Super Eagles Coach Rohr Names The Players That Flopped Against Poland

Nigeria manager Gernot Rohr has criticized the performance of the two central midfielders that started the national team's 1-0 win over Poland on Friday night.

For the first time in their Super Eagles careers, Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi and Torino's Joel Obi lined up together in midfield; Rohr thinks they did not pull their weight and rued the absence of his captain, John Obi Mikel.

Joel Obi, who is very popular with the Nigeria fans, started ahead of Eddy Onazi, and the coaching staff had explained they wanted to see how he adapts to the tactics of Rohr.

''We won without our captain, John Obi Mikel, which happened to us for the first time. We showed that we are not a team of one player,'' Rohr told reporters post-match.

''Such matches like this create new leaders, they also make us better as a team. However, the lack of Mikel was visible, we had a lot of problems in the middle of the field.

''On the other hand, I am happy that we have managed without him, I must emphasize that I am waiting for him in the next games. At the World Cup he will be necessary for us.''

In his first appearance for the Super Eagles for close to four years, Joel Obi was replaced by Onazi in the 65th minute while Ndidi went the full ninety.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel