The Nigeria national team head coach, Gernot Rohr has sounded optimistic ahead of the Super Eagles World Cup qualifying encounter with Cape Verde on Tuesday.
The Super Eagles will be without eight UK-based players, including Kelechi Iheanacho, whose brace helped Nigeria to victory against Liberia last week. However, the German coach – though acknowledging the challenging situation – has expressed confidence in his team’s ability to perform.
“We are going to play with another defence, another midfield and without the goalscorer [Iheanacho],” Rohr said. “It is a challenge for the staff and the players but we have to show our solidarity, and with the 20 players going to Cape Verde, we should be able to make a good team.”
The 68-year-old admitted that the conditions in Cape Verde will present a tough challenge for the Super Eagles, but he expects his players to give their best nonetheless.
“Some players are leaving because they cannot travel to Cape Verde and it’s not going to be easy to build a new team in two days. We are going to play under two extreme conditions after playing on a heavy grass due to the rain [at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos] and then another game on a dry pitch [against Cape Verde].”
“We have to manage the situation without searching for alibis if it is not going well and that our team is able to bring about good performance even when we know it is going to be more difficult.”
Nigeria will play Cape Verde at the Stadium Aderito Sena on Tuesday by 5pm Nigerian Time. They currently sit atop Group C, 2 points above Cape Verde, who are in second place.