Afcon 2019: Madagascar defeat motivated the Super Eagles against Cameroon â€“ Rohr

BetOdds Africa Cup of Nations Nigeria v Cameroon Nigeria Cameroon

The Belgian tactician was full of praise for his â€˜young teamâ€™ following their comeback win against reigning Afcon champions Cameroon

Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr said his side redeemed themselves against Cameroon to progress to the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations, after a â€˜lesson of humilityâ€™ against Madagascar.

The Super Eagles went into the half-time break the losing side after goals from Stephane Bahoken and Clinton Nâ€™Jie canceled out Odion Ighaloâ€™s opener in the 19th minute.

However, the three-time African champions overturned the first-half deficit â€“ courtesy of goals from Odion Ighalo and Alex Iwobi in the 63rd and 66th minute respectively.

Reacting after the game, Rohr said his team couldnâ€™t wait to make up for their embarrassing performance in the game against Madagascar.

â€œI know my team and I know that since last Sunday they want to really do well and win for all the players who made some mistakes,â€ the 66-year-old manager told the media after the 3-2 win over the Indomitable Lions.

â€œWe lost the game we never had to lose against Madagascar, but it was a lesson of humility and also the motivation to do really well [against Cameroon].

â€œWe wanted to finish first in the group but we could not. The most important for us was to win this match of the last 16. It happened when I was in Gabon, we won the three matches as host country and we lost in the quarterfinals after 120 minutes via penalties. So sometimes itâ€™s better to have one loss in the group stage and then win in the knockout games.

Gernot Rohr, who came under severe criticism following Nigeriaâ€™s unimpressive showing in the group stage, stated that his players showed signs of belief in a comeback during the half-time break.

â€œI have a team with good spirit and good solidarity. Even in half-time when the moment was difficult, I saw that we could still believe in it. Because in the first half, we were the better team, but we conceded those two goals in the end of the first-half and so we had to be very strong mentally to come back in the match.

â€œThe beginning of the second half was not so easy, but then, we came back. And I think physical fitness helped us also.

â€œWe had two days more to prepare for the match. We could stay in Alexandria in this nice place, with a good climate not so hot like Cairo, and this could help us also,â€ Rohr stated.

â€œBut I must say that my young team have this desire to win even if itâ€™s difficult. Cameroon didnâ€™t concede any goal in the three matches with a big goalkeeper playing in the Champions League. The challenge was to score a goal, but to score three goals was wonderful.â€

Nigeria will face South Africa in the quarterfinals after the Bafana Bafana shocked hosts Egypt 1-0 in the other Round of 16 fixtureÂ played on Saturday.

2019-07-07 10:00:03

Comments

Send Your Comment

Download Application