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Gernot Rohr has said Super Eagles defeat to Benin Republic in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers motivated them to beat his side on Saturday.
The Eagles got their Group D campaign in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers off to a perfect with a 3-0 win against Cheetahs of Benin Republic.
A brace from Ademola Lookman and a goal from the returning Victor Osimhen sealed the comfortable win for the Eagles.
Both teams had met on matchday 4 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June, with the Cheetahs coming from a goal down to win 2-1.
Speaking after the game, Rohr said the Eagles avenged the defeat they suffered three months ago.
“When you look at the Nigerian squad, they are all very high-level players who play for their clubs,” Rohr said. “And unfortunately we have players who don’t play much for their clubs. So, you can’t compare the two squads.
“We managed to beat them at home. That gave them extra motivation to take their revenge, which is normal. And we saw that at home, in addition, with the stars present today, who weren’t there last time in Abidjan, the captain Ekong, also Osimhen… You see that there are means in this team that we don’t have. So, we have to stay in our place.”
Rohr said their target is to try and finish second in the group.
“We want to finish at least in second place in this group. If you have conceded three goals it means something has not worked in defense. We knew it was the most difficult match, the first in Nigeria. Now, we will have to start getting points, from Tuesday.
“When we were almost at half-time, we conceded the first goal. It was something that boosted them and hurt us. So, in the second half, we were forced to reveal ourselves a little more. With the speed of their attackers, Lookman, Chukwueze and also Boniface, there were spaces, so they took advantage of it.”
