Nigeria coach, Rohr submits World Cup programme
Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr, has got Nigeria’s Russia 2018 plans underway by submitting his World Cup programme to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
The Chairman of NFF Technical Committee, Ahmed Yusuf Fresh confirmed on Thursday to a Nigerian daily, Thisday, that the coach had submitted his programme to the federation.
The plan details where the coach wants the team to camp leading to the World Cup and the number of friendly matches he will like to play. It was however certain if the names of the countries the Eagles would engage in the friendlies were specific as the NF President Amaju Pinnick said earlier this week that the coach and the federation and were holding out until after the December 1st draw to know the countries World Cup preliminary round opponents. The Eagles are already classified in the seeding Pot 4 for the Draw coming up at the Kremlin Palace, Moscow.
Nigeria qualified for her sixth World Cup finals last month in a manner that left no one in doubt about the ability of the Eagles to excel on the global stage.
The Eagles were unbeaten in six matches and secured their ticket as the group winner with one game at hand from a tough pool christened ‘the group of death’ made up of Cameroon, Algeria and Zambia.
Yusuf said the Technical Committee would consider in details Rohr’s proposal and make recommendations to the NFF board for ratification.
He said, “I can confirm that Rohr has submitted his programmes. The Technical Committee will look at it and table our findings to the board. NFF will make the details of the programme public as soon as it is approved.”
Rohr, who once handled the national teams of Burkina Faso, Niger and Gabon is currently in Europe, keeping a tab on the form of the players he plans to use for the World Cup.
Nigeria has never advanced beyond the second round at the quadrennial tournament, achieving that milestone in the 1994, 1998 and 2014 finals. But for Russia 2018 the target appears to be a lot much higher for the three-time African champions.