Super Eagles coach Rohr talks up importance of Cameroon friendlies

Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr said his players are motivated for their double-header friendly game against Cameroon on Friday and next Tuesday.

Despite the injury crisis that struck his squad, the German tactician has 21 players available in Austria with four players in contention to make their international debut.

Having earlier stated that the games would be an avenue to test new players, Rohr added that the players are ready to make a statement in order to make the squad for the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers that will begin in September.

“The players are well motivated. They want to do well. The training sessions have been good. They are happy to come together again,” Rohr told the Super Eagles media.

“The last time we played was in March. We have two victories against Benin and Lesotho. Now we are in June. This is the last preparations for us. We have the Afcon draw at the end of June.

“Then in September, October and November, we have the World Cup qualifiers. So this is the preparation before the World Cup which is very important.

“The players want to do well to be in the squad for the World Cup qualifiers.”

Nigeria are unbeaten in their last three outings against Cameroon under Rohr. They knocked the Indomitable Lions out of the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers followed by elimination from the Round of 16 at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

In his pre-game interview, Watford centre-back William Troost-Ekong said Antonio Conceicao’s men might be aiming for revenge even though it is a friendly game.

“It has been good, we’ve got a lot of new faces in the camp. All of us are making sure we have a good game. It is good to see we have a great team spirit and I’m happy to be here,” Troost-Ekong said.

“It is going to be a different game, I think we’ve played them a lot in the last couple of years. They are going to be a difficult opponent. It will be a team that’s looking for revenge because we knocked them out of the World and at the Afcon, so it is going to be a different game. The boys are ready to have good fight so we’ll just enjoy the game and cheer ourselves.”