Rohr still searching for new players

Super Eagles’ Coach, Gernot Rohr, is still scouting for fresh players to beef up his team ahead the Cameroun 2019 African Nations Cup qualifier against South Africa, which comes up in June.

Sources close to the German disclosed that the coach is still not satisfied with the quality of players in the fullback positions and has therefore decided to use the friendlies against Senegal and others to look at some new stars recommended to him by his assistants and some scouts.

Nigeria will meet Senegal in an international friendly in London next month, as well as other teams in games yet to be finalized.

“Right now the full backs in the team don’t have stable club careers and the coach thinks they may not be ready psychologically for the qualifiers, which begin with the AFCON match against South Africa in June.

“So many players have been touted for inclusion in the team, but nobody knows what the coach wants to do until he announces his squad for the upcoming matches,” a source said.

Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) Media Director, Ademola Olajire, told The Guardian yesterday that only the friendly against Senegal has been finalized, adding that the federation was negotiating for more tune up games for the Eagles.

Rohr recently told the NFF website that Nigeria will go into their Russia 2018 World Cup qualifiers with Cameroun in August and September as underdogs following the exploits of the Indomitable Lions at the Gabon 2017 African Nations Cup.

The Eagles are top of Group B on six points after winning their first two games against Zambia and Algeria.

Rohr, who was at the Gabon 2017 AFCON to monitor Nigeria’s opponents in both the AFCON and World Cup qualifiers, said “there Were a lot of information for me, especially about Cameroun and Algeria.

“Cameroun have a good mentality, they never give up. They are physically strong; technically, they play good football. And also they have a very good coach because the team that started the tournament was not the one that finished it, which means there was an evolution in the team.

“I like this idea of us being the underdogs. And the players now know that it will be difficult because I spoke with some of them, everybody has now seen Cameroon and they all know that they are a big team. It will be a magnificent thing to beat the African champions.”