Super Eagles technical adviser, Gernot Rohr has taken another look at recent global soccer rankings that rate Nigeria lowest of all Group D teams at this year’s World Cup, and says it only means his side should stay humble heading into the global soccer showpiece.
The Franco-German soccer tactician opined that the monthly FIFA ratings indicate that the Eagles must not enter the race at Russia 2018 with unrealistic targets, but says it does not to suggest they would be intimidated by their opponents.
Consequently, Rohr played down the chances of Nigeria qualifying for the knockout round of the World Cup.
Rohr agreed that Nigeria stand a good chance against Iceland, but stated that it would be difficult to beat Argentina and Croatia.
He stressed: ”To get out of the group, you need to overtake not just one team. You cannot expect the 52nd team in the FIFA ranking to win against the top teams.
“In November, we defeated Argentina in a friendly and everyone in the country fell into euphoria.
”But you have to remember that the opponents played without Messi. And it’s like beating Poland without Lewandowski.
”On the other hand, we have the youngest team at the World Cup and with this youth you can do a lot. The outsiders role suits us,” added the former Bayern Munich defender
”We have a difficult group with Argentina, Croatia, and Iceland, to which we came from the fourth basket.
”This shows that we are considered to be the weakest team in the group. Leaving the group will be a miracle.”
