Gernot Rohr raises Super Eagles Bar for Leone stars

Nigeria and Sierra Leone face-off twice in the next nine days in back-to-back Afcon 2022 qualifying games, and the team’s German tactician expects nothing but victories in both matches

Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr has charged his men to go all out for victory when they meet the Leone Stars first on November 13 and then four days later on the 17th.

Nigeria currently sit on top of Group I with six points, having recorded convincing wins over the Benin Republic and Lesotho in their first two group fixtures.

The three-time African champions are clear favourites against their West African neighbours who are at the bottom of the log, boasting just one point garnered in a home draw to fellow strugglers Lesotho.

Complacency, though, could be the Super Eagles’ biggest foe on match day, and Rohr has called on his invited stars to give their all and not underrate their opponents.

“I have 23 fit players before the weekend matches, and the boys have the quality and experience to win both games, but that is if they give both games their best shot, ” Rohr told Completesports, as per Brila FM.

“We shall not underrate the Leone Stars as they are known, irrespective of the first leg result.

“We want to win both legs, and that means the boys must take the games very seriously like they always do to boost our qualification for AFCON. I don’t know much about Sierra Leone, but we shall work with little we have about them.”

Nigeria hold the head-to-head advantage over Sierra Leone, with the Eagles claiming nine victories and three draws from their previous fourteen matches against the Leone Stars.