Super Eagles gaffer Gernot Rohr, has distanced himself from his team’s late arrival to South Africa for the crucial Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier on Saturday.
The three-time AFCON who had converged in Asaba on Monday in preparation for the Group E day5 game arrived in the former Apartheid region on Friday.
At a Presser attended by Sport247.ng, a question on the late arrival of the Super Eagles was asked and the coach blamed the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for the shoddy arrangement.
“This question you have to ask to NFF. It was not my desire to come so late and to spend all night on the plane, with a stopover in Luanda,” a disappointed Rohr said.
“So, yes, we wanted to come here earlier, but you know sometimes it’s not the coach who can decide. We have to accept the decision of the federation.”
Table–toppers Nigeria actually need just one point from Saturday’s encounter inside the FNB Stadium in Soweto, outside Johannesburg, to be sure of a slot at next year’s continental houseparty, but a combination of national pride, assumed rivalry between both teams and commitment to avenging a stinging defeat by the Bafana Bafana in Uyo 17 months ago has adorned this match with a totally different garb.
On Matchday 1 of the qualifying series, South Africa won 2-0 with goals from Tokelo Rantie and Percy Tau right inside the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, as Coach Gernot Rohr sent out a young, inexperienced Nigerian squad. However, that slap (the first ever loss to South Africa in a competitive match) stirred the formidable spirit in the Eagles and they swept all before them to earn a 2018 FIFA World Cup ticket with a match to spare.
