Rohr Obsessed With Messi : Eagles Beat Them 4-2 Because Barca Superstar Was Missing

Published: June 10, 2018

Nigeria manager Gernot Rohr is worried that Barcelona's Argentina superstar Lionel Messi will cause his team problems when they face off at the 2018 World Cup.

The German reckons that everything will be different at the Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg on June 26, compared to their 4-2 win in Krasnodar last November.

The Super Eagles will be seeking to make history as they have never beaten the Argentinian team in four previous tournaments, losing in 1994, 2002, 2010 and 2014.

''It was a great match, but we can not let go. They did not have Messi and someone else. We did not have Victor Moses. It will be very different,'' Rohr said to Spanish sports daily Marca.

Asked about Nigeria's other opponents in Group D, Rohr answered : ''Iceland and Croatia have the same dream of passing the group stage and Argentina is one of the favorites for the title.

''It is not easy to differentiate these teams by words, the results will.''

The Nigerian national team failed to win any of their last four friendly matches ahead of their trip to Russia.

Igho Kingsley