Nigeria manager Gernot Rohr has used statistics to defend his team's narrow 1-0 loss to Cameroon in an international friendly on Friday night, saying that they dominated the game especially in the opening minutes but couldn't find a breakthrough.

On paper, the Super Eagles were at a disadvantage heading into the fixture with as many as six players in their ideal starting lineup pulling out of the squad due to physical problems, including Samuel Chukwueze, Victor Osimhen, Joe Aribo, Kevin Akpoguma, Leon Balogun and Zaidu Sanusi.

Three players made their debuts for the national team, namely Terem Moffi, Valentine Ozornwafor and Abraham Marcus in the defeat to the 2021 AFCON hosts, while Anayo Iwuala and Peter Olayinka earned their second and third cap respectively.

Rohr insinuated that Cameroon were lucky to win the game as they scored from their only shot on target whereas the Super Eagles had seventeen shots without finding the net.

Speaking to the Super Eagles Media Team, the German football tactician explained : "The most important is not the result, it was a test match so it was very interesting to see some new players. We missed seven or eight key players, of course we had to manage the situation.

"They did it well, and we had seventeen shots on the goal while they only had three, they had only one on target but it was a goal and we had six on target.

"Our domination was not good enough. It was not realistic enough because we had to score in the beginning of the game, we did not,  and when you don't score, very often you concede. It was like that today but I saw interesting things.

"We had a good integration of some new players, three of them played for the first time with the Super Eagles. "

In his message to Super Eagles fans after the game at the Stadion Wiener Neustadt in Austria, Rohr insisted that his players made their best effort to beat the Indomitable Lions.

"Yes the team did the maximum, they gave a good image of football because they never give up and the victory is not the most important in friendlies.

"It is important to learn, to progress, to be ready for the next competition," he concluded.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel