Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has taken a huge swipe at the Confederation of African Football, CAF, for their inaction in correcting his team’s unsatisfactory fixture schedule as the Super Eagles get ready for a November’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The three-time African champions are scheduled to square up against neighbours Benin at home on 13 November before travelling to face Lesotho four days later, a situation that the German tactician has labeled “not ideal and proper”.
The Nigeria Football Federation reportedly wrote to CAF to change the fixture dates but apparently the body governing the game on the continent turned down the proposal.
Gernot Rohr, while announcing a 23-man squad on Wednesday evening, revealed his displeasure at the unsavoury fixture schedule.
“Our players from Europe will only get to us a day or two before the first game, so there is no time for adaptation to the African conditions,” Rohr said.
“After that game on Thursday we travel to Lesotho away on Friday to play on an artificial surface on Sunday. This is not ideal and proper for any team.
“We’ve spoken to Caf about this but nothing has been done.”
.@NGSuperEagles list of invited players for AFCON 2021 qualifiers vs #Benin, #Lesotho. Players on standby: Oghenekaro Etebo, Peter Olayinka, Leon Balogun #SoarSuperEagles #Afcon2021Q #Team9jaStrong pic.twitter.com/SHqVIkt0mJ
— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) October 30, 2019
Nigeria squad:
Goalkeepers: Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa); Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Heartland); Maduka Okoye (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany)
Defenders: Kenneth Omeruo and Chidozie Awaziem (Leganes, Spain); Abdullahi Shehu (Bursaspor, Turkey); William Troost-Ekong (Udinese, Italy); Olaoluwa Aina (Torino, Italy); Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07, Germany); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Bryan Idowu (Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia)
Midfielders: Alexander Iwobi (Everton, England); Mikel Agu (Vitoria Guimaraes, Portugal); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Ramon Azeez (Granada, Spain)
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia); Victor Osimhen (Lille, France); Moses Simon (Nantes, France); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal, Spain); Paul Onuachu (Genk, Belgium); Emmanuel Dennis (Club Brugge, Belgium); Samuel Kalu (Bordeaux, France)
Standby: Leon Balogun (Brighton & Hove Albion, England); Peter Olayinka (SK Slavia Prague, Czech Republic); Oghenekaro Etebo (Stoke City, England)