Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr and England’s manager, Gareth Southgate were on Saturday talking from divergent points of view, after their sides battled in a historic friendly at Wembley Stadium, London.
While Southgate reckoned his lads played the right game to eke out a 2-1 win on the evening, Rohr felt undone that his side’s efforts did not yield the desired result.
Though Southgate also admitted that the Eagles exposed some of the weaknesses he has not noticed in his squad, Rohr exposed a lot about his team.
The Three Lions of England scored two goals in an opening half they totally dominated, but a second-half resurgence saw the Eagles score one through Alex Iwobi, but were unable to cancel out the deficit by the end of the game.
Southgate’s men total first-half domination was emphasised when Gary Cahill scored after seven minutes before Harry Kane scored his eighth goal in seven appearances six minutes before the interval when Nigeria keeper Francis Uzoho allowed his 18-yard shot to slip in.
Arsenal’s Iwobi gave Nigeria hope two minutes after the break with a crisp finish in a half Nigeria dominated for long spells.
England’s preparations continue with another friendly against Costa Rica at Elland Road on Thursday.
Up next for the Eagles is a trip to Austria for another friendly against Czech Republic on Wednesday, June 6.
Rohr will hope to put finishing touches to his side’s preparation ahead of their Group D opener against Croatia on Saturday, June 16.
After Saturday’s loss, the Franco-German gaffer admitted: “This game shows we still have a lot of work to do to be ready for the World Cup.
“We have to make the best use of the two weeks left before our first game in Russia. It’s time to focus..no distractions.
On his part, Southgate said: “I thought it was an exciting game. I was really pleased with the first-half. We used the ball well and we were a threat. I liked the interchange of movement and passing between our front four.
“We were then able to win the ball back with our pressing. Second-half we were slow to start and it took us a little while to adjust to them changing shape.
“What it created was a great atmosphere behind our goal for us to defend properly and manage the game which was important.”
