Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has once again voiced his opinion on why the current senior national team of Nigeria are not among the favorite to lift the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria has only lost once to an African team since the appointment of Rohr three years ago but the Franco-German coach is not getting carried away by the run of wins against African opposition ahead of the start of the AFCON.
A 1-0 win over Egypt in a friendly game further raised optimism about the chances of Nigeria winning the tournament they last won in 2013 on their return to the showpiece for the first time since they last won it.
” We stand a chance of surprising people at the tournament because of our quality but we are not among the favourites to lift the title. I know we are capable but they are other teams from Africa who are presently ahead of us”, Rohr told Owngoalnigeria.com.
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The Super Eagles are now ranked third in Africa by FIFA in their latest monthly rankings, a significant rise for the team who were 8th in Africa prior to the appointment of Rohr, who is however adamant that certain factors contribute to why his team shouldn’t be listed among favorites to lift the AFCON.
” Our team has a bit of experience now but we are way younger than even when we went to the World Cup in Russia because some players like Victor Moses and Elderson Echiejile are not with us at the moment. We’re still learning to do well in tournaments while the likes of Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast and the host Egypt have players with huge experience in tournament “.
Osas Mahawi
