Since taking over as coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has not shy away from handing call ups to new players as he bid to form a formidable team.
The coach has however handed opportunities to some players and Owngoalnigeria.com lead editor, Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman picks out five players who have failed to use the opportunity handed to them by the Franco-German coach.
Simy Nwankwo – The Crotone forward burst onto the scene when Rohr was looking for a beanpole striker ahead of the World Cup 2018 in Russia. His immediate impact on his debut against DR Congo in an international friendly on the back of a strong scoring form towards the end of the Serie A aided him as he made the Super Eagles World Cup squad.
At the tournament proper he played in two games with a combined total of just three minutes after he was introduced as a late substitute against Croatia and Argentina respectively. Since then he is yet to be handed another chance with Rohr apparently not satisfied with his performance when he was handed a chance.
Henry Onyekuru – Took a while for Rohr to have faith in him but when handed the chance to impress, the 22 year old hasn’t lived up to the expected standard. So far he has one goal from 11 caps.
At the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, he was introduced as a substitute against Algeria in the semi-final in what was his debut game in the tournament. He however fail to impact the game positively as Nigeria were beaten 1-2 by a late Riyadh Mahrez free kick. Since after AFCON 2019 he has not been called up by coach Gernot Rohr largely due to his lack of game time at Monaco in the first half of the season.
Isaac Success – No player has made a better first impression on Rohr like Isaac Success since the coach took over in 2016. Introduced as a substitute in the friendly game against Ghana in London. Success turned the game around with some strong individual performance that left everyone speechless.
However like the most part of his club career he failed to match same level when handed another chance after recovering from the injury that knocked him out of the World Cup. In one of the AFCON 2019 Qualifiers game Rohr reportedly tore at him for his non commitment after coming on as a substitute, since then he hasn’t been called up.
Anderson Esiti – His case is even more surprising considering how well he first played under the Franco-German coach upon his appointment as coach. Infact he came on as a substitute in the 0-2 way against Zambia in Ndola which started Nigeria’s World Cup qualifiers campaign on a sound note.
Once ahead of Ndidi since that game he has only played once for Nigeria and that was in the 2-2 draw against Ukraine in a friendly game. He lasted just 20 minutes and wasn’t considered for the next set of games.
Joel Obi – Made a return to the senior national team of Nigeria with Rohr keen on having a left footed player to bring balance to the team. Played in four straight friendly games ahead of the World Cup with his performance at best average.
At the World Cup even with the fitness level of Ndidi a big concern he didn’t get to play a single game and since then hasn’t been called up again.
Mowiz
