Head coach of the senior national team of Benin Republic Gernot Rohr says his team will be playing a different Super Eagles from the one they defeated two months ago in the world cup qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Rohr led Benin to their first win ever over Nigeria with a 2-1 win in the world cup qualifiers game played in Cote d’Ivoire, and ahead of both teams meeting again in the AFCON 2025 qualifiers the coach said he is wary of some players who were absent during the win two months ago.
The coach who handled the Super Eagles for a period of almost seven years said the Super Eagles will have revenge on their minds, when both teams clash on Saturday in Uyo and buoyed by the presence of some players and a new coach.
He said his team are well aware that it will be a different game entirely and they are prepared for the task, especially with Nigeria under pressure after failing to win any of their games in the world cup qualifiers.
“Nigeria is not a conquered territory, far from it. We beat Nigeria three months ago, they will certainly have a spirit of revenge which can be important and that’s normal”, he said.
“They didn’t have some players who are there now: Ekong, the captain, Osimhen who will be there this time, he wasn’t there last time, and behind them they also have contributions, Ola Aina is there. It will be a stronger team than the one we beat in June in Abidjan. We are wary.
” In addition, at home, they have the obligation to get a result now after a series of draws or even defeats. There was another change of coach, that’s it, so we will prepare well. It’s not because we know the opponents that it will be easy to beat them. It will be a difficult match, but we are preparing well.”
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
