Nigeria head coach Gernot Rohr wants the Super Eagles to have more fluidity in their game play when they face Cape Verde in their final group stage game of the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying series on Tuesday.
Rohr’s wards are in pole position in Group C ahead of the visit of Cape Verde and require just one more point to make sure they finish their group stage campaign as leaders, earning them a place in the final qualifying round.
Tuesday’s game will be played at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, the venue where the Eagles suffered a shock 0-1 loss to the Central African Republic last month.
Rohr looks to have acknowledged the many complaints from the team’s fans and says he hopes for more fluidity and effectiveness on Tuesday.
“We want to be effective against Cape Verde, we also want to have better fluidity,” said the German at the pre-match press conference on Monday.
After a routine but less inspiring 2-0 win over Liberia in Morocco last Saturday, Rohr expressed satisfaction in his side while admitting that they can do better in attack.
“What I appreciated in Morocco was the fact that we didn’t give them (Liberia) any chance to get at us. So we can say we have done well defensively,” posited Rohr.
“But we have to have better fluidity going forward. The two goals we scored were both penalties, but if there was no foul by the goalkeeper, the goals would have gone in also, even the first foul deserves a red card.
“I am happy with our last two games
It is not easy to play away and also the travelling problem and then to come back all night long. We try to recover and then get the boys ready for the game against Cape Verde,” said Rohr.
Nigeria currently lead Group C with twelve points from five matches, two ahead of second placed Cape Verde whom they face on Tuesday evening starting from 5pm Nigerian time.
The group winners go through to the final playoff round for next year’s FIFA World Cup to be staged in Qatar. Top African sides like Senegal, Morocco, Egypt, Ghana and even Mali have already secured the playoffs berths.
Image: Pooja Media
Fisayo Dairo reporting from Lagos, Nigeria
