Cote d’Ivoire,Tunisia Friendlies: Rohr Says Result Won’t Matter

The German tactician says the Super Eagles won’t dwell on the result when they trade tackles with the Elephants and Carthage Eagles

Gernot Rohr has revealed that Nigeria’s friendly games against Cote d’Ivoire and Tunisia will serve as a preparation for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sierra Leone.

The three-time African champions will play former African champions Cote d’Ivoire on October 9 before facing another 2004 AFCON winners, Tunisia, four days later.

Cote d’Ivoire’s clash will be the Super Eagles first match since they beat Lesotho 4-2  in an AFCON qualifier last November. While fans expect nothing less than a win, Rohr revealed the focus would not be on the outcome as it is just only a test match ahead of the clash against the Leone Stars.

“It is a test match, the two of them, so the result is not the most important, but it is the last opportunity to test before the important qualifiers start again in November,” Rohr told ESPN. 

The former Bayern Munich star stressed the importance of winning the doubleheader clash against Sierra Leone as it would offer the team the opportunity to qualify early, and thereby give him the chance to try out new players in the remaining games.

“We want to win all the time and qualify like we did before so the last games we can see some young players, some new players,” Rohr added.