Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has expressed happiness over the commitment of his players ahead of the crucial 2018 World Cup qualifying double-header against African champions Cameroon but admitted that he has a Herculean task selecting his starting XI.

Rohr is happy that the Cameroonians are coming at a time the Eagles are fully committed to establishing an unassailable lead in the pool, and on the back of Nigeria having won the last three encounters between both nations at senior level. “It is a big match and we are fully focused and committed. The players know what it means; they need little or no reminding of how important this match is. I am happy we have almost the full house now and can concentrate on our tactics for the game,” Rohr stated.

On his squad for the encounter, the former Niger gaffer added, “We had all the players in for our first training. It was a good training, everybody was fit, no injuries and now it will be difficult for me to choose the starting XI because everybody wants to play,” he told reporters after the training in Uyo. “But hopefully after tomorrow’s (Wednesday) training, which will be closed to journalists, I will have in my mind the team to start this important game against Cameroon.” Rohr is hoping for a win on Friday after key players joined up with the squad on Tuesday.

“Cameroon are the champions of Africa, they did not have an easy Confederations Cup, but they play as a team. They are a good team, we also have a good team and we can beat them. It will be a physical game because Cameroon are very strong physically. We had a very young team in our last game (against South Africa in June), an U-23 team, but now we have our experienced players back – our captain (Mikel), our best striker (Victor Moses) and defender (Leon Balogun).”

The Punch