Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has been relieved of his role as the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

The decision to sack the coach was taken after a company associated with the senior national team of Nigeria agreed to pay the termination clause in the contract of the coach.

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have already communicated the decision to the coach and have started the search for a new coach who will pilot the affairs of the team for the 2022 World Cup play off and also the Africa Cup of Nations starting in January.

Gernot Rohr says the combination of Odion Ighalo and Victor Osimhen in the attack of the Super Eagles will need time to work after trying it out for the first time in the 1-1 draw against Cape Verde.

The duo were paired from the start in the game against Cape Verde but they didn’t quite provide the result that made Rohr persuade Ighalo to come out of international retirement ahead of the game.

Ighalo was subbed off in the second half and although he had a decent game he missed what could have given Nigeria a 2-0 lead when he couldn’t connect with a cross from Jamilu Collins. He also sent a header from inside the eighteen yard box wide.

Speaking after the game, Rohr said the combination will work but need time as Ighalo has been out of the team for a while. He said he already saw some good link up play between the duo which suggest a better things in the future starting with the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

A chieftain of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has revealed why sacking the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr is a difficult task in the wake of calls for his dismissal.

Following another uninspiring performance yesterday in the 1-1 draw against Cape Verde, calls for the coach to be axed became more louder despite the team sealing a spot in the play off for the World Cup 2022 qualifiers.

Rohr signed fresh terms one year ago to continue in his role as coach of the Nigerian team till after the 2022 Word Cup but with some clauses that will see his contract terminated if they are not met.

With calls for his sack gaining more grounds, a high ranked board member of the NFF told OwnGoalNigeria.com that it will amount to a breach of contract if they decide to fire the coach as he hasn’t fallen short of any of the clauses that could trigger a termination of his appointment.

” It’s impossible for now I must confess. Let me say it’s very difficult because in life nothing is entirely impossible. We set some targets for him as part of the terms of clauses that can led to the termination of his job. So far he hasn’t fallen short. Firing him will amount to paying an exorbitant fee and also amount to a breach of contract. It’ss not straight forward”, he explained.

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has picked some areas he believe need improvement in the Nigerian team ahead of the play offs for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Nigeria booked their passage to the final round of the qualifiers yesterday with a nervy 1-1 draw against Cape Verde, but it was enough for them to finish as group winners as they had two points more than their opponents for the game.

The Nigerian team was a shadow of itself all through the qualifiers despite the avalanche of talented players available to the coach. Their style of play has drawn criticism from fans of the team and Rohr says they are areas he want to see immediate improvement in the team.

Speaking after the Cape Verde game, he picked the attack and defence as two areas which need immediate improvement. He also said the return to full fitness of Samuel Chukwueze and Wilfred Ndidi will help the team as they were not fully fit for the qualifiers.

“The improvement I want to see is to exploit the opportunity we have to score to be more effective offensive. That’s what I want to see and also to play quicker from behind. It’s still too slow from behind for me. I want to have a quicker football with one, two touches coming from behind. Our central defenders still take much time to bring the ball forward”, Rohr said.

”So we have to work on it but you know we have 13 points in this six matches, 13 points in six matches is not a bad result and we have two points more than the second one, which is a good team Cape Verde.

”So after this group stage, we can be optimistic, now we have the time to prepare for the AFCON. Some of our players are coming back from injury. Ndidi, Chukwueze they were not really in the rhythm of the competition. So let’s give a little time to our players and the team will be better and better”.

Coach of the national team of Cape Verde Pedro ‘Bubista’ Leitão is standing by his comment that Nigeria won’t be at the 2022 World Cup despite his team losing the play off spot available from their group to Nigeria.

Nigeria drew 1-1 with Cape Verde yesterday to finish top and seal a spot in the play off, Bubista whose team finished in second place behind the Nigerian team isn’t impressed by the Super Eagles display.

Backing his comments made when his team lost 1-2 to Nigeria at home, Bubista speaking after yesterday’s game insist his team have been the better team over both legs and deserve more than what they got from both games.

Bubista says the way the Super Eagles secured their passage to the play off has shown the weakness of the Nigerian team and it will be hard for them to qualify for the World Cup.

” Over both legs we were better than a team loaded with talented players. It’s unfair what we got from both games. The world has seen the Nigerian team and I am still standing by my personal opinion that they won’t make it to the World Cup in Qatar. Massive improvement is needed all round in the team”, he said.

Nigeria sealed a spot in the play off for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations after finishing as group winners despite drawing their last game 1-1 against Cape Verde in Lagos.

The Super Eagles were fortunate to escape with a draw against the hard fighting Cape Verde team. Their early lead courtesy of Victor Osimhen was cancelled out five minutes later.

Cape Verde made it difficult for Nigeria to have any form of rhythm and although they failed to properly trouble the defence of Nigeria, they however didn’t make qualification easy for Nigeria.

A nervy finish ensued with Nigeria hanging on to seal progress and coach of the team Gernot Rohr says the draw feels like a win for his team as it helped them achieve their aim of qualifying for the play off.

