Rohr : Mikel & Moses Are The Star Players In Super Eagles, Others Stars Of The Future

Published: June 21, 2018

Manager Gernot Rohr has explained why there are only a few star players in the Nigeria squad despite the fact that the population of the country is 500 times the population of Iceland.

The German has named former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel and the current Nigerian Player of the Year Victor Moses as the two players that can be classed as stars in the Super Eagles team, and has predicted that the likes of Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi and Tyronne Ebuehi will be stars of the future.

''Why we don't have star players? It's because we are the youngest team of the World Cup,'' Rohr said at Thursday afternoon's pre-match conference before the start of training.

''We have Obi Mikel, who is a very good player, you can tell that he is a star, we have Victor Moses who is well known everywhere but we have so many young players, they will be stars, I hope so, tomorrow.

''What we have is a team for 2022, because when you are so young, with the goalkeeper and all the other people, they will be better and better. ''

Rohr has reiterated that the Super Eagles are the underdogs in Group D, pointing out that their three rivals Argentina, Croatia and Iceland are ranked higher than his team in the FIFA ranking.

''We are in the top 50 in the world, Iceland is in the top 20 (22), Croatia is in the top 12 (20) and Argentina in the top eight.

''When I see that the matches are so difficult and the scores are so close, we have to learn also, it is not finished after this World Cup for us.

''We want to improve, we want to learn. When you are the youngest, it is not possible, perhaps, to be the best already,'' he added.

Rohr, who penned a two-year contract extension earlier this year, refused to comment on his future with the Nigeria National Team in the event that they lose to Iceland on Friday.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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