Rohr continues search for players, list for South Africa game out November
Nigerian Coach Gernot Rohr looks during the African Cup of Nations qualification match between Nigeria and Libya in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State in southern Nigeria, on October 13, 2018. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)
Super Eagles Manager, Gernot Rohr says he is still searching for quality players to beef up his squad despite Nigeria’s recent victories in the Cameroun 2019 African Nations Cup qualifying series.
Nigeria beat Libya home and away to draw closer to qualification for the Nations Cup, which will hold in Cameroon next year.
The Eagles have a game against South Africa next month before ending the series at home to Seychelles.
Speaking through Super Eagles Media Officer, Toyin Ibitoye, Rohr said yesterday that the quest to assemble a formidable team is a continuous process, adding that every talented Nigerian player free to play for the Eagles would be given the opportunity to stake his claim to the team.
Rohr said he has already started planning for the showdown with South Africa, adding that part of the process is in evaluating different players in their various clubs to ensure only the best players were invited for the South Africa tie.
“All the departments of the team that did not meet the expectations of the coaches would be corrected before the next game.
“Part of the process is to ensure stiff competition through players invited for the South Africa game. The list of players will be out in the first week of November,” he said.
Meanwhile, former Super Eagles Goalkeeper, Peter Rufai has described Francis Uzoho as too inexperienced to be Nigeria’s number one goalkeeper.
Rufai told a local radio station that Uzoho’s performance in the matches against Libya has shown that he lacks the capacity to withstand pressure in tough situations.
Although he acknowledged that Uzoho is a talented goalkeeper, Rufai said he should be nurtured gradually to grow into the number one position.
Arguing that the senior national team is a place where the best of the best is selected to represent the country, Rufai added: “Uzoho needs more time to grow. He is a keeper for the future.
“Nobody should blame the young man for any mistake he makes now. It is the people that gave him the role bigger than him that should be asked.
“People would say that some other young goalkeepers in the past performed well in other climes for their national teams.
But let me use this example, If you bring two 19-year-old boys out for a debate, they cannot perform at the same level.
One would come out bold and speak well, while the other would be jittery and cannot deliver well enough.
This implies that it is not only talent that makes a person… ability to implement the talent differs in individuals.”