”First of all, sometimes a draw can be like a victory. It was the case today because we wanted to qualify and we know that a draw is already qualification. It was not an easy game because Cape Verde have a very good technical team”, Rohr said.

“They scored a goal in the moment where we believe we have the game in our hands but we missed a lot of chances in the first half especially and I think that we deserve to score a second goal. Second goal was not coming, So we have to defend this draw and the players did it very well”.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria sealed their spot in the final round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers by drawing 1-1 with Cape Verde to finish top of their group.

OwnGoalNigeria.com rates the players on display for Nigeria in the encounter decided at the Teslim Balogun stadium in Lagos.

Maduka Okoye – Couldn’t do anything about the goal scored by Cape Verde. Look calm although he was largely untroubled ball through the game bar the goal…..5/10

Chidozie Awaziem – Moved the ball really well but poor distribution let him down severally. Defensively he put in a really good shift for the team…..6/10

Leon Balogun – A mixed performance from the once reliable defender. Caught out for pace twice and on several occasions almost lost possession in key areas…..5/10

William Ekong- A shameful display from the Watford defender. Lost his man for the goal scored by Cape Verde. Look very jittery all through…..3/10

Jamilu Collins – Solid in defending and did whipped in two good balls which the strikers failed to utilize. A strong showing although he did nothing remarkable…..5/10

Moses Simon – Another industrious performance sadly cut short by what looked like a harmstring injury. Played a role in the first goal scored by Nigeria. Helped in defender and almost scored from a freekick…..7/10

Joe Aribo – Put in a very good shift. Covered lot of grounds and used the ball well. This should ranked among one of his best performance in a Nigerian shirt but he did run out of steam in the second half…..6/10

Alex Iwobi – An improvement on his lackadaisical display against Liberia on Saturday. Showed determination to help out in defence but wasn’t much of a threat in attack…..5/10

Wilfred Ndidi – The engine that drives the team. Defended strongly, moved the ball out with command. Really strong showing…..7/10

Victor Osimhen – A threat all through. Worked his socks off for the team. Took his goal nicely and was ever present when the team needed him…..7.5/10

Odion Ighalo – A disappointing return for the Al Shabab forward. Held the ball up nicely and brought others into play with ease. However he did miss a criminal chance with an airshot and another with a free header…..4/10.

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has made just once change to the team that defeated Liberia 2-0 on Saturday in the lineup for today’s game against Cape Verde.

Rohr kept the same back there in Chidozie Awaziem, Leon Balogun and William Ekong with Maduka Okoye in goal as expected. The same midfield three of Joe Aribo, Wilfred Ndidi and Alex Iwobi was also maintained by the coach, OwnGoalNigeria.com exclusively gathered.

The wing backs still remain Moses Simon on the right and Jamilu Collins on the left but in attack is where the coach made just a change. Kelechi Iheanacho’s spot has been handed to Odion Ighalo.

Ighalo will play as the number 9, while Victor Osimhen operate in a role just behind him as Nigeria go for a win in the game where a draw will be good enough to see them qualify for the next round.

Maduka Okoye
Chidozie Awaziem
William Ekong
Leon Balogun
Joe Aribo
Wilfred Ndidi
Alex Iwobi
Moses Simon
Jamilu Collins
Odion Ighalo
Victor Osimhen

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has made just once change to the team that defeated Liberia 2-0 on Saturday in the lineup for today’s game against Cape Verde.

Rohr kept the same back there in Chidozie Awaziem, Leon Balogun and William Ekong with Maduka Okoye in goal as expected. The same midfield three of Joe Aribo, Wilfred Ndidi and Alex Iwobi was also maintained by the coach, OwnGoalNigeria.com exclusively gathered.

The wing backs still remain Moses Simon on the right and Jamilu Collins on the left but in attack is where the coach made just a change. Kelechi Iheanacho’s spot has been handed to Odion Ighalo.

Ighalo will play as the number 9, while Victor Osimhen operate in a role just behind him as Nigeria go for a win in the game where a draw will be good enough to see them qualify for the next round.

Maduka Okoye
Chidozie Awaziem
William Ekong
Leon Balogun
Joe Aribo
Wilfred Ndidi
Alex Iwobi
Moses Simon
Jamilu Collins
Odion Ighalo
Victor Osimhen

Ahead of the senior national team of Nigeria 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Cape Verde tomorrow. The Nigerian team had their last training session earlier today.

The game which they must avoid defeat in order to seal a spot in the final round of qualifiers will be played at the Teslim Balogun stadium in Lagos.

Nigeria had a feel of the pitch and after a one hour, thirty minutes session. The players practiced set pieces as it could be one of the route to get a goal tomorrow.

Nantes of France winger Moses Simon stole the show by curling home a sublime effort which left goalkepper Daniel Akpeyi stranded leading to applause from the other players.

Simon is expected to keep his spot in the starting lineup tomorrow and many Nigerians will be hoping he replicate same tomorrow during the course of the game.

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