The three-time African champions need just one more point to seal their place in the 2022 World Cup qualifier playoff round
Head coach Gernot Rohr has hinted that the Super Eagles will approach their game against Cape Verde on Tuesday with caution.
The Super Eagles edged towards qualifying for the playoff round in the 2022 World Cup qualifier with a 2-0 win over Liberia.
Penalties from Victor Osimhen and Ahmed Musa helped Nigeria to a win over their West African rivals at the Stade Ibn Batouta, Tangiers, on Saturday evening.
The win maintains Nigeria’s lead at the top of Group C with 12 points from five games. However, the Super Eagles are not assured of qualification yet as they only lead second-placed Cape Verde with just two points.
The two sides face off at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in the final group game on Tuesday. The three-time African champions need just a point and are the favourites heading into the game, which could put the team under a lot of pressure.
However, Rohr said the pressure is good for the players, saying the most important thing is to avoid defeat on Tuesday.
“Yea, of course, we have to make a result not to lose the final game,” Rohr said in his post-match conference following Nigeria’s win over Liberia.
“But we are at home. It’s good to have pressure for my players.”
“If they believe it’s easy, if they believe it’s done, it’s always difficult.”
“So it’s good to play with pressure, so we’ll be able to honour this situation to handle it like we did all the time,” Rohr added.