Lawal Questions Rohr’s Decision To Ignore Home Based And Fringe Players For Lesotho Clash

The Super Eagles had already secured top spot and qualification before the clash against the Crocodiles, but the German tactician still stuck with most of the familiar names

Former Nigerian star Garba Lawal has said he’s surprised Gernot Rohr did not give home-based and fringe players more chances in the Super Eagles Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Lesotho.

The Super Eagles hosted Lesotho at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in their final Group L Afcon qualifier. However, the three-time African champions had already secured qualification before the encounter, giving Rohr the chance to try out new players.

However, the former Burkina Faso manager decided to go with the familiar names in the line-up. Three players from the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) were in the squad, but only Enyimba’s Anayo Iwuala got the chance to play.

And it’s a decision that left Lawal surprised. The former Levski Sofia winger revealed this in a telephone chat with Soccernet.

“That’s his own choice anyway, Lawal said when asked about Rohr’s starting eleven for the Lesotho clash.

But to me, fringe players must play that game. We have nothing at stake on that game. If we win 20-0, we already qualified.

Lawal added that Rohr’s failure to use some fringe players shows he doesn’t have confidence in them.

“If you don’t use them, you’ll not have confidence in them,” he concluded.