THE REJECTED STONE: Rohr’s 4 WCQ wins with Benin surpass Nigeria’s total under 3 successors

A shocking comparison from the 2026 World Cup qualifiers reveals a stark truth: Gernot Rohr, the former Super Eagles head coach, has won more games (four) with the Benin Republic than the three Nigerian coaches who replaced him have managed together.

This stark contrast unfolds as the Super Eagles, self-proclaimed giants of Africa, have stumbled through a cycle of instability under Jose Peseiro, Finidi George, and Eric Chelle, scraping together only two wins.

The Franco-German was appointed as the Super Eagles’ head coach in 2016. Rohr held the role for five years until he was sacked on December 12, 2021, making him one of the longest-serving coaches in the team’s history.

Peseiro, the Portuguese tactician who replaced Rohr in 2022, announced his departure from his head coach role on March 1, 2024, after his contract expired and no new deal was agreed.

Finidi, who worked with Peseiro as an assistant coach for 20 months with the Eagles, was thereafter appointed as head coach on April 29, 2024.

In January 2025, Chelle, the 47-year-old Franco-Malian coach, took over as substantive head coach of the nation’s men’s football team from Austin Eguavoen, who had been leading in an acting capacity since the exit of Finidi.

While his three successors — Peseiro (two points), Finidi (one point), and Chelle (eight points) — have been able to garner 11 points for Nigeria combined during the ongoing World Cup qualifying series, Rohr, who was appointed manager of the Benin national team on February 14, 2023, has raked in 14 points for the Squirrels.

The 72-year-old German tactician has masterminded a stunning campaign for Benin, who now sit second in Group C with 14 points — above Nigeria (11 points). Adding insult to injury, it was Rohr who handed Nigeria its sole defeat in the qualifiers, a 2-1 victory for Benin in Abidjan.

The achievement is made more remarkable by the disparity in resources. Rohr is achieving the feat with a squad of players from less glamorous leagues, while Nigeria’s team, boasting the reigning African Player of the Year and stars from Europe’s top flights, has consistently appeared tactically disjointed and lacking ideas.

The Eagles’ poor performances at the World Cup qualifying series have attracted criticism among Nigerians, with frustration directed at both the players and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

This frustration has sparked a wave of nostalgia and reassessment of Rohr’s often-criticised tenure with the Super Eagles, during which he qualified the team for the 2018 World Cup and was on the verge of repeating the feat in 2022.

Rohr’s dismissal in December 2021 by then-NFF president Amaju Pinnick was justified as a necessary move to “forestall disaster” that was “about to happen”.

Yet, in the years since, the Super Eagles have faced precisely the disasters Pinnick sought to avoid — a painful irony as Rohr’s methods now rake in points and widespread appreciation just next door with Benin, leaving Nigerian football to ponder what might have been.

Nigeria’s World Cup dream hangs by a thread, needing a miracle to advance. In stark contrast, Benin is still fighting South Africa for automatic qualification, and their showdown with Nigeria in Uyo could ultimately decide which team secures a playoff place.