Gernot Rohr, head coach of the Benin Republic national team, believes the Super Eagles of Nigeria were fortunate to secure a 1-1 draw in their AFCON Qualifier clash.
Nigeria equalized late, with Victor Osimhen heading home a Moses Simon cross in the 81st minute, nine minutes before full-time. Earlier, Mohammed Tijani’s header in the 19th minute had given Benin the lead, which they held until that point.
While the draw confirmed Nigeria’s qualification for next year’s tournament, it leaves Benin with a must-win scenario in their final group match against Libya. Rohr expressed that his team was unlucky not to have beaten the Super Eagles.
“It was a fair result but we were unlucky because we had the better chances and organization to win the game. Nigeria is not a team that is easy to beat but if we had taken the chances we had with scores at 1-0 maybe the result would have been different”, Rohr said.
He stated that the team is now focused on their final match against Libya in Benghazi, where a win or a narrow defeat would secure their place at the AFCON, provided Nigeria defeats Rwanda in Uyo on Monday.
“We have to avoid defeat but you don’t go to play for a draw, so we will use the confidence from our performance today to prosecute the game in Benghazi. Hopefully Super Eagles will beat Rwanda in Uyo”, he concluded.
