Nigeria head coach Gernot Rohr has reacted to the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round draw after his side were paired with Cape Verde, Central African Republic and Liberia in Group C.

The former Bayern Munich defender explained why the Super Eagles cannot afford to write off the three teams in the group despite pundits thinking it's an easy group.

Nigeria's three opponents are ranked outside the top 75 in the latest FIFA world ranking.

Speaking to the Super Eagles Media Team, Rohr said : "We’ve three tricky opponents in Group C. A few years ago, Cape Verde were Africa’s best FIFA ranked team, Central African Republic have some good players in Europe and we played a friendly in Liberia recently that wasn’t easy...we’ve to be at our best against them".

Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi opined that their first match in October will be decisive and also stressed the importance of winning all their three home matches.

He said : "This is the World Cup, no room for complacency. Every game must be taken seriously.

"Our first game is going to be the most important as well as all our home games, and even away games. We must make it to the third round."

Nigeria have qualified for six of the last seven World Cups and missed out on the 2006 edition due to the head-to-head rule after finishing on the same number of points as Angola.

Igho Kingsley