Rohr disappointed over cancelled friendly

Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr is not a happy man following last minute cancellation of Super Eagles friendly against Burkina Faso at the Hive stadium in London.

An equally disappointed CAF Executive Member and NFF President Amju Pinnick had recalled that Rohr had insisted on playing tough and physical African opposition ahead of the qualifiers, noting that the Glass House duly fulfilled that with arrangements made for Senegal and Burkina Faso, but regretted the ugly turn of event, even as he counted the blessings of the friendly already played. 

              

“Unfortunately, some of the Burkinabe players could not secure entry visas into the UK. It is nobody’s fault. Our joy is that we were able to play Senegal and got a fair result with a depleted squad, and also the objectives of team bonding, team building, team discipline and further imparting the Technical Adviser’s philosophy to the group have been well served, “he said  

The visa palaver is however not the only obstacle against the match as the schedule appears to have also come short of FIFA rule which stipulates that teams cannot play in two different continents within short intervals as the teams are required to have at least a two day rest after travelling to another continent.

The stallions lost 2-0 to Atlas Lions of Morocco at the Stade de Marrakech on Friday. If the FIFA rule is to be followed it means the team will have Saturday and Sunday to rest before heading to London and may not be able to arrive early enough to face waiting Eagles.

 

Super Eagles earned a late hour draw against Senegal on Thursday with Coach Gernot Rohr expressing satisfaction with his team's performance.   

The Monday match would have provided another opportunity to have a second look at the team and newly introduced players as the technical crew seek a formidable team ahead World cup and Nations Cup qualifiers against Cameroon, Algeria and South Africa respectively.