Ahead of the upcoming phase of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has announced his Benin Republic team to take on the Super Eagles.
Nigeria is scheduled to play against South Africa on June 7 at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo before traveling to Abidjan’s Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny three days later for a match against Rohr’s Benin Republic. Both teams are in Group C of the World Cup qualifiers and are slated to face each other next month.
Since assuming the role of Benin’s coach in February 2023, Rohr has overseen 10 games, with one win, four draws, and five losses. Despite this, he aims to improve the team’s performance, especially against his former team, the Super Eagles. Rohr has selected a 25-man squad, comprising 19 professionals from European clubs and six players from the local league.
Nigeria has drawn their first two matches in the qualifiers against Zimbabwe and Lesotho, placing them third in the group behind Rwanda and South Africa. Rohr acknowledged the quality of the Eagles squad, recognizing their potential to overturn their current position in the group standings.
The Eagles’ last appearance at the World Cup was in Russia in 2018, with their absence in Qatar 2022 after a play-off defeat to Ghana. The Benin team is set to depart from Cotonou to Abidjan on Monday, where they will train ahead of their match against the Super Eagles.
During his tenure as Super Eagles coach, spanning five years, Rohr led the team through 64 matches, achieving 35 victories, suffering 13 losses, and enduring 16 draws. One of the highlights of his tenure was guiding the Eagles to a third-place finish at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
