Gernot Rohr has acknowledged that the Super Eagles lost their last Group game at the World Cup to an experienced side.
Rohr made said this to Journalists at a post-match news conference after Nigeria lost 1-2 to Argentina on Tuesday.
“It was a big disappointment. Even though my players played their best, they lost to the opponents due to the inexperience of my players.
“My team is a very young side compared to the Argentines, who play in the big leagues all over the world. You can talk about the experience of Lionel Messi.
“But my team is a very wonderful one; disciplined, young and very interesting to work with.
“They will be ready in the next World Cup when most of them would have matured for big-time football like the World Cup,” he said.
The Super Eagles Technical Adviser, who agreed to continue with the team regardless of the ouster, however, promised that the Eagles would soar better during the AFCON games.
“In four years the team will be very strong and I would love to stay with them because they are disciplined and fantastic,” he said.
However, Rohr refused to be drawn into the controversy of why the referee from Turkey, Cuneyt Cakir, failed to award a second penalty to the Super Eagles, saying he had the final say.
With the loss, Nigeria is out of the competition, while Argentina moves on to the knockout stages with four points from three matches having lost one, drawn one and won one while Nigeria lost two (against Croatia and Argentina) and won one of its three games (against Iceland).
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago
