Lagos, Nigeria, June 4, 2018// – Super Eagles are not ready for the summer World Cup kicking off on June 14 in Russia.
This was the submission of Coach Gernot Rohr after the team’s 2-1 loss to England on Saturday, adding that they have a lot of work to do if they hope to do well at the tournament.
Even Captain Mikel Obi after the loss at the Wembley Stadium, echoed the coach’s sentiment, adding that they have to improve considerably for them to make any appreciable impact in Russia.
Super Eagles performance in the friendly was awful especially in the first half that they conceded the two goals through Gary Cahill sixth minute header and Harry Kane low drive on 39th minute.
A change in tactics and the introduction of four players at the start of the second half brought spark into the team with Alex Iwobi pulling one goal back two minutes after the restart.
Despite an improved second half performance, Nigeria still failed to equalise.
However, Rohr said after the match that Super Eagles still have a lot of work to do in the remaining days before the World Cup kicks off on June 14 in Russia.
“This game showed we still have a lot of work to do to be ready for the World Cup,” he said.
“The first lesson is that we are not ready yet. We have to make the best use of the two weeks left before our first game in Russia. It’s time to focus, no distractions.”
Rohr blamed Super Eagles slow start on fatigue caused by a difficult journey to England and rain that prevented them from training the day before the match.
“We missed totally the first half but the preparation wasn’t good. We couldn’t train on Friday because of rain, the pitch wasn’t good. We arrived after a 10-hour flight, with many stops.
“In the first half our usual formation didn’t work. Some of our players weren’t fit and England put the pressure on us.
“This bad beginning was an opportunity to change and play a bit more like England in the second half. It was much better.
“Also we changed four players. Unfortunately we can’t change four players if there is a problem in the World Cup.”
Captain Mikel Obi also echoed Rohr’s sentiments, noting after the game that they have to improve considerably if they were to make an impact at the World Cup.
Mikel said that qualifying from a tough group that has Argentina, Iceland and Croatia, requires considerable improvement from their performance on Saturday.
“We are a very young team and we have to learn, it is good for this young team to have a taste of what we are going to face in Russia,” Mikel said.
“We have to learn together as a team, we have to improve and that is why we played this game against such a quality side.
“We can know where we are and now we go back to training and try and improve.”
Independent.ng