Rohr Explains Why Iheanacho was Substituted in Seychelles Game

Gernot Rohr has explained why he had to substitute Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against the Pirates of Seychelles and it had nothing to do with his performance.

Though the injury-prone Iheanacho was struggling on the artificial turf, the Nigeria manager has clarified that he was forced to substitute the striker because he received a booking in the 59th minute and another yellow card would have ruled him out of the crucial game with Libya in October.

”It was not an easy game because Seychelles team was very aggressive, they fought so much.

”They had the first match with their new coach so they wanted absolutely to have a result against us. Second half was difficult against the winds and against the team fighting so much but we scored our three goals.

”It is a good score away to win 3-0 so I ‘m satisfied with the result. Second half was more difficult and we had one injury and two yellow cards, that's why I changed Kelechi, I didn't want to him to have a second yellow card.

‘’We dominated this match and we scored three goals, 2-0 already at half-time. We had one set piece, one penalty, so it's really important for us to win this game and now we can prepare for the Libya match very well,” Rohr said in a post-match interview with Brila FM's Okoroji Chidozie.

Chelsea defender Kenneth Omeruo was the other Super Eagles player cautioned against Seychelles but he is eligible for the next 2019 AFCON qualifier with Libya.