TheCable

Gernot Rohr has blamed Super Eagles home defeat to the Central Africa Republic (CAR) on the absence of creativity in the midfield.

Nigeria was stunned by Karl Namnganda’s 90-minute goal to suffer its first loss in the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualification campaign.

The team looked bereft of ideas throughout the match, played at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, and failed to muster a shot on target until deep into the second half.

Speaking with reporters after the game, Rohr said the cause of the lacklustre performance was the absence of Alex Iwobi and Wilfred Ndidi, whose brilliance and solidity was sorely missed in the team’s transition from defence to attack.

He then added that the team would be rejuvenated to hasten the recovery from the loss.

“We missed the creativity of (Alex) Iwobi. We also missed Ndidi (Wilfred) so much,” Rohr said.

“It was not easy for (Frank) Onyeka and first-timer (Taiwo) Awoniyi to come to this team.

“The players are still disappointed in the dressing room and still can’t understand why we could lose this match.

“We dominated possession of the ball, we had several opportunities to score, but we did not score and very often in football, there was a counter, and our opponents scored.

“We have to recover, and we have to make some changes in the team.”

Super Eagles will face CAR for the second leg of the encounter on Sunday in Douala. Cameroon.