Sports
AFCON 2019: Rohr promises best starting lineup for Eagles against Cameroon
Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr is confident that his side can see off the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon as both teams go head to head at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) this weekend.
Rohr also rues the team’s shock loss on Sunday, assuring that for the Cameroon match, ”the best team has to start and to do the best to make Nigerians proud.”
The Eagles will take on the defending champions in a round of 16 encounter at the Alexandria Stadium, Egypt.
Nigeria began their campaign with a victory over Burundi and secured another victory in their second game against Guinea, before falling to a shock 2-0 defeat to newcomers Madagascar on matchday 3.
Talking about the defeat, Rohr, who made five changes from the team of matchday 2, said he only wanted the rest of the squad to participate in the tournament, since the team had already qualified for the next round.
”Everybody wants to do well, especially after this disappointment against Madagascar,” the German gaffer said in a video posted by Super Eagles Twitter handle.
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“We changed the team, we wanted to play with some other players to keep them in the rhythm of the competition.”
The Eagles played their final group game last Sunday, before Cameroon played a goalless draw with Benin Republic on Tuesday as both teams reached the last 16.
”We have this little advantage that they (Cameroon) played on Tuesday and we played on Sunday,” Rohr stated.
“So let us try to have an advantage physically and also mentally because everybody wants to do very well now.
”There is something similar, we lost 2-0 at home to South Africa, and then there was a Cameroon game. Now, we lost against Madagascar 2-0 and it’s again Cameroon, so it can be a good omen, I hope so,” he added.
Nigeria played against Cameroon during the Qualifiers of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, winning 4-0 in the first leg and drawing 1-1 in the reverse fixture.
Both teams battle for a spot in AFCON quarterfinals on Saturday by 5:00p.m Nigeria time.
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