The German tactician has revealed he would not experiment with new players when his side continues their quest to qualify for the showpiece event
Nigeria national team coach Gernot Rohr has revealed new players won’t be invited for their 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in March.
The three-time African champions will square off against the Republic of Benin and then take on Lesotho in Afcon qualifying games.
The Super Eagles are leading Group L with eight points and a win in either of their matches next month will seal their place in the continental showpiece while defeat in both games will halt their target of playing in the competition.
Aware of the importance of the games, Rohr has revealed he would not be experimenting with new payers for the crucial matches.
The German tactician also denied a recent report making the rounds that Ademola Lookman, Tosin Adarabioyo, Sheyi Ojo, Ike Ugbo, Nathan Tella, Nonso Madueke, Ovie Ejaria and Jordan Torunarigha have all been cleared to feature for the Super Eagles.
“You can read so many names in the newspaper, but that’s not the best way to select the players. The best way to select the players is to scout them very well, and also to speak to them if there is motivation to come. If they want to come, they have to write a letter to Fifa that they want to switch from England or Germany or Austria to Nigeria and it’s not easy for them to make that choice,” Rohr told media.
“But we have some players in view, one of them wrote a letter already. I saw a list the other day in the media which was fake news.
“So, for the moment, we have our players, and it is not the best moment to bring in new players when we only have one or two training sessions to prepare for a match.
“When you come into a team for the first time, you need a little time to adapt and to take your place in the group. I hope that we can find better players, but we already have good players.
“The best players, only the best players can come. We already have good ones, so if you want to come in, you need time to adapt, you cannot come on Tuesday and play with your new teammates on Wednesday.
“So, let’s work on it quietly and not publicly. We welcome players better than the ones we have, we have good players already, there is a big concurrence in the striking position now, so this is not the position to invite new players because we don’t have the time before these two last matches in the qualifiers.”