritt, pace and dynamism in the eyes of the watching world. The only thing these team needs is a proven goal scorer. The Midfield and defense only needs to be more pragmatic especially if we can find another ball playing midfielder to compliment Etebo going forward. The future for this team can only get better. #FLY LIKE AN EAGLE INTO THE FUTURE.
Yes we missed the last two Afcon and the just concluded under 17 and 20, guess what,we won bronze in the last Olympic.and we won under 17 back to back. Where are the players that won all this laurels. Justification is the best weapon for a failure. It’s obvious something is wrong with our players selections, coaching and scouting, we need to those area to attain our greatness as a football loving nation.
Etebo, Mikel, Ekong played at the Olympics. Uzoho, Iheanacho and Ndidi were members of the U17 team in 2013. How many amongst the 2015 U17 team except Nwakali are playing as first team players at their various clubs??? Most of them are still in the feeders team of their clubs in Europe. Kelechi Nwakali, Victor Osimhen, Samuel Chukwueze, Kingsley Michael and even Uzoho if possible can all still play the next U20 Mundial. I’m more dissappointed than you are, but I’m glad that we have a pattern for the immediate future.
Sacking the coach is not the best option right now. Continuity is key so as not to distabilize the team thereby starting from scratch again. We have a good team. Yes, some need to go and we have capable replacement for them except the No.9 that am not sure of. For me those that need to go are Onazi,Ighalo,Echejile,Joel Obi. Capable Replacement we have to add to the team are Kelechi Nwakali and Chidebere Nwakali,Usman Mohammed,Musa Mohammed,Ryan Sanusi. For the No.9 role, i will suggest Usman Sadiq,Victor Oshimen(If he gets a new club or playing time at Wolfsburg),Junior Lokosa. I think with the addition of these Young talents, it will boost a new energy and Flair in the team. Super Eagles should note that nothing short of winning the AFCON title will be acceptable by their fans.
#Soar Super Eagles
@ Deo, I respect your opinion as always. I will keep my fingers crossed and adopt the wait and see attitude. I hope it all turns out well with Rohr still in charge. My only fear is that he may do well in Africa again and by 2022 he starts with a fresh excuse why we are not good enough for the World stage.
May God keep us all till then.
yes I concur, The only compensation we need for the pains the SE inflicted on us is The AFCON gold Medal.Also going forward Rohr must change his Mentality of always talking down our players abilities while praising opponents. This always makes the players enter the game with fear of the unknown and unnecessary respect for opponents.This life is luck. The fact the a player finds himself in realmadrid, Barcelona or Juvrntus does not mean he is better than others. If that were the case why did Mexico beat Germany with mostly home base and also Korea beat Germany with Home-based.A talented player is talented no matter where they play.so Rohr must employ a psychologist to strengthen the mentality of our players wenever they are to face players who are lucky to be playing in big clubs to avoid inferiority complex like we saw against Argentina and even Croatia at the world cup
Thanks guys I think we r all heading in same direction now n it can only mean success for our darling SE, n if we suggest players let’s not attach sentiment or past glory cos I get am b4 no be property,for musa Mohammed we already ve TE n OA in dat position,like I ve been saying we need a good left fullback n 11 with a good left foot n ve not seen any player suggested by d fans for those positions
I think we need to start preparations for the next Olympic on time. If we can get a good team for the Olympic which is in two years then from their we can start preparations for the next World Cup. I believe with the present young players we have gold medal from Olympic is not too ambitious for us .
Adeola, the problem about the Olympics is actually qualifying for the Olympics.
Recently, Nigerian coaches have had mountains to climb to have Nigeria’s best youth players released from their clubs for Olympics qualifiers/under 23 Afcon.
The problem they face are of 2 folds: A) the clubs are under no obligation to release the players for Olympics qualifiers (and indeed the Olympics proper); and B) the the best young players like Osimen and Nwakali would rather concentrate on finding their feet at club level rather than travel up and down for u-23 qualifiers.
Eguavoen failed to qualify Nigeria for the 2012 London Olympics largely because of this factor while SiaOne performed miracles to utilise the meagre resources at his disposal to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics and to overcome massive morale-damaging chain of events to rally his troops and clinch bronze in the Olympics.
Siasia did well!
So Ademola, I am not holding my breath that we will qualify for the Olympics but if we do, BOY, WILL WE HAVE A FANTASTIC TEAM IF THEIR CLUBS RELEASE THEM FOR THE GAMES!!!
Uzoho, Osimen, Awoniyi, Ndidi (Over age), Nwakali, Moses Eneji, Nnamdi Ofoborh etc.
You know, maybe there’s life atter the defeat at this world cup after all….
if unfortunately FIFA ban us from participating in African cup of nation qualifiers and competition we hold minister of sport Solomon Dalung and his kinsmen Chris Giawa responsible because they can’t put their own selfish interest above all Nigerian interest, it will not work.
“will”
The world cup showed Rohr is not as tactically gifted as we all thought he was!! And the most annoying aspect is these are tactics that are not difficult to employ. Like knowing when to make substitutions, give the subs enough time to make an impact on the game, making tactical changes when you see that what you are currently using isn’t working. Like against Croatia, when we came out for the second half he made no changes, and his opinion was that the first half was good because we did not concede a goal even though we had no shots on goal and had not created any chances at that point. Dude surprised me at his sudden stance of not knowing what to do with the team. Instead he made the boys feel inferior mentally before sending them out there. I don’t think he should be sacked either, at least not yet. Let’s see how he handles AFCON 2019 first.
Why, why and why do we like deceiving ourselves in this country? Some people still believed that Mr. Rohr still have some magic in his locker after the world cup? Africans would never learn from their mistakes.
“So sorry, I won’t be deceived by no one. I have warned Nigerians a long time ago and Mr. Jo Bonfere also warned you Nigerians before now but Nigerians says “shut up, we do care”!!! The Nigeria world cup scenario is called bad “market yes, bad market” indeed!!! What a painful exit???
I have said this before on kickoffnigeria.com a long time ago that, God sent “Jesus” (peace be upon him) to preached the words of God to the children of (Adam) (peace be upon him) but they took him for granted.
Also in the same vain, God sent prophet “Muhammed” (S.A.W) to you human being to listened to his warning but failed to pay attentions to him too. In the end, they knew the truth!
However, I omo9ja have warned you before and I will continue to do so hopefully, it going to work out this time around. Its coming… its coming again. World cup “bad market” is part one. “Watch out for part 2”.
Mark my words again, if NFF allowed this coach to carry on, Nigeria should say goodbye to our football. This Oga Rohr can not taking us to the promised land. “The earlier we know this the better”.
If I may ask, what is the achievement of this coach called Mr. Rohr at this year world cup?
Lastly, please don’t blame Mr. Ighalo because if the coach Rohr did not introduced him into the field of play, there is no way he would have played against Argentina. So, the match with Argentina still fresh in our memories and Mr. Ighalo would be forever remembered for his missed chances Argentina and would never represents Nigeria in any tournamen. Great nation with bad and wicked people.
Hmm, only God can help us in this country. I call on you almighty God, have mercy on us because Nigeria is not settled in all ramifications. Ameen!!! God bless Nigeria!!!
Gernot Rohr all d way