Aftermath of 2-0 defeat: Rohr sends spies to watch possible foes

The Super Eagles of Nigeria were denied the opportunity of facing a supposed ‘weak’ opposition in the knock out stages of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations after they were beaten 2-0 by Madagasacar in Alexandria yesterday.

If the Eagles won yesterday’s game against the debutants, their likely opponents would have been the team that finishes third from any of Group A, C or D which could be DR Congo, Kenya or South Africa.

The implication of the loss to less fancied Madagascar now means that coach Gernot Rohr and his boys should now brace up for the game of their lives against arch rivals, either holders Cameroon or four-time winners Ghana in the next round depending on which of the two sides finishes second in Group F.

On Tuesday, the waiting game will end for Nigeria to finally know who will emerge as their opponents when the final Group F matches will be decided but at the moment, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon are on top of the group with four points followed closely by the Squirrels of Benin Republic with two points; the Black Stars are third with two points too while Guinea Bissau are bottom with one point though with a slim chance of sneaking into the second round.

To avoid being caught napping, Rohr revealed that his scouts have been watching matches of the Eagles’ likely opponents in the next round of the tournament with a view to getting first hand information on how to neutralise their strategies.

“We have our scout watching a lot of games in Cairo. We have to prepare to play against a good team. It could be South Africa, DR Congo or maybe Cameroon so in all cases it will be a very tough match in the round of 16.” he said