Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr has spoken on Nigeria’s chances at the 2018 World Cup.
He stated that if Nigeria failed to go pass the group stage, it would be that the other teams in the group performed better.
The tournament will take place in Russia from June 14, 2018 until July 15, 2018.
In an interview conducted by Philipp Barth of DW, Rohr also spoke on discipline in the team.
He said: “The African style of football is all about improvisation and creativity, but also sometimes involves forgetting about discipline and defensive organization.
“I’m German and French, so I think that discipline is part of my mentality, and I can try to teach that especially to the young players: Being on time and not being too late to bed, for example. Simple things.
“We are lucky that half the team has grown up in Europe so they’ve already had an education when it comes to defending set pieces. They’ve also learned about tactical discipline and how to play for the team instead of themselves.”
Rohr also reacted to the verdict by Otto Pfister, the former coach of Cameroon, Togo and Ivory Coast, that the Super Eagles were “too hot blooded” to make it far in the World Cup.
“What does hot-blooded even mean”, he queried rhetorically.
“We have players coming to us from different countries. From Turkey, from Italy, from Spain, from England, from Germany and from Nigeria so they bring with them very different mentalities.
“We have nothing to lose. If we don’t get out of the group, it is not because we are too hot-blooded, but because the other teams are playing better football. For me it makes no sense to look for other reasons.”
Reminded of his comment that there are no stars in the Super Eagles’ squad and what he would give to have a Nigerian Mohamed Salah, Rohr responded: “I think it’s fantastic for Egypt to have such a player, just as Argentina have (Lionel) Messi or Croatia have (Luka) Modric.”
“But we have a good team spirit instead. It is not the individual quality, even if that quality is huge, that will make the difference, but the best team spirit. This is more important than having one Mohamed Salah.”
