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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Sports

Rohr backs Morocco, Senegal, laments Eagles absence

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr believes Morocco and Senegal can advance far in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
  • Rohr expressed disappointment over Nigeria's absence from the tournament, citing a lack of team cohesion despite individual talent.
  • He noted that African teams now match European and South American counterparts in strategy and physical fitness.

Gernot Rohr, former coach of Nigeria's Super Eagles, has backed Morocco and Senegal to perform well in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He expressed regret over Nigeria's continued absence from the tournament, calling it a "real shame" that top players like Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman will not be featured.

From what I saw physically, in the two games featuring Morocco against Brazil and France against Senegal, as well as Ivory Coast against Ecuador, I think the African teams are doing well at the moment.

— Gernot RohrRohr commented on the performance of African teams in recent international matches.

Rohr, who currently manages Benin Republic, observed that African teams have significantly closed the gap with traditional football powers from Europe and South America. He stated that strategically and physically, African teams are now on par with their counterparts, noting improved organization.

Strategically, we are now on the same level as European or South American teams, which is great. The same goes for physical fitness. I think they are now on par with the standards in Europe. The organisation of the African teams now is much better than before.

— Gernot RohrRohr discussed the current standing of African football compared to traditional powers.

"From what I saw physically, in the two games featuring Morocco against Brazil and France against Senegal, as well as Ivory Coast against Ecuador, I think the African teams are doing well at the moment," Rohr told Footy-Africa. He specifically praised Morocco's semi-final run in the 2022 World Cup and Senegal's performance against France.

I believe Morocco can go very far in this competition.

— Gernot RohrRohr expressed his confidence in Morocco's potential in the World Cup.

Reflecting on Nigeria's World Cup drought since 2018, Rohr attributed it to a lack of team play early in qualifying matches, which led to dropped points despite the presence of talented individuals. He believes this prevented them from reaching the tournament.

I also think about how Nigeria hasn’t participated since 2018. I believe this is because when we faced them in the group stage, even though they had great individual players with immense quality, they simply didn’t play like a team early on and dropped too many points.

— Gernot RohrRohr explained his reasoning behind Nigeria's absence from the World Cup.
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Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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