Rohr On Learning From The Best, Brazil; Replacing Mikel, Ighalo In Super Eagles

Published: October 12, 2019

Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr said that he is preparing three -time African champions Nigeria for 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic and Lesotho.

Rohr acknowledged that Brazil are the best team in the world and his team are in Singapore to learn from the five-time world champions.

"The game against Brazil will show how much we are progressing after finishing third at the Africa Cup in Egypt,'' Rohr told reporters at the pre-match press conference on Saturday.

''It is a fantastic opportunity for us to learn a few more things that will make us better and stronger for future challenges.

"This is an important test game for us, and we are here to learn from the best. We hope for a very good game against Brazil on Sunday.

''This will help us prepare ourselves for the 2021 AFCON qualifiers against Benin Republic and Lesotho next month.''

Two key Super Eagles players in the shape of Obi Mikel and Odion Ighalo called time on their international careers after the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and the German is using the post-AFCON friendlies to test out new players.

He has handed call-ups to midfielders Ramon Azeez, Joe Aribo and Anderson Esiti, while Victor Osimhen played as a top striker in the 2-2 draw vs Ukraine and is set to continue in that role against Brazil following his fine form for Lille in the Ligue 1.

"After the 2019 AFCON, two of our top players (Mikel Obi and Odion Ighalo) retired and we have to see how to replace them.

''We saw a little bit in our friendly against Ukraine last month and hope we can improve on that performance tomorrow.

"A good showing against Brazil will help our confidence a great deal,'' Rohr added.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel